Stealing Under RSMo 570.030: Charges, Penalties, and Priors

Missouri stealing charges and penalties are graded under RSMo 570.030 by three things: the dollar value of what was taken, the type of property involved, and whether you have prior stealing convictions. The lightest charge is a Class D misdemeanor with a fine and no jail time. The heaviest is a Class B felony carrying five to fifteen years in prison. Everything else falls between those two points, and small details, like whether the item was a firearm or whether you have three old shoplifting convictions, can move a case several tiers.

What Missouri Treats as Stealing

You commit stealing in Missouri if you take someone else’s property or services with the intent to permanently deprive them of it, and you do so without consent or by deception or coercion.¹ The same statute also covers receiving stolen property, obtaining property through false representation, and keeping property delivered to you by mistake once you know the owner didn’t intend you to have it. Intent is what separates a criminal case from a misunderstanding; if you didn’t mean to keep the property, the offense doesn’t fit.

How Dollar Value Sets the Charge

For ordinary property, the charge level tracks the value of what was taken:¹

Under $150, first offense, ordinary property: Class D misdemeanor.
Under $750 but not qualifying for a Class D misdemeanor (a prior stealing record, or value between $150 and $749): Class A misdemeanor.
$750 or more: Class D felony.
$25,000 or more: Class C felony.

There is no general dollar threshold that produces a Class B felony. Class B stealing is reserved for particular property types or repeat-offender situations, described below.

Property That Triggers a Felony Regardless of Value

Certain items carry a Class D felony no matter what they are worth. A $200 handgun and a $500 truck are treated the same as $750 in cash. The list includes:¹

Any motor vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft.
Firearms.
Credit devices, debit devices, or letters of credit.
Any pleading, judgment, or other original court record.
Livestock, or captive wildlife held under a conservation permit.
Controlled substances.
Wire, electrical transformers, or pipes used to transmit electricity, telecommunications, or natural gas.
Ammonium nitrate, or materials taken with intent to manufacture methamphetamine or amphetamine.

When Stealing Becomes a Class B Felony

The top-tier charge applies in six specific situations:¹

Theft of anhydrous ammonia or liquid nitrogen, in any amount.
Livestock or captive wildlife theft over $3,000 by someone with a prior conviction for stealing livestock or captive wildlife. A mandatory minimum requires serving 80% of the sentence before any early release.
Theft of a motor vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft by someone with two or more prior stealing convictions on separate occasions within the past ten years.
Livestock valued over $10,000.
Taking property from a person at a financial institution.
Organized retail theft where the combined value of property taken and damage caused reaches $10,000 or more.

Organized retail theft between $750 and $10,000 is a Class C felony, and stealing an ATM or its contents is a Class C felony regardless of how much cash was inside.¹

How Prior Convictions Change the Charge

Missouri escalates repeat offenders. Three stealing-related convictions on three separate occasions within the past ten years turn any new stealing charge that would otherwise be a misdemeanor into a Class E felony.¹ A fourth theft of a $20 item can send someone to prison rather than county jail. For vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft, two priors within ten years push the charge all the way to a Class B felony, as noted above.

Prison Terms and Fines by Class

Each offense class has its own ceiling for imprisonment and fines:

On any felony conviction, the court can also impose a fine equal to double the amount the offender gained from the crime, even if that figure exceeds $10,000.³ In large theft cases the double-the-gain figure can dwarf the standard cap.

Restitution to the Victim

Fines are paid to the state. Restitution is separate, and it goes directly to the victim. A Missouri court can order you to pay the value of unrecovered property, any damage to the victim’s property, and the victim’s reasonable expenses tied to participating in the prosecution.⁴ The court sets the amount and makes it a condition of the sentence. Missing restitution payments can trigger a probation violation.

How Long Prosecutors Have to File

Under RSMo 556.036, felony stealing has a three-year statute of limitations and misdemeanor stealing has a one-year limit, measured from the date of the offense.⁵ Charges filed after those windows are time-barred. The three-year window can be tight in embezzlement cases that surface long after the underlying conduct.

Clearing the Record Later

Missouri allows a petition for expungement, but the wait is long. For a misdemeanor stealing conviction, you must wait at least three years after completing your sentence, probation, and all fines and restitution. For a felony stealing conviction, the wait is seven years.⁶

During the waiting period you cannot pick up any new misdemeanor or felony convictions, traffic infractions aside. You must have finished all obligations from the original sentence, have no pending charges, and show that your conduct no longer poses a threat to public safety.⁶

There is also a lifetime cap: no more than two misdemeanors and one felony can be expunged total. And even after an expungement is granted, the record must still be disclosed on applications for professional licenses, gaming-related employment, law enforcement positions, and jobs at federally insured financial institutions.⁷

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

The prison term and fine are often not the heaviest part of a stealing case. A felony conviction in Missouri permanently bars you from jury service and from running for elected public office.⁷ Missouri law does not restrict employers from running background checks, and most felonies are reportable. Professional licensing boards for nursing, accounting, real estate, and law commonly require “good moral character,” and a theft conviction raises an immediate flag.

Housing brings its own hurdles. Public housing authorities can deny applicants with a criminal history involving crimes that could affect other residents. Federal guidance calls for case-by-case review and consideration of rehabilitation, but the process adds delay and uncertainty for anyone trying to secure housing after release.⁷

1
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 570.030 – Stealing
2
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.011 – Sentence of Imprisonment, Terms
3
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.002 – Fines for Felonies
4
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 559.105 – Restitution
5
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 556.036 – Statute of Limitations
6
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 610.140 – Expungement of Certain Records
7
Missouri State Public Defender. Missouri Collateral Consequences of Felony Record