Larceny in the second degree in CT is a Class C felony under Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-123, punishable by up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.1Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-123 – Larceny in the Second Degree The charge most often comes up when stolen property or services are worth more than $10,000, but the statute also reaches several situations where the dollar amount doesn’t matter, including theft taken directly from someone’s body and fraud against elderly or disabled victims.
What Triggers a Second-Degree Larceny Charge
Section 53a-123 sets out five separate ways a theft becomes second-degree larceny. Meeting any one of them is enough.
Property or Services Worth More Than $10,000
The clearest trigger is value. Stealing property or services worth more than $10,000 lands the case in second-degree territory.1Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-123 – Larceny in the Second Degree Once the value crosses $20,000, the charge moves up to first-degree larceny, a Class B felony.2Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-122 – Larceny in the First Degree So the second-degree window on value runs from just over $10,000 to $20,000. Value is generally measured by market price at the time and place of the theft, or by replacement cost when market value is hard to fix.
Theft Taken Directly From a Person
Taking property directly from another person’s body or immediate possession is second-degree larceny no matter what the item is worth.1Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-123 – Larceny in the Second Degree Pickpocketing a wallet, grabbing a phone out of someone’s hand, or pulling a bag off a shoulder all qualify. A $200 phone snatched from a hand carries the same felony classification as a $15,000 embezzlement. The law treats this more seriously because physical proximity creates a real risk of confrontation.
Fraud Against Elderly, Disabled, or Conserved Victims
When the victim is 60 or older, blind, physically disabled, or a conserved person under court-appointed conservatorship, the charge escalates to second-degree larceny regardless of dollar amount, but only when the property was obtained by embezzlement, false pretenses, or a false promise.1Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-123 – Larceny in the Second Degree A caretaker who tricks an elderly person into signing over $500 faces a felony. Shoplifting a $500 item from a store owned by a 65-year-old wouldn’t fit this subsection, because the method isn’t fraud or embezzlement; the charge would be set by value alone.
Defrauding a Public Community
Tricking a public entity out of funds or resources worth $2,000 or less is second-degree larceny.1Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-123 – Larceny in the Second Degree The low threshold reflects the state’s interest in protecting taxpayer money. Above $2,000, it becomes first-degree larceny.2Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-122 – Larceny in the First Degree
Telecommunications Theft That Cuts Emergency Service
Stealing wire, cable, or other telecommunications equipment is second-degree larceny when the theft interrupts emergency telecommunications service, regardless of the equipment’s value.1Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-123 – Larceny in the Second Degree Copper wire theft from utility infrastructure is the usual scenario.
Prison, Fines, Probation, and Restitution
A Class C felony in Connecticut carries a potential prison term of one to ten years.3Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-35a – Imprisonment for Felony Committed on or After July 1, 1981 The one-year figure is the bottom of the sentencing range, not a mandatory minimum. A judge can suspend all or part of the prison sentence and place the defendant on probation instead.4Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-28 – Authorized Sentences First-time offenders whose theft was just over the $10,000 line and involved no physical harm often receive a suspended sentence with probation rather than time behind bars. Someone with prior convictions or a case involving vulnerable victims is much more likely to serve real prison time.
The court can impose a fine of up to $10,000 on top of any sentence.5Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Code – Penal Code: Offenses That fine is separate from restitution, which goes to the victim to cover actual losses. When prison is suspended, standard probation for a Class C felony runs up to three years, and the court can extend it to five on a case-by-case basis.6Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-29 – Probation and Conditional Discharge Conditions typically include regular check-ins, avoiding new arrests, and completing any court-ordered programs.
Parole Eligibility
A prison sentence of more than two years becomes eligible for parole consideration after the person has served at least 50 percent of the total, minus jail credit and any risk reduction credits earned inside. If the offense is classified as violent — meaning use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force — the parole threshold jumps to 85 percent, and risk reduction credits do not lower it for offenses committed on or after July 1, 2013.7State of Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles. Parole Eligibility Info Most second-degree larceny cases don’t involve physical force, so the 50 percent figure applies.
Accelerated Rehabilitation
Connecticut’s Accelerated Rehabilitation program can lead to dismissal of the charges, but qualifying with a Class C felony is difficult. The governing statute, § 54-56e, generally excludes Class C felonies unless the defendant shows “good cause.”8Justia. Connecticut Code 54-56e – Pretrial Program for Accelerated Rehabilitation The defendant must also have no prior criminal record and cannot have used the program before, with limited exceptions for misdemeanor-level prior use more than ten years earlier.
If a judge grants entry, the program typically lasts one to two years. During that time the defendant must avoid new arrests and comply with whatever conditions the judge imposes, which can include restitution, community service, or counseling. Successful completion ends in dismissal and sealing of the record. Failure sends the case back to the regular criminal docket. For a second-degree larceny charge, getting in requires a strong showing and is not a routine outcome.
Consequences That Outlast the Sentence
A felony conviction in Connecticut strips the right to vote and to hold public office until those rights are formally restored, and it bars jury service for seven years. Professional licenses across fields such as nursing, electrical contracting, and cosmetology can be denied or revoked based on a felony record, and many employers screen for felony convictions during hiring.
People charged with second-degree larceny sometimes expect their record to clear automatically under Connecticut’s Clean Slate law. It won’t. Clean Slate erasure covers Class D, Class E, and unclassified felonies, not Class C felonies. A second-degree larceny conviction stays on the record permanently unless the person obtains an executive pardon. That alone makes the gap between a conviction and a successful defense or diversion program substantial.
Statute of Limitations
The state has five years from the date of the offense to file second-degree larceny charges.9Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Code – Limitation of Prosecutions The clock runs from when the crime was committed, not when the victim discovered it. Fraud and embezzlement can go undetected for years, so someone who took money from an employer three years ago is not in the clear simply because no one has noticed.