What Does TBUT or DISP All Others Mean on Court Records?

On a Kentucky court record, “TBUT or Disp All Others” is shorthand for Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition — All Others, a charge brought under Kentucky Revised Statute 514.030.¹ The “All Others” tag means the property taken was ordinary stuff — electronics, cash, tools, retail goods, personal belongings — rather than a firearm, a controlled substance, or anhydrous ammonia, which each have their own automatic felony treatment. The seriousness of the charge turns almost entirely on what the property was worth, running from a Class B misdemeanor under $500 up to a Class B felony at $1 million or more.

Breaking Down the Abbreviation

“TBUT” is “theft by unlawful taking.” “Disp” is short for “disposition,” which captures situations where someone transfers or disposes of another person’s property instead of physically carrying it off. “All Others” is a sorting label the courts use to separate ordinary-property thefts from thefts of items the statute singles out for special treatment.

You will see the phrase on Kentucky court case searches, on charging paperwork, and on background checks pulled by employers or landlords. The label by itself tells you nothing about severity. A TBUT-All Others entry on a record could be a low-level misdemeanor or a serious felony depending on the dollar amount attached to the case.

What “All Others” Does Not Cover

KRS 514.030 pulls three categories of property out of the standard value ladder and treats them as automatic felonies no matter what the dollar figure is:

Firearms — any firearm theft is a Class D felony regardless of the gun’s value.¹
Anhydrous ammonia — a Class D felony on its own, bumped to a Class B felony on a first offense if the intent was to manufacture methamphetamine, and a Class A felony for any later offense.¹
Controlled substances — a Class D felony when the drugs are collectively worth under $10,000.¹

Anything outside those three buckets falls under “All Others” and is charged according to the fair market value of the property at the time of the offense.

What the Prosecution Has to Prove

A theft by unlawful taking conviction requires two elements: that the person took or exercised control over someone else’s movable property without authorization, and that they intended to deprive the owner of it.¹ Intent is where contested cases usually live. Absent-mindedly walking out of a store with an item in hand is not enough; the state has to show a conscious decision to take something that was not yours.

“Deprive” is defined more broadly than most people assume. It is not limited to keeping property permanently. Withholding it long enough to drain a significant portion of its value, refusing to return it unless the owner pays something, or disposing of it so recovery is unlikely all qualify.²

How Value Sets the Charge Level

For “All Others” property, the fair market value at the time of the offense determines the class of the charge:

Prosecutors can also aggregate. Multiple thefts committed within a one-year window may be combined and charged as a single offense, meaning several small-dollar incidents can add up to a felony threshold rather than being treated separately.¹

What a Conviction Carries

A Class B misdemeanor carries up to 90 days in jail and a fine up to $250.³⁴ A Class A misdemeanor raises the ceiling to 12 months in jail and a $500 fine. Either way, the conviction shows up on background checks.

Felonies carry state prison time rather than county jail:

Courts weigh the defendant’s ability to pay, hardship on dependents, and whether a fine would interfere with restitution to the victim. Indigent defendants cannot be ordered to pay felony fines.⁶

Enhancements That Can Push the Charge Up

Two provisions can escalate a TBUT charge beyond what the dollar value alone would suggest. Three or more Class A misdemeanor theft convictions within a five-year window automatically bumps the next offense to a Class D felony, even when the property is worth less than $1,000. The five years is measured from the dates of the offenses, not the dates of conviction.¹

Theft committed inside a declared disaster area during an emergency is charged one class higher than it otherwise would be, regardless of value. A Class B misdemeanor becomes a Class A misdemeanor, a Class A misdemeanor becomes a Class D felony, and so on up the ladder.¹

Restitution and Civil Exposure

Criminal fines are not the only money on the line. When probation or conditional discharge is granted, Kentucky law requires the judge to order restitution to the victim for actual losses, including the value of the property, medical expenses, lost earnings, and relocation costs. Restitution goes to the victim; fines go to the state.⁷

Retail theft also opens a separate civil door. Under KRS 411.095, a merchant can sue for actual damages, plus the retail value of the goods (capped at $500), plus an additional penalty of $100 to $250. No criminal conviction is needed; the civil case runs independently. Parents and legal guardians of unemancipated minors can be held liable the same way.⁸

How Long Prosecutors Have

Misdemeanor theft has to be charged within one year of the offense. Felony theft has no statute of limitations in Kentucky, meaning a felony case can be brought years or decades after the fact.⁹

Getting a Theft Conviction Expunged

Kentucky allows expungement of both misdemeanor theft and some felony theft, but the wait is substantial and your record has to stay clean.

Misdemeanors

Under KRS 431.078, a petition can be filed no sooner than five years after sentence or probation is completed, whichever is later. The court will grant it if the person has no felony or misdemeanor convictions in those five years, no pending charges, and the offense is not subject to sentence enhancement. The filing fee is $100.¹⁰

Felonies

Class D felony theft under KRS 514.030 is specifically listed as eligible under KRS 431.073. The same five-year wait applies, measured from the later of sentence completion or completion of probation or parole, with the same requirement of no intervening convictions and no pending charges. Filing runs $50 for the application plus a $250 expungement fee, which can be paid in installments.¹¹

Once an expungement is granted, courts and agencies remove the records from their systems and the conviction stops appearing on official state background checks. Class C and Class B felony theft convictions are not eligible under this statute.

1
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 514.030 – Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition
2
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 514.010 – Definitions
3
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 532.090 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Misdemeanor
4
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 534.040 – Fines for Misdemeanors
5
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 532.060 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony
6
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 534.030 – Fines for Felonies
7
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 533.030 – Conditions of Probation and Conditional Discharge
8
Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 411.095 – Liability for Willful Damage to or Theft of Goods
9
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 500.050 – Time Limitations
10
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 431.078 – Expungement of Misdemeanor, Violation, and Traffic Infraction Records
11
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 431.073 – Certain Felony Convictions May Be Vacated and Records Expunged