4.6 Property, Fraud, Technology, and Government Operations
Key Takeaways
- Robbery (Chapter 29) is theft plus bodily injury or threat; aggravated robbery adds serious bodily injury, a deadly weapon, or a disabled/elderly or 65-plus victim.
- Burglary (PC 30.02) is entry of a habitation or building without consent with intent to commit a felony, theft, or assault; criminal trespass (PC 30.05) needs notice and forbidden entry.
- Theft (Chapter 31) is unlawful appropriation with intent to deprive the owner; fraud (Chapter 32) covers forgery, credit/debit card abuse, and fraudulent use of identifying information.
- Government-operation chapters (36-39) protect public integrity: bribery, perjury, tampering, resisting/evading, failure to identify, and abuse of office.
Property and Public-Integrity Offense Sorting
These chapters are broad, so sort by what was damaged, entered, taken, falsified, accessed, obstructed, or abused.
| Offense family | Penal Code source | Sorting facts |
|---|---|---|
| Property damage | PC Chapter 28 | Arson, criminal mischief, graffiti, pecuniary loss |
| Robbery | PC Chapter 29 | Theft plus injury/threat; deadly weapon; vulnerable victim |
| Burglary / trespass | PC Chapter 30 | Entry, habitation vs building, consent, notice, intent |
| Theft and related | PC Chapter 31 | Appropriation, owner, consent, value, vehicle |
| Fraud / exploitation | PC Chapter 32 | Forgery, bad check, card abuse, identity theft, elder exploitation |
| Computer / telecom | PC Chapters 33, 33A | Unauthorized access, online solicitation, service theft |
| Government operations | PC Chapters 36-39 | Bribery, perjury, tampering, resisting, evading, abuse of office |
Robbery vs theft vs burglary
Robbery (PC 29.02) begins as theft but becomes a person offense: in the course of committing theft, the actor intentionally/knowingly/recklessly causes bodily injury, or threatens or places another in fear of imminent bodily injury or death. Robbery is a second-degree felony. Aggravated robbery (PC 29.03) — a first-degree felony — adds serious bodily injury, use/exhibition of a deadly weapon, or a victim who is disabled or 65 or older.
Burglary (PC 30.02) requires entry without effective consent with intent to commit a felony, theft, or assault — or entry followed by committing/attempting one. Burglary of a habitation is generally a second-degree felony; burglary of a building is a state jail felony. Criminal trespass (PC 30.05) requires notice (signs, fencing, or oral warning) and entry/remaining — no intent to commit a further crime is needed, and it is usually a Class B or A misdemeanor.
Worked example: a suspect shoplifts, then shoves a clerk to the floor while fleeing, causing pain → the theft escalates to robbery. If the clerk's arm breaks or the suspect brandishes a knife → aggravated robbery. A suspect who climbs through a broken window to steal a TV commits burglary of a habitation; a suspect who only spray-paints a fence after ignoring a posted no-trespassing sign commits criminal mischief/graffiti plus possible criminal trespass.
Fraud and identity offenses
Chapter 32 separates dishonesty by method. Forgery (PC 32.21) alters/makes/passes a writing; credit or debit card abuse (PC 32.31) uses a card without the holder's consent; fraudulent use or possession of identifying information (PC 32.51) — identity theft — grades by the number of items of identifying information (fewer than 5 = state jail felony, rising with more items). Do not default to “theft” for every dishonest act; the means selects the chapter.
A worthless-check passer commits an issuance of a bad check offense; a person who runs up another's stolen debit card commits debit card abuse; a person who files a loan application in someone else's name commits both forgery and identity theft. The same dollar loss can therefore sit in several different chapters depending purely on how the deception was carried out.
Theft consolidation and special theft offenses
Under PC 31.02, theft consolidates the old common-law categories (larceny, embezzlement, conversion) into one offense. PC 31.09 allows aggregation: amounts stolen pursuant to one scheme or continuing course of conduct may be added together to reach a higher grade — so several small thefts from one employer over months can become a felony. Chapter 31 also houses theft of service (PC 31.04), unauthorized use of a vehicle (PC 31.07, a state jail felony for operating another's vehicle without consent — note this is not theft because there need be no intent to permanently deprive), and cargo theft.
The exam often tests UUMV against theft: borrowing a car with intent to return it is UUMV, not theft.
Government-operation offenses (Chapters 36-39)
Bribery (PC 36.02) is offering, conferring, soliciting, or accepting a benefit to influence official action — e.g., handing cash to an officer to drop a DWI. Failure to identify (PC 38.02) applies when a lawfully arrested person refuses to give name, residence address, or date of birth; a detained person who gives a false name, address, or birth date also violates the statute. The key exam distinction: refusing to identify is an offense only after a lawful arrest, but giving false identifying information is an offense during a lawful detention too.
Evading arrest or detention (PC 38.04) applies when a person intentionally flees from an officer attempting a lawful arrest or detention; it rises to a felony when a vehicle is used. Resisting arrest, search, or transportation (PC 38.03) requires using force against the officer and is not excused even if the arrest was unlawful. Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence (PC 37.09) — swallowing drugs or destroying records knowing an investigation is pending — and abuse of official capacity / official oppression (PC 39.02-39.03) round out the integrity offenses.
Official oppression covers an officer who, under color of office, subjects another to mistreatment or an unlawful arrest, search, or seizure he knows is unlawful.
Exam trap: Do not call every dishonest act theft — forgery, card abuse, identity theft, and unauthorized use of a vehicle are separate offenses chosen by the means. And do not overlook the officer-misconduct statutes (abuse of office, official oppression), which connect directly to professionalism and constitutional limits.
A shoplifter shoves a clerk to the ground while fleeing, causing the clerk pain. Beyond simple theft, which offense should be considered?
What single element most clearly distinguishes burglary of a habitation from criminal trespass?
During a lawful DWI stop, a driver hands the officer $200 and asks him to forget the whole thing. Which Penal Code family is directly implicated?