Colorado Theft Under the CRS: Elements, Penalties, and Restitution

The Colorado theft statute, C.R.S. 18-4-401, treats every unauthorized taking of property as a single crime whose severity rises with the value of what was taken. Charges start at a petty offense for items worth less than $300 and climb to a class 2 felony when the loss exceeds $1,000,000. A conviction can bring prison time, fines, mandatory restitution to the victim, civil liability for triple damages, and a criminal record that takes years to seal.

What the Prosecution Has to Prove

Two things have to line up for a theft conviction under C.R.S. 18-4-401: a prohibited act and a guilty state of mind.¹ The act is knowingly obtaining or exercising control over something of value that belongs to someone else, either without permission or through threats or deception. Talking someone into handing over property with a false story counts. So does keeping a rental item well past its return date.

The mental state is what separates theft from an honest mistake. The defendant must have intended to permanently deprive the owner of the property’s use or benefit.¹ Borrowing a neighbor’s lawnmower and forgetting to return it likely does not clear that bar. Selling it at a garage sale does. Courts look at what the person actually did with the property, not just what they said they intended. Concealing or abandoning someone else’s belongings in a way that makes permanent loss likely is enough, even without a confession of intent.

How the Value of the Property Sets the Charge

Colorado ties the severity of every theft charge to the fair market value of the property or services involved. The statute lays out eight tiers:¹

Less than $300: petty offense
$300 to under $1,000: class 2 misdemeanor
$1,000 to under $2,000: class 1 misdemeanor
$2,000 to under $5,000: class 6 felony
$5,000 to under $20,000: class 5 felony
$20,000 to under $100,000: class 4 felony
$100,000 to under $1,000,000: class 3 felony
$1,000,000 or more: class 2 felony

The jump from misdemeanor to felony happens at $2,000. That threshold matters. Felony convictions carry prison time rather than county jail, plus mandatory parole and much steeper fines. In borderline cases, prosecutors and defense attorneys often fight hard over valuation because a few dollars can change the entire trajectory of a case.

Aggregating Multiple Thefts

Prosecutors can combine the value of multiple thefts into a single, higher charge when the thefts targeted the same victim and were part of one scheme or ongoing course of conduct.¹ An employee skimming $200 from the register every week for three months is not facing a string of petty offenses. The total can be aggregated into one charge, and the penalty follows the combined value. This is where low-level workplace theft cases often turn into felonies.

When the Charge Jumps Regardless of Value

Theft From the Person

Stealing directly from someone’s body or immediate possession — picking a pocket, snatching a phone from someone’s hand — is automatically a class 5 felony regardless of the item’s value.¹ A stolen wallet holding $40 would normally be a petty offense on value alone, but taking it off a person makes it a felony carrying one to three years in prison. The line between this charge and robbery is force: theft from the person involves no force, threats, or intimidation. Once those enter the picture, the charge becomes robbery under a separate statute with harsher penalties.

Theft Against At-Risk Adults

Penalties climb sharply when the victim is an “at-risk” adult under Colorado’s crimes-against-at-risk-persons statute. The enhancement under C.R.S. 18-6.5-103 applies when the defendant committed the theft in the victim’s presence, held a position of trust over the victim, or knew the victim was an at-risk person.²

The value thresholds look nothing like the standard tiers. Theft from an at-risk person is a class 5 felony if the property is worth less than $500 and a class 3 felony if it is worth $500 or more.² Under the standard tiers, stealing $500 worth of property would only be a class 2 misdemeanor. Against an at-risk person, that same act is a class 3 felony carrying four to twelve years in prison. Theft directly from the person of an at-risk adult is a class 4 felony regardless of value.

Penalties for Misdemeanor and Petty-Offense Theft

A petty offense carries a maximum of ten days in county jail and a $300 fine.³ Class 2 misdemeanor theft can mean up to 120 days in jail and a fine of up to $750. A class 1 misdemeanor raises the ceiling to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.⁴ These sentences are served in county facilities, not state prison. Courts can also impose probation, community service, or other conditions. Even at the misdemeanor level, a conviction creates a criminal record that can affect employment, housing, and professional licensing.

Penalties for Felony Theft

Felony theft convictions carry presumptive prison ranges set by C.R.S. 18-1.3-401, with sentences served in the Colorado Department of Corrections:⁵

Class 6 felony: one year to eighteen months in prison, plus one year of mandatory parole
Class 5 felony: one to three years, plus two years of mandatory parole
Class 4 felony: two to six years, plus three years of mandatory parole
Class 3 felony: four to twelve years, plus three years of mandatory parole
Class 2 felony: eight to twenty-four years, plus three to five years of mandatory parole

Mandatory parole is exactly what it sounds like. The court cannot waive it, and the defendant cannot decline it. Every felony theft conviction includes a supervised parole period on top of the prison sentence.⁵

Fines vary by class and can be imposed in addition to or instead of imprisonment:⁵

Class 6 felony: $1,000 to $100,000
Class 5 felony: $1,000 to $100,000
Class 4 felony: $2,000 to $500,000
Class 3 felony: $3,000 to $750,000
Class 2 felony: $5,000 to $1,000,000

The upper limits are rarely imposed in routine cases, but they give courts wide discretion for large-scale or repeat offenders.

Restitution to the Victim

Every theft conviction in Colorado, from petty offense through felony, must include consideration of restitution to the victim.⁶ This is separate from any fine paid to the state. Restitution goes to the person whose property was stolen or damaged.

The court must order a specific dollar amount, set a deadline to calculate it (usually within ninety-one days of conviction), or make an explicit finding that the victim suffered no financial loss. Covered expenses go beyond the value of the stolen item. Restitution can include insurance deductibles, replacement costs for damaged locks or windows, medical expenses if the victim was harmed, and travel costs to attend court proceedings.⁶ Unpaid restitution also blocks record sealing, which creates a lasting incentive to pay in full.

Civil Liability on Top of the Criminal Case

A criminal case is not the only legal exposure. Under C.R.S. 18-4-405, the owner of stolen property can sue the person who took it and recover $200 or three times the actual damages, whichever is greater, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees.⁷

This civil remedy is independent of the criminal case. A victim does not need a conviction, or even criminal charges, to pursue treble damages. Even if criminal charges are reduced or dropped, a civil judgment for triple damages can still follow.

Related Conduct the Statute Reaches

The general theft statute covers what used to be a separate offense called “theft by receiving.” Receiving, pawning, or disposing of property you know or believe was stolen falls under C.R.S. 18-4-401(1).¹ Buying a suspiciously cheap laptop from someone in a parking lot can bring the same theft charges as if you had stolen it yourself. The old standalone statute for this offense, C.R.S. 18-4-410, was repealed in 2013, but the conduct it covered remains prosecutable under the main theft statute.⁸

Theft of trade secrets under C.R.S. 18-4-408 targets anyone who steals, discloses, or copies confidential business information with the intent to deprive the owner of control over it or to use it for their own benefit.⁹ The statute covers formulas, processes, financial data, and customer lists, but only if the owner actually took steps to keep the information secret. A company that leaves proprietary data on an unsecured shared drive has a weaker claim than one that restricted access and required nondisclosure agreements.

Sealing a Theft Conviction

Colorado allows most theft convictions to be sealed from public view, but not immediately. The waiting period depends on the offense level, and the clock does not start until all sentence conditions are completed, including probation and parole:¹⁰

Petty offense: one year after final disposition or release from supervision
Class 2 misdemeanor: two years
Class 1 misdemeanor: three years
Class 4, 5, or 6 felony: three years

You cannot have any new arrests or convictions during the waiting period, and any outstanding restitution must be paid in full before records can be sealed.¹⁰ Sealing requires filing a motion with the court, along with a verified copy of your criminal history. Class 4, 5, and 6 felony convictions that are not sealed by petition are automatically sealed seven years after final disposition without the need to file anything, as long as you have stayed out of trouble. Higher-level felony theft convictions, such as class 2 or class 3, fall into the five-year waiting period category for petition-based sealing.

Sealing does not erase the record entirely. Law enforcement and certain government agencies can still access sealed records, and some professional licensing boards may require disclosure. Sealed records will not appear on standard background checks, which removes one of the most persistent practical consequences of a theft conviction.

1
Justia. Colorado Code 18-4-401 – Theft
2
FindLaw. Colorado Code 18-6.5-103 – Crimes Against At-Risk Persons Classifications
3
Colorado Public Law. Colorado Code 18-1.3-503 – Petty Offense and Civil Infraction Classified
4
Justia. Colorado Code 18-1.3-501 – Misdemeanors Classified Penalties
5
Justia. Colorado Code 18-1.3-401 – Felonies Classified Presumptive Penalties
6
Justia. Colorado Code 18-1.3-603 – Order of Restitution
7
Justia. Colorado Code 18-4-405 – Restitution to Owners
8
Justia. Colorado Code 18-4-410 – Repealed
9
Colorado Public Law. Colorado Code 18-4-408 – Theft of Trade Secrets
10
FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-72-706 – Sealing of Conviction Records