A 27-year-old Effingham, South Carolina man is being charged with Grand Larceny after he allegedly stole golf cart parts, which are valued at more than $10,000. He took the parts from a business on West Palmetto Street. The man was placed in the Florence County Detention Center on a $20,000 bond.
Petty Larceny v. Grand Larceny in South Carolina
SECTION 16-13-30. Petit larceny; grand larceny
(A) simple larceny of any article of goods, choses in action, bank bills, bills receivable, chattels, or other article of personalty of which by law larceny may be committed, or of any fixture, part, or product of the soil severed from the soil by an unlawful act, or has a value of two thousand dollars or less, is petit larceny, a misdemeanor, triable in the magistrates court or municipal court, notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 22-3-540, 22-3-545, 22-3-550, and 14-25-65. Upon conviction, the person must be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than thirty days.
(B) Larceny of goods, chattels, instruments, or other personalty valued in excess of two thousand dollars is grand larceny. Upon conviction, the person is guilty of a felony and must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than:
- Five years if the value of the personalty is more than two thousand dollars but less than ten thousand dollars;
- Ten years if the value of the personalty is ten thousand dollars or more.
Therefore, the fact that the man in the story above stole goods valued at more than $10,000 indicates, that according to the statute, he will likely be charged with grand larceny, and may be imprisoned for more than ten years. For this reason, it is so important for an assailant to retain an attorney to attempt to mitigate the charges as much as possible. If you can prove that the amount of goods stolen is less than $10,000, it is possible to cut the jail-time in half. For a consultation, call the law offices of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower, LLP at our Baxter Village office in Fort Mill, South Carolina. You can contact us at 803-548-5999, or toll-free at 877-374-4444.