Articles tagged: Property Destruction 

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Vandalism written by Darren Kavinoky
California law makes it a crime to deface, damage, or destroy the real or personal property belonging to another person. The crime is termed “vandalism,” which is a misdemeanor, unless the monetary damage is great, and then it is a felony. A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by a term in the county jail for no more than a year. A felony, on the other hand, is punished by a term in the state prison. Some vandalism crimes are referred to as “wobblers.” Wobblers are punishable as either a felony or a misdemeanor.

Recklessly Causing Fire written by Darren Kavinoky
Recklessly causing a fire is defined by California Penal Code Section 452 which states, “A person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he recklessly sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned, any structure, forest land or property.” Recklessness occurs when a person knows that one's actions have an unjustifiable risk of leading to a certain result, but did not care about that risk and acted anyway. The classification of this crime is a misdemeanor or a felony.

Intro to Property Destruction written by Darren Kavinoky
Property damage is punishable under the law by fines, imprisonment, and community service. Property damage means many things, from scrawling graffiti on a park bench, hitting something with your car, to causing a fire which damages property. Property damage can be minor to very great. The level of damage will increase the fines and the amount of imprisonment. Convictions for property damage may be misdemeanors, felonies, or “wobblers.”

Arson written by Darren Kavinoky
Arson is considered a general intent crime. This means that the defendant need not have intended the specific results, namely the burning of a structure, forest land, or property. What matters are the actions that the defendant undertook that caused such a result. Generally, a person cannot commit “arson” against his own property, unless there is intent to defraud or where there is injury to someone else’s body or property.

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