New Laws - More Theft!

The Louisiana Legislature is, once again, in session, and has been busy passing new legislation that impacts all aspects of Louisianan’s lives. Of specific interest to us over the next few weeks are the changes they have made to various criminal offenses and procedures.

The legislature has amended the monetary instrument abuse statute in several ways to broaden its application and has added a penalty provision for a second or subsequent offense increasing the penalty to imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for a minimum of 1 year up to 10 years and a fine of up to $1 million. 14:72.2(C).

The legislature has also amended the theft statute to specifically address “porch pirates”:

If the offender in such cases commits the crime of theft of a package that has been delivered to an inhabited dwelling owned by another, he shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than two years, or may be fined not more than two thousand dollars, or both."

La. R.S. 14:67(B)(4)(b). They have also added language to address a shoplifter who “commits an assault upon a store or merchant’s employee who is acting in the course and scope of his employment duties” to require that the first 15 days of any sentence must be served without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.

The legislature has amended the Anti-Skimming statute to add microchip re-encoders and scanning devices as prohibited. La. R.S. 14:67.4

Simple burglary now prohibits “the unauthorized entering of any dwelling or other structure with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner, lessee, or tenant of full use of the dwelling or structure, or to temporarily or permanently assert any right of ownership or use of such property” and makes the offender liable “for any damage that has resulted from a violation” of this subsection. La. R.S. 14:62(A)(2) & (C).

Finally, the legislature has removed “the taking of, or the recruiting of another person who takes, anything of value from a retail establishment that is in the immediate control of a retail employee or employer when a person acts in concert with three or more individuals for the purpose of either overwhelming the response of an employer, an employee, or law enforcement to carry out the offense, avoid detection or apprehension, or create a reasonable belief that a reasonable person would not intercede beacause of fear” from the simple burglary statute and added it to the second degree robbery statute. La. R.S. 14:64.4(A)(2). A second or subsequent violation of the second degree robbery statute within 10 years of the first conviction now carries a minimum sentence of 5 years up to 40 years. La. R.S. 14:64.4(B)(2). If a firearm is involved in the offense, an additional 5 years without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence may be imposed, to be served consecutively to the underlying penalty. La. R.S. 14:64.4(B)(3).

If you or someone you know is facing criminal charges and would like to set up a consultation, give us a call at (318) 459-9111.