Criminal mischief in the third degree in New York is a Class E felony under Penal Law 145.05, charged when a person intentionally damages another’s property and the damage exceeds $250. A conviction carries up to four years in state prison, plus fines, mandatory surcharges, restitution, and a permanent felony record. The $250 threshold is low, which is why this charge shows up on complaints involving broken windows, smashed phones, keyed cars, and other everyday property disputes.
What the Prosecution Has to Prove
Penal Law 145.05 creates two paths to a third-degree charge. The common one is intentional damage to another person’s property worth more than $250. The second involves breaking into a locked motor vehicle to steal from it, but only if the defendant has three or more prior criminal mischief convictions from separate incidents within the past ten years.
Both paths share the same baseline. The prosecution has to prove you acted intentionally, meaning your conscious objective was to cause the damage. Accidental damage doesn’t qualify, and recklessly causing damage is a different, lesser charge. The prosecution also has to show you had no right to damage the property and no reasonable basis to believe you did. The statute specifically requires that the property belong to “another person.”
How the $250 Damage Figure Is Measured
Because $250 is the line between a misdemeanor and a felony, how the damage is valued matters as much as whether it happened. Courts generally look at the actual cost to repair the property to its pre-incident condition. When something is destroyed beyond repair, fair market value at the time of the incident controls.
The prosecution carries the burden of proving the damage exceeded $250 with credible evidence. Repair invoices, contractor estimates, and replacement receipts all count. Vague testimony that something “cost a lot” typically does not. This is where many third-degree cases are weakest: if the valuation evidence is thin, the charge may not hold at the felony level even when the damage is undisputed.
Fair market value is not the same as the original purchase price. A five-year-old laptop bought for $1,200 may be worth $300 today. Repair costs can also exceed an item’s market value, and courts have accepted repair costs as the measure when the owner chose to fix rather than replace.
Where Third Degree Sits Among the Four Degrees
New York divides criminal mischief into four degrees. Knowing the ladder helps you see what the prosecutor could have charged and what a plea down might look like.
- Fourth degree is a Class A misdemeanor. It covers intentional damage with no dollar minimum, reckless damage over $250, or disabling someone’s phone to prevent an emergency call. Maximum is one year in jail.
- Third degree is a Class E felony, with the elements described above. Maximum is four years in state prison.
- Second degree is a Class D felony, triggered when intentional damage exceeds $1,500. Maximum is seven years.
- First degree is a Class B felony, reserved for intentional damage caused by an explosive. Maximum is twenty-five years.
One quirk worth noticing: New York’s larceny statute does not reach felony territory until stolen property exceeds $1,000. You can face a felony criminal mischief charge for damage that would only be a misdemeanor if you had stolen the same item instead of destroying it.
Sentencing and Penalties
Prison
The maximum prison term for a Class E felony is four years. When a judge imposes prison, it is typically an indeterminate sentence with a minimum of at least one year and a maximum set by the court up to four. For defendants without a prior felony record, the court can instead impose a definite sentence of one year or less if a full indeterminate term would be unduly harsh.
A split sentence is also available: up to six months in jail served as a condition of probation. This keeps the defendant out of state prison while still imposing real jail time. For first-time offenders charged with damage near the $250 floor, a split sentence or straight probation is the more realistic outcome.
Probation
A judge may impose probation for a term of three, four, or five years. Conditions typically include regular check-ins with a probation officer, maintaining employment, avoiding further arrests, and completing restitution. Violating conditions can lead the court to revoke probation and impose incarceration.
Fines, Surcharges, and Restitution
The court can impose a fine of up to $5,000, or double the amount the defendant gained from the crime, whichever is higher. A felony conviction also triggers a mandatory surcharge of $300 and a crime victim assistance fee of $25, for $325 in unavoidable additional costs. Restitution to the property owner for the actual damage is commonly ordered and is separate from any fine.
Defenses and Possible Reductions
The elements the prosecution has to prove create the natural pressure points for a defense.
- No intent. If the damage was accidental or merely reckless, the conduct does not meet the third-degree standard. Reckless damage over $250 is fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, so arguing lack of intent can change the whole category of the conviction.
- Reasonable belief of right. If you genuinely believed you had the right to alter or damage the property, the statute provides a defense. A tenant who removes fixtures believing the lease permits it, or a co-owner who disposes of shared property thinking they have authority, may have an argument here.
- Valuation below $250. Challenging the damage estimate can drop the charge to fourth degree. This works best when the evidence rests on inflated repair quotes or unsupported claims about an item’s worth.
Even when the evidence is strong, outright dismissal or a non-criminal disposition is still possible. An Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, where the case is adjourned and eventually dismissed if the defendant stays out of trouble, and plea reductions to disorderly conduct or another non-criminal violation are outcomes defense attorneys regularly negotiate in these cases.
Consequences Beyond the Sentence
A Class E felony conviction follows you in ways the court does not always spell out at sentencing.
Firearms
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition. A Class E felony qualifies. New York separately makes it a Class A misdemeanor for anyone with a felony conviction to possess a rifle, shotgun, or other firearm. Together, the two prohibitions end your legal ability to own or possess any firearm.
Employment and Licensing
New York’s Correction Law Article 23-A limits how employers can use a criminal record in hiring, and New York City’s Fair Chance Act prohibits most employers from asking about criminal history until after a conditional offer. These protections help but do not erase the conviction. Background checks will reveal it, and certain professional licenses in fields such as nursing, teaching, and law enforcement can be denied or revoked based on a felony record.
Immigration
For non-citizens, a felony conviction can trigger deportation or make someone inadmissible for future immigration benefits. Whether criminal mischief qualifies as a crime involving moral turpitude, which carries the harshest immigration consequences, depends on the specific facts and how immigration authorities analyze the conviction. Anyone facing this charge who is not a U.S. citizen should consult an immigration attorney before accepting any plea.
Travel
Canada routinely denies entry to anyone with a felony conviction if the offense would be an indictable crime under Canadian law, and property damage offenses generally qualify. Other countries have varying rules, but Canada is the most commonly affected destination for New York residents.
Sealing the Conviction Later
Under CPL 160.59, you can apply to seal up to two eligible convictions once at least ten years have passed since the sentence was imposed or, if you served time, since your release. Time spent incarcerated does not count toward the ten-year wait. Criminal mischief in the third degree is an eligible offense.
You will be disqualified if you have more than two felony convictions total, have a pending criminal charge, or were convicted of any crime after the one you want sealed. Sealing does not erase the record entirely; law enforcement and certain licensing agencies can still see it. It does remove the conviction from standard background checks, which for most people is the point.