Dallas Theft Defense Lawyer

Deandra Grant Law is a Dallas theft defense law firm defending theft charges in Dallas and throughout Dallas County. Texas grades theft by the value alleged: under $100 is a Class C ticket, $100 to $750 a Class B misdemeanor, $750 to $2,500 a Class A, $2,500 to $30,000 a state jail felony, and the felony degrees climb from there to a first-degree felony at $300,000. Two prior theft convictions make any new theft a state jail felony regardless of value, and a shoplifting case at NorthPark Center, Galleria Dallas, or Town East Mall is charged under the same statute as any other theft. Misdemeanors are heard in the County Criminal Courts and felonies in the Criminal District Courts, both at the Frank Crowley Courts Building.

The evidence in a Dallas theft case is usually assembled before an officer arrives: loss-prevention video, a written statement from the store, receipts, and a value figure the store supplies. Each of those can be tested. Retailers overstate value, video rarely shows what the report claims, and the intent to deprive has to be proven, not assumed. The civil demand letter that arrives afterward, under Chapter 134 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is a separate matter from the criminal case, and paying it neither ends the charge nor admits it.

What makes a theft charge worth fighting is what follows it. Theft is a crime of moral turpitude in Texas, which is how employers, licensing boards, apartment screeners, and immigration officers read it, and even a Class B conviction shows on a background check for life. The Dallas theft lawyer on your case works toward a resolution that leaves no conviction on the record where the evidence allows it, and tries the case where it does not. Managing partner Deandra Grant is a former Dallas County prosecutor with more than 30 years of trial experience, partner Douglas Huff is an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist with digital forensics training, and both work eight minutes from Frank Crowley at our Oak Lawn office. Our Texas theft guide covers the statute; this page covers how it plays out in Dallas.

We defend theft cases from every corner of Dallas County: Dallas itself plus Garland, Irving, Mesquite, Grand Prairie, Carrollton, Richardson, Rowlett, DeSoto, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, and Lancaster. A shoplifting arrest at a mall, a theft charge out of a traffic stop, or a felony theft indictment all land in the same building, the Frank Crowley Courts Building, and that is a building we work in every week.

Every charge we defend here has its own walkthrough: Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer, Dallas DWI Lawyer, Dallas Domestic Violence Lawyer, Dallas Assault Lawyer, Dallas Drug Crimes Lawyer, Dallas Sex Crimes Lawyer, Dallas Weapons Charge Lawyer, and Dallas Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer. The courthouse, the jail, and the bond process are covered in our Dallas County court guide.

North Dallas, NorthPark, and the Galleria

The county’s two largest retail centers sit in the Dallas Police North Central Division. A shoplifting detention there ends with a citation or a booking at Lew Sterrett depending on the value, and the store’s loss-prevention file becomes the State’s case. Our Oak Lawn office is about 15 minutes down the Dallas North Tollway.

Downtown, Uptown, and Deep Ellum

Theft cases from the central business district, from a walk-out at a restaurant to a stolen phone in Deep Ellum, are Dallas Police Central Division cases filed with the Dallas County DA. Our office is about 10 minutes away on Oak Lawn Avenue.

Oak Cliff and South Dallas

Southwest and South Central Division arrests make up a large share of the county’s theft and burglary docket. Those cases follow the same path through Lew Sterrett and Frank Crowley, and our office is about 15 minutes away up I-35E.

Irving and Grand Prairie

An Irving PD theft arrest is a Dallas County case, booked through the Irving city jail before it is filed with the Dallas County DA. Grand Prairie, home of the Premium Outlets, sits in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties, so the address on the offense report decides whether the case is heard in Dallas, Fort Worth, or Waxahachie. Our Irving page covers the city.

Garland and Firewheel

Garland police book through the Garland city jail before a case is filed in Dallas County, and Firewheel Town Center produces a steady share of the shoplifting docket. Every one of those cases is set at Frank Crowley.

Mesquite and Town East

Mesquite PD works Town East Mall and the I-30 corridor. A Mesquite theft arrest books at the Mesquite jail, and the case is filed with the Dallas County DA and heard at Frank Crowley, about 20 minutes from our office.

Richardson, Carrollton, and the Park Cities

Richardson and Carrollton straddle county lines, so which side of the line the store sits on decides whether the case is filed in Dallas, Collin, or Denton County. Highland Park Village cases are Dallas County cases a few minutes from our office. Our Richardson, Carrollton, and Highland Park pages cover the lines.

Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, and Lancaster

The southern suburbs each run their own police department and their own jail, and every one of them files with the Dallas County DA. The Dallas County court guide covers the building, the bond process, and what to expect at the first setting.