Theft is defined by Texas Penal Code Section 31.03: unlawfully appropriating property with intent to deprive the owner of it.³ One element, the value of the property, separates a fine-only ticket from a felony, and at the bottom of the scale, where the property is worth less than $100, the offense is a Class C misdemeanor under Section 31.03(e)(1).² The punishment for a Class C misdemeanor is a fine of up to $500 and no jail time.⁴

Value is not simply whatever a store's receipt says. Section 31.08 defines value as the fair market value of the property at the time and place of the offense, or, where fair market value cannot be determined, the replacement cost.⁵ Because the value element sets the grade, an item priced at $96 rather than $104 can keep a case at the Class C tier, which is why an itemized value analysis is part of every workup.

Theft is one statute with a sliding scale. The same conduct can be charged anywhere from a fine-only ticket to a first-degree felony, and three things move it along the scale: the value of the property, the kind of property, and the person's prior history. A theft under $100 sits at the bottom rung, but it does not always stay there.

The value ladder

Section 31.03(e) sets the grade by value:¹ under $100 is the Class C misdemeanor charged here;² $100 to $750 is a Class B misdemeanor;⁶ $750 to $2,500 is a Class A misdemeanor;⁷ $2,500 to $30,000 is a state jail felony;⁸ $30,000 to $150,000 is a third-degree felony;⁹ and the ladder continues to a second-degree felony at $150,000 and a first-degree felony at $300,000 or more. Where the alleged value sits near a line, the value contest is the case.

When prior theft convictions raise the level

A person's record can lift the grade above what the dollar amount alone would set. A theft of property worth less than $100 can be charged as a higher-grade misdemeanor where the person has a prior theft conviction, and a theft of less than $2,500 can be charged as a state jail felony where the person has two or more prior theft convictions of any grade.⁸ A case that looks fine-only on its face can be elevated on the strength of the criminal history alone, which makes a certified history review a threshold step.

When separate incidents are added together

Under Section 31.09, amounts taken pursuant to one scheme or a continuing course of conduct may be aggregated and charged as a single offense, with the totals added to set the grade.¹⁰ Several small alleged takings can be combined into one higher-level charge, so how the State has packaged the accusation is a question worth asking at the outset.

Most people charged with a Class C theft have never been in a criminal courtroom before. They are students, retail and service workers, parents managing a hard financial stretch, and people who walked out of a store with an item that was never scanned. For them the surprise is not the size of the fine; it is everything attached to the word theft.

Because theft is read as an offense of dishonesty, the consequences follow the person well past the courthouse. For a noncitizen, a theft conviction can carry immigration consequences, including exposure to removal. For a licensed professional, it can trigger a separate board-reporting duty. For anyone, it surfaces on the background checks that employers and landlords run, where a theft conviction is read differently from almost any other fine-only matter. That exposure is what makes the disposition of even a small-dollar case matter.

The $500 fine ceiling in Section 12.23 is only the criminal side of the exposure.⁴ A theft conviction is the kind of record that does not fade: it reads as an offense of dishonesty, and that characterization is what reaches immigration status, professional licensing, and employment long after the fine is paid.

There is usually a civil side as well. The property owner, often a retailer, can pursue a civil demand for damages entirely separate from the criminal case, and a demand letter from a recovery firm is its own matter, not a part of the citation. For a first offense, deferred disposition is regularly available in Texas; on successful completion it keeps a conviction off the record, which is what preserves the path to later sealing. Whether that route fits a given case is a fact-specific question answered from the record, not a promise.

A theft case is built out of a few documents, and what a person does in the first days affects all of them. The most common mistake is explaining the situation to a loss-prevention officer or a police officer without a lawyer present. Those statements are written down and used, and Texas law governs when an accused's statement is admissible and what warnings had to come first.¹¹

A few steps help in nearly every case. Keep every receipt, bank or card record, and message that bears on what was bought, returned, or paid for. Do not delete anything from the day in question. Hold on to all paperwork from the citation or arrest. And do not return to the store or contact the complainant, which can add a charge rather than resolve one.

This is general information about how these cases work in Texas. It is not legal advice about any specific case, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

A Class C theft in Bexar County follows a predictable path. Knowing the order of events makes the process less frightening and the decision points easier to see.

Citation or arrest and magistration

A theft case can begin with a citation to appear or with an arrest. Where there is an arrest, the person is brought before a magistrate who gives the statutory warnings and sets bond, ordinarily within 48 hours, under Article 15.17.¹²

Filing in the trial court

A Class C theft is a fine-only matter, so it is filed and tried in a Bexar County justice court or in a municipal court, depending on where the alleged conduct occurred, rather than in a County Court at Law. The case is prosecuted by the office handling that court's docket.

Pretrial settings and discovery

The case proceeds through one or more pretrial settings. The State's evidence, the offense or incident report, the loss-prevention video, and the photographs of the recovered merchandise, is produced under the discovery statute, Article 39.14.¹³

Resolution

A Class C theft can resolve by dismissal, by deferred disposition where the person is eligible, or at a bench or jury trial in the justice or municipal court. Which routes are realistic depends on the record.

Theft cases do not carry the fast administrative clock a DWI does, but timing still decides what evidence survives and what options remain.

Class C theft work in Bexar County lives and dies on two documents: the offense or incident report and the loss-prevention video. Forrest Good PLLC requests the full file through formal discovery under Article 39.14, including the loss-prevention officer's report, the responding officer's body-worn camera footage, every photograph of the recovered merchandise, the original receipt or inventory record, and any statement given inside the store, and reads each piece against the statutory elements.¹³

Ownership is the first question, because the State must prove the property belonged to someone else and was taken with intent to deprive.³ Forgotten items at the bottom of a cart, misscanned self-checkout entries, and items already paid for at a different register are recurring fact patterns, litigated through receipts, register tapes, and surveillance-angle review measured against the Section 31.08 definition of value.⁵ Intent is the second question and is rarely captured cleanly on video. The certified criminal history is pulled to confirm whether any prior theft contact exists that could change the State's grading posture under Section 31.03(e).⁸ Where deferred disposition is available, the office walks through what completion requires so a conviction never lands on the record.

The hour estimate

Forrest Good PLLC estimates this matter at 3 to 6 hours of attorney time, billed at $250 per hour. The lower end reflects a case that resolves early with a routine result; the upper end reflects a contested value analysis, a larger volume of loss-prevention video, and additional pretrial appearances. The pricing methodology explains how the charging instrument, the evidence load, and the procedural stakes drive the estimate.

The flat fee and what it covers

The starting flat fee is $1,500. It covers review of the offense or incident report, the loss-prevention video, and the inventory documentation; the arraignment and every pretrial setting in the justice or municipal court; pretrial motion practice including discovery enforcement under Article 39.14;¹³ the value-tier analysis; and deferred-disposition screening. The fee shown here is honored while this page is published, consistent with Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct 7.02(d).¹⁵

Any work outside the scoped fee is billed at $250 per hour and is disclosed in the written engagement letter before it begins. The engagement letter is the binding contract for the matter.

The first step is a conversation. The initial 30-minute consultation with Forrest Good PLLC is free and is scheduled through the office's Google Booking page. It is the time to walk through the citation or charging instrument, the offense report, and the receipt or inventory record, and to map out where the alleged value sits on the ladder before any setting. Bringing those documents makes the half hour far more useful.

No attorney-client relationship is formed until a written engagement letter is signed; the consultation itself carries no obligation.

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