PL 145 Criminal Mischief: Degrees, Penalties, and Defenses

Under New York Penal Law Article 145, criminal mischief is intentionally or recklessly damaging property that belongs to someone else, and PL 145 criminal mischief is charged in four degrees. Fourth degree is a Class A misdemeanor and covers any intentional damage or reckless damage over $250. Third degree is a Class E felony for intentional damage over $250. Second degree is a Class D felony for intentional damage over $1,500. First degree is a Class B felony reserved for damage caused by an explosive, regardless of amount.

Fourth Degree Criminal Mischief

Most criminal mischief cases are filed under PL 145.00. There are four ways to get charged: intentionally damaging someone else’s property in any amount, intentionally helping destroy an abandoned building, recklessly causing more than $250 in damage, or disabling a phone or communication device to stop someone from calling for emergency help.¹

The intentional-damage prong has no dollar floor. Scratch a car on purpose, kick in a door, or snap a pair of glasses in an argument and the charge fits. The reckless prong is different: the prosecution doesn’t have to prove you meant to break anything, only that you consciously disregarded a substantial risk your actions would cause more than $250 in damage.

The emergency-communication provision comes up constantly in domestic disputes and surprises people. If you grab someone’s phone and throw it, hide it, or break it while they are trying to call 911 or reach anyone for help against physical harm, that alone is fourth-degree criminal mischief. Owning the phone is not a defense. Even if the phone is yours on your own wireless plan, blocking its use for an emergency call is a crime.¹

Fourth-degree criminal mischief is a Class A misdemeanor.¹

Third Degree Criminal Mischief

This is the first felony tier. PL 145.05 applies when you intentionally damage someone else’s property and the damage is more than $250.² The key line from fourth degree is intent. Recklessly causing $300 in damage stays at fourth degree. Intentionally causing $300 in damage is a felony.

There is a separate route to this charge aimed at repeat offenders. If you break into a locked vehicle to steal property from inside and you have three or more prior criminal mischief convictions in the past ten years, the charge is third degree regardless of how much damage the break-in caused.²

Third-degree criminal mischief is a Class E felony.²

Second Degree Criminal Mischief

PL 145.10 applies when intentional property damage exceeds $1,500.³ Cases at this level usually involve significant structural damage, wrecked equipment, or serious damage to a vehicle. The prosecution has to prove both the intent and that the resulting damage crossed the $1,500 line. If the damage comes in at or below that line, the charge should drop to third degree.

Second-degree criminal mischief is a Class D felony.³

First Degree Criminal Mischief

PL 145.12 is reserved for one method of destruction: using an explosive. The dollar amount of damage is irrelevant. Whether an explosive causes $500 in damage or $500,000, the charge is the same.⁴ The statute focuses on the method because explosives create risks that reach well beyond the property itself.

First-degree criminal mischief is a Class B felony.⁴

What a Conviction Costs

The sentencing exposure climbs steeply with each degree:

Felony probation runs three to five years for non-sexual offenses.⁷ A felony conviction also stays on your record and can affect employment, housing, and professional licensing long after the sentence ends.

Fines on a felony conviction can run to the higher of $5,000 or double the defendant’s gain from the offense.⁹ “Gain” here means what the defendant personally derived from the crime, not what the victim lost. The misdemeanor fine tops out at $1,000.⁶

Every conviction also carries a mandatory surcharge the court generally cannot waive. A felony conviction adds a $300 surcharge plus a $25 crime victim assistance fee. A misdemeanor adds a $175 surcharge plus the same $25 fee.¹⁰

Restitution is separate. Under PL 60.27, when a victim requests it the court must order the defendant to repay the victim’s actual out-of-pocket losses unless the interests of justice say otherwise. Without the defendant’s consent, restitution is capped at $15,000 for a felony and $10,000 for a misdemeanor, though the court can go higher to return the victim’s actual property or its equivalent value.¹¹

Defenses That Can Move the Charge

Criminal mischief charges are often filed quickly on incomplete information, and a few defenses show up again and again.

The most direct is lack of intent. Every degree above the fourth-degree reckless prong requires proof that the defendant intended to damage the property. Accidentally breaking something expensive is not criminal mischief. The owner may have a civil claim, but the criminal charge should not stand if the damage was genuinely unintentional.

For third- and second-degree charges, the dollar amount is itself an element of the offense. On a second-degree charge, the prosecution has to prove damage above $1,500.³ If a defense estimate puts the actual repair or replacement cost at or below the line, the charge should drop a degree. The same logic runs at the $250 cutoff between third and fourth. This is where a lot of felony cases get reduced to misdemeanors.

Claim of right is the third common defense. The statute requires that the defendant had no right to damage the property and no reasonable ground to believe they had the right.¹ A reasonable belief that you had permission to alter or remove the property, or a genuine ownership interest in it, can defeat the charge. This comes up in landlord-tenant disputes, shared property between former partners, and business situations where authority is ambiguous.

Other Article 145 Offenses to Watch For

Article 145 contains several related offenses that can be charged on their own or alongside criminal mischief. Making graffiti (PL 145.60) is a standalone Class A misdemeanor covering etching, painting, drawing on, or otherwise marking property with intent to damage it, and someone caught spray-painting a wall can face both this charge and a fourth-degree criminal mischief charge for the same act.¹² Reckless endangerment of property (PL 145.25) is a Class B misdemeanor that reaches conduct creating a substantial risk of over $250 in damage even when no damage actually occurs.¹³ Criminal tampering (PL 145.14, 145.15, and 145.20) covers interference with property that falls short of outright damage, with the top tier a Class D felony when the tampering intentionally causes a substantial interruption of a public utility or telecommunications service.¹⁴

1
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 145.00 – Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree
2
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 145.05 – Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree
3
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 145.10 – Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree
4
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 145.12 – Criminal Mischief in the First Degree
5
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors and Violation
6
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 80.05 – Fine for Class A Misdemeanor
7
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 65.00 – Sentence of Probation
8
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.00 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony
9
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 80.00 – Fine for Felony
10
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 60.35 – Mandatory Surcharge, Sex Offender Registration Fee, DNA Databank Fee, and Crime Victim Assistance Fee
11
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 60.27 – Restitution and Reparation
12
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 145.60 – Making Graffiti
13
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 145.25 – Reckless Endangerment of Property
14
New York State Unified Court System. New York Penal Law 145.15 – Criminal Tampering in the Second Degree