As used in this Article, the following terms mean:
A person enters or remains in or upon premises when he/she
is not licensed or privileged to do so. A person who, regardless of
his/her purpose, enters or remains in or upon premises which are at
the time open to the public does so with license and privilege unless
he/she defies a lawful order not to enter or remain, personally communicated
to him/her by the owner of such premises or by other authorized person.
A license or privilege to enter or remain in a building which is only
partly open to the public is not a license or privilege to enter or
remain in that part of the building which is not open to the public.
To interfere with something improperly, to meddle with it,
displace it, make unwarranted alterations in its existing condition,
or to deprive, temporarily, the owner or possessor of that thing.
An enterprise which provides gas, electric, steam, water,
sewage disposal, or communication, video, internet, or voice over
internet protocol services, and any common carrier. It may be either
publicly or privately owned or operated.
A.
A person commits the offense of tampering if he/she:
1.
Tampers with property of another for the purpose of causing
substantial inconvenience to that person or to another; or
2.
Unlawfully rides in or upon another's automobile, airplane,
motorcycle, motorboat or other motor-propelled vehicle; or
3.
Unlawfully authorizes, solicits, aids, abets or attempts any
of the following acts:
[R.O. 1992 § 220.010A(3) Ord. No.
1563-94 § 1 (220.010), 12-6-1994; Ord. No. 1804-00 § 1, 9-5-2000]
a.
Divert, or cause to be diverted, utility service by any means
whatsoever.
b.
Make or cause to be made, any connection or reconnection with
property owned or used by the utility to provide utility service without
the authorization or consent of the utility.
c.
Prevent any utility meter, or other device used in determining
the charge for utility service, from accurately performing its measuring
function by tampering or by any other means.
d.
Use or receive the direct benefit of all or a portion of the
utility service with knowledge of, or reason to believe, that the
diversion, tampering, or unauthorized connection existed at the time
of use, or that the use or receipt was without the authorization or
consent of the utility.
e.
Avoid the lawful charges, in whole or in part, for any utility
service, by the use of any fraudulent or deceptive scheme, device,
means, or method.
B.
In any prosecution under Subsection (A)(4), proof that a meter or
any other property of a utility has been tampered with, and the person
or persons accused received the use or direct benefit of the electric,
gas, steam or water service with one (1) or more of the effects described
in Subsection (A)(4), shall be sufficient to support an inference
which the trial court may submit to the trier of fact from which the
trier of fact may conclude that there has been a violation of such
Subsection by the person or persons who use or receive the direct
benefit of the electric, gas, steam or water service.
[1]
Note: Under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony
under state law.
[1]
Note: Under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony
under state law.
A.
A person does not commit an offense by damaging, tampering with,
operating, riding in or upon or making connection with property of
another if he/she does so under a claim of right and has reasonable
grounds to believe he/she has such a right.
B.
The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of claim
of right.
C.
No person who, as a tenant, willfully or wantonly destroys, defaces,
damages, impairs or removes any part of a leased structure or dwelling
unit, or the facilities, equipment or appurtenances thereof, may inject
the issue of claim of right.
A.
A person commits the offense of trespass in the first degree if he/she
knowingly enters unlawfully or knowingly remains unlawfully in a building
or inhabitable structure or upon real property.
B.
A person does not commit the offense of trespass by entering or remaining
upon real property unless the real property is fenced or otherwise
enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders or as to which
notice against trespass is given by:
A.
A
person commits the offense of trespass of a school bus if he/she knowingly
and unlawfully enters any part of or unlawfully operates any school
bus.
B.
For
the purposes of this Section, the terms "unlawfully enters" and "unlawfully
operates" refer to any entry or operation of a school bus which is
not:
A person commits the offense of reckless burning or exploding
if he/she recklessly starts a fire or causes an explosion and thereby
damages or destroys the property of another.
A.
A
person commits the offense of negligent burning or exploding if he/she
with criminal negligence causes damage to property or to the woodlands,
cropland, grassland, prairie, or marsh of another by:
A.
A person commits the offense of stealing if he/she:
1.
Appropriates property or services of another with the purpose
to deprive him/her thereof, either without his/her consent or by means
of deceit or coercion;
2.
Attempts to appropriate anhydrous ammonia or liquid nitrogen
of another with the purpose to deprive him/her thereof, either without
his/her consent or by means of deceit or coercion; or
3.
For the purpose of depriving the owner of a lawful interest
therein, receives, retains or disposes of property of another knowing
that it has been stolen, or believing that it has been stolen.
[1]
Note: Under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony
under state law.
A.
No person shall drive a motor vehicle so as to cause it to leave
the premises of an establishment at which motor fuel offered for retail
sale was dispensed into the fuel tank of such motor vehicle unless
payment or authorized charge for motor fuel dispensed has been made.
B.
A person found guilty or pleading guilty to stealing pursuant to Section 210.1110 for the theft of motor fuel as described in Subsection (A) shall have his/her driver's license suspended by the court beginning on the date of the court's order of conviction. The person shall submit all of his/her operator's and chauffeur's licenses to the court upon conviction and the court shall forward all such driver's licenses and the order of suspension of driving privileges to the Department of Revenue for administration of such order.
A.
A person commits the offense of fraudulent use of a credit device
or debit device if he/she uses a credit device or debit device for
the purpose of obtaining services or property, knowing that:
B.
A
person commits the offense of fraudulent use of a credit device or
debit device if he/she uses a credit device or debit device for the
purpose of paying property taxes and knowingly cancels such charges
or payment without just cause. It shall be prima facie evidence of
a violation of this Section if a person cancels such charges or payment
after obtaining a property tax receipt to obtain license tags from
the Missouri Department of Revenue.
[1]
Note: Under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony
under state law.
A.
A
person commits the offense of deceptive business practice if in the
course of engaging in a business, occupation or profession, he/she
recklessly:
1.
Uses or possesses for use a false weight or measure, or any other
device for falsely determining or recording any quality or quantity;
2.
Sells, offers, displays for sale, or delivers less than the represented
quantity of any commodity or service;
3.
Takes or attempts to take more than the represented quantity of any
commodity or service when as buyer he/she furnishes the weight or
measure;
4.
Sells, offers, or exposes for sale adulterated or mislabeled commodities;
5.
Makes a false or misleading written statement for the purpose of
obtaining property or credit;
6.
Promotes the sale of property or services by a false or misleading
statement in any advertisement; or
7.
Advertises in any manner the sale of property or services with the
purpose not to sell or provide the property or services:
A.
A person commits the offense of stealing leased or rented property
if, with the intent to deprive the owner thereof, such person:
1.
Purposefully fails to return leased or rented personal property
to the place and within the time specified in an agreement in writing
providing for the leasing or renting of such personal property;
2.
Conceals or aids or abets the concealment of the property from
the owner;
3.
Sells, encumbers, conveys, pawns, loans, abandons or gives away
the leased or rented property or any part thereof, without the written
consent of the lessor, or without informing the person to whom the
property is transferred to, that the property is subject to a lease;
4.
Returns the property to the lessor at the end of the lease term,
plus any agreed upon extensions, but does not pay the lease charges
agreed upon in the written instrument, with the intent to wrongfully
deprive the lessor of the agreed upon charges.
B.
The provisions of this Section shall apply to all forms of leasing
and rental agreements, including, but not limited to, contracts which
provide the consumer options to buy the leased or rented personal
property, lease-purchase agreements and rent-to-own contracts. For
the purpose of determining if a violation of this Section has occurred,
leasing contracts which provide options to buy the merchandise are
owned by the owner of the property until such time as the owner endorses
the sale and transfer of ownership of the leased property to the lessee.
C.
Evidence that a lessee used a false, fictitious, or not current name,
address, or place of employment in obtaining the property or that
a lessee fails or refuses to return the property or pay the lease
charges to the lessor within seven (7) days after written demand for
the return has been sent by certified mail, return receipt requested,
to the address the person set forth in the lease agreement, or in
the absence of the address, to the person's last known place of residence,
shall be evidence of intent to violate the provisions of this Section,
except that if a motor vehicle has not been returned within seventy-two
(72) hours after the expiration of the lease or rental agreement,
such failure to return the motor vehicle shall be prima facie evidence
of the intent of the offense of stealing leased or rented property.
Where the leased or rented property is a motor vehicle, if the motor
vehicle has not been returned within seventy-two (72) hours after
the expiration of the lease or rental agreement, the lessor may notify
the local law enforcement agency of the failure of the lessee to return
such motor vehicle, and the local law enforcement agency shall cause
such motor vehicle to be put into any appropriate State and local
computer system listing stolen motor vehicles. Any Law Enforcement
Officer which stops such a motor vehicle may seize the motor vehicle
and notify the lessor that he/she may recover such motor vehicle after
it is photographed and its vehicle identification number is recorded
for evidentiary purposes. Where the leased or rented property is not
a motor vehicle, if such property has not been returned within the
seven-day period prescribed in this Subsection, the owner of the property
shall report the failure to return the property to the local law enforcement
agency, and such law enforcement agency may within five (5) days notify
the person who leased or rented the property that such person is in
violation of this Section, and that failure to immediately return
the property may subject such person to arrest for the violation.
D.
This Section shall not apply if such personal property is a vehicle
and such return is made more difficult or expensive by a defect in
such vehicle which renders such vehicle inoperable if the lessee shall
notify the lessor of the location of such vehicle and such defect
before the expiration of the lease or rental agreement or within ten
(10) days after proper notice.
E.
Any person who has leased or rented personal property of another who destroys such property so as to avoid returning it to the owner commits the offense of property damage pursuant to Section 569.100, RSMo., or Section 210.1040 of this Code in addition to being in violation of this Section.
F.
Venue shall lie in the County where the personal property was originally
rented or leased.
[1]
Note: Under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony
under state law.
A.
MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENT
MERCHANDISE
MERCHANT
WRONGFUL TAKING
Definitions. As used in this Section, the following definitions shall
apply:
Any mercantile place of business in, at or from which goods,
wares and merchandise are sold, offered for sale or delivered from
and sold at retail or wholesale.
All goods, wares and merchandise offered for sale or displayed
by a merchant.
Any corporation, partnership, association or person who is
engaged in the business of selling goods, wares and merchandise in
a mercantile establishment.
Includes stealing of merchandise or money and any other wrongful
appropriation of merchandise or money.
B.
Any merchant, his/her agent or employee, who has reasonable grounds
or probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is committing
a wrongful taking of merchandise or money from a mercantile establishment,
may detain such person in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable
length of time for the purpose of investigating whether there has
been a wrongful taking of such merchandise or money. Any such reasonable
detention shall not constitute an unlawful arrest or detention, nor
shall it render the merchant, his/her agent or employee criminally
or civilly liable to the person so detained.
C.
Any person willfully concealing unpurchased merchandise of any mercantile establishment, either on the premises or outside the premises of such establishment, shall be presumed to have so concealed such merchandise with the intention of committing a wrongful taking of such merchandise within the meaning of Subsection (A), and the finding of such unpurchased merchandise concealed upon the person or among the belongings of such person shall be evidence of reasonable grounds and probable cause for the detention in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable length of time of such person by a merchant, his/her agent or employee in order that recovery of such merchandise may be effected, and any such reasonable detention shall not be deemed to be unlawful nor render such merchant, his/her agent or employee criminally or civilly liable.
