Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 5 - CRIMINAL OFFENSES (§§ 5-1-101 — 5-79-101) › Subtitle 4 - OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY (§§ 5-36-101 — 5-42-205) › Chapter 36 - THEFT (§§ 5-36-101 — 5-36-405) › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 5-36-101 — 5-36-126) › Section 5-36-103 - Theft of property

(a)
A person commits theft of property if he or she knowingly:
(1)
Takes or exercises unauthorized control over or makes an unauthorized transfer of an interest in the property of another person with the purpose of depriving the owner of the property; or
(2)
Obtains the property of another person by deception or by threat with the purpose of depriving the owner of the property.
(b)
Theft of property is a:
(1)
Class B felony if:
(A)
The value of the property is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or more;
(B)
The property is obtained by the threat of serious physical injury to any person or destruction of the occupiable structure of another person;
(C)
The property is obtained by threat and the actor stands in a confidential or fiduciary relationship to the person threatened; or
(D)
The property is:
(i)
Anhydrous ammonia in any form;
(ii)
A product containing any percentage of anhydrous ammonia in any form;
(iii)
Utility property and the value of the property is five hundred dollars ($500) or more; or
(iv)
Oil and gas equipment, the value of the property is less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) but more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), and the person:
(a)
Caused more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in incidental damage to the owner of the oil and gas equipment during the commission of the offense; or
(b)
Transported the oil and gas equipment across state lines to sell or dispose of the oil and gas equipment;
(2)
Class C felony if:
(A)
The value of the property is less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) but more than five thousand dollars ($5,000);
(B)
The property is obtained by threat;
(C)
The property is a firearm valued at two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more;
(D)
The property is building material obtained from a permitted construction site and the value of the building material is five hundred dollars ($500) or more;
(E)
The value of the property is five hundred dollars ($500) or more and the theft occurred in an area declared to be under a state of emergency pursuant to proclamation by the President of the United States, the Governor, or the executive officer of a city or county; or
(F)
The property is oil and gas equipment, the value of the property is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less but more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and the person:
(i)
Caused more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in incidental damage to the owner of the oil and gas equipment during the commission of the offense; or
(ii)
Transported the oil and gas equipment across state lines to sell or dispose of the oil and gas equipment;
(3)
Class D felony if:
(A)
The value of the property is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less but more than one thousand dollars ($1,000);
(B)
The property is a firearm valued at less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500);
(C)
The property is a:
(i)
Credit card or credit card account number; or
(ii)
Debit card or debit card account number;
(D)
The value of the property is at least one hundred dollars ($100) or more but less than five hundred dollars ($500) and the theft occurred in an area declared to be under a state of emergency pursuant to proclamation by the President of the United States, the Governor, or the executive officer of a city or county;
(E)
The property is livestock and the value of the livestock is in excess of two hundred dollars ($200);
(F)
The property is an electric power line, gas line, water line, wire or fiber insulator, electric motor, or other similar apparatus connected to a farm shop, on-farm grain drying and storage complex, heating and cooling system, environmental control system, animal production facility, irrigation system, or dwelling;
(G)
The property is a decorative or memorial item from a cemetery, graveyard, or a person's grave site and the offense is the actor's second or subsequent offense of theft of a decorative or memorial item from a cemetery, graveyard, or a person's grave site under this section;
(H)
The property is oil and gas equipment and the value of the oil and gas equipment is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less, and the person:
(i)
Caused more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in incidental damage to the owner of the oil and gas equipment during the commission of the offense; or
(ii)
Transported the oil and gas equipment across state lines to sell or dispose of the oil and gas equipment;
(I)
The property is a postal package removed from the curtilage of a residential occupiable structure or from a delivery vehicle at any point throughout the delivery route; or
(J)
The value of the property is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less and the person has been previously convicted of a theft offense of any classification within ten (10) years of the current offense; or
(4)
Class A misdemeanor if:
(A)
The value of the property is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less;
(B)
The property has inherent, subjective, or idiosyncratic value to its owner or possessor even if the property has no market value or replacement cost; or
(C)
The property is a decorative or memorial item from a cemetery, graveyard, or a person's grave site.
(c)
(1)
Upon the proclamation of a state of emergency by the President of the United States or the Governor or upon the declaration of a local emergency by the executive officer of any city or county and for a period of thirty (30) days following that declaration, the penalty for theft of property is enhanced if the property is:
(A)
A generator intended for use by:
(i)
A public facility;
(ii)
A nursing home or hospital;
(iii)
An airport;
(iv)
A public safety device;
(v)
A communication tower or facility;
(vi)
A public utility;
(vii)
A water system or sewer system;
(viii)
A public safety agency; or
(ix)
Any other facility or use providing a vital service; or
(B)
Any other equipment used in the transmission of electric power or telephone service.
(2)
As used in this subsection:
(A)
"Public safety agency" means an agency of the State of Arkansas or a functional division of a political subdivision that provides:
(i)
Firefighting and rescue;
(ii)
Natural or human-caused disaster or major emergency response;
(iii)
Law enforcement; or
(iv)
Ambulance or emergency medical services; and
(B)
"Public safety device" includes, but is not limited to, a traffic signaling device or a railroad crossing device.
(3)
The penalty is enhanced as follows:
(A)
(i)
The fine for the offense shall be at least five thousand dollars ($5,000) and not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(ii)
The fine is mandatory; and
(B)
The offense is a Class D felony if it would have been a Class A misdemeanor.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 659,§ 37, eff. 1/1/2024.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 340,§ 2, eff. 3/15/2021.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 611,§ 2, eff. 7/24/2019.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 503,§ 1, eff. 7/24/2019.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 311,§ 1, eff. 7/24/2019.
Amended by Act 2013, No. 1125,§ 7, eff. 8/16/2013.
Acts 1975, No. 280, § 2203; 1977, No. 360, § 8; 1979, No. 592, § 1; 1983, No. 719, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-2203; Acts 1987, No. 934, § 3; 1991, No. 712, § 1; 1995, No. 277, § 1; 1997, No. 516, § 1; 2001, No. 157, § 1; No. 1195, § 1; 2003, No. 838, § 1; 2005, No. 1442, § 1; 2007, No. 693, § 1; 2007, No. 827, § 39; 2009, No. 1295, § 2; 2011, No. 570, § 23; 2011, No. 1120, § 8; 2011, No. 1227, § 1.