Criminal Law
Stolen goods from businesses could carry harsher charges
Senator Zellnor Myrie’s bill would let New York prosecutors treat commercial property as third-degree stolen property no matter how much it is worth. It also widens second-degree charges for some homes and multiple commercial properties.
A proposal in New York would widen the state’s stolen-property felony rules. The main change is that the property type, not just the dollar value, could push a case into a higher charge.
- Commercial property could trigger third-degree charges even below $3,000.
- Second-degree exposure would expand to some homes and mixed-use buildings.
- The bill rewrites existing stolen-property felony thresholds, not a new offense.
- In New York, the legal line for stolen-property cases would no longer depend only on price
- A proposal would let commercial property trigger third-degree criminal possession even when the item falls below the usual $3,000 threshold
In New York, the legal line for stolen-property cases would no longer depend only on price. A proposal would let commercial property trigger third-degree criminal possession even when the item falls below the usual $3,000 threshold.
The bill amends Penal Law sections 165.50 and 165.52 and starts revising section 165.54, all of them part of the state’s stolen-property statutes.
Where value stops being the whole story
Third-degree criminal possession still requires knowing possession of stolen property, plus intent to benefit the possessor or someone else, or to keep the owner from getting it back. Under the rewrite, that offense would remain a class D felony.
Second-degree criminal possession stays tied to more serious cases, including stolen property worth more than $50,000. But the bill also pulls in certain property types even when the dollar value does not cross that line: one residential real property, one mixed-use commercial property with at least one residential unit, or two or more commercial properties. Second degree is a class C felony.
Why the property type matters
The practical effect is that the charging line would be driven by more than a dollar figure. For someone accused of holding stolen goods, the kind of property involved could now be enough to raise the stakes.
The bill does not create a new crime. It changes where New York draws the line inside existing degrees of criminal possession, making business assets and certain real-estate holdings easier to charge at a higher level.