18-4-501. Colorado Criminal Mischief

Colorado Criminal Mischief

Colorado statute CRS 18-4-501—known as criminal mischief—occurs when a person knowingly and intentionally causes damage to someone else’s property, whether it’s personal property or real estate. This includes any property owned jointly between the person that caused the damage and someone else.

Penalties for Criminal Mischief in Colorado

Value of the Damage Caused	Classification	Penalty
Under $300	Petty Offense	Maximum of $300 in fines and/or 10 days in jail
Over $300 but under $1,000	Class 2 Misdemeanor	Maximum of $750 in fines and/or 120 days in jail
Over $1,000 but under $2,000	Class 1 Misdemeanor	Maximum of $1,000 in fines and/or 364 days in jail
Over $2,000 but under $5,000	Class 6 Felony	Fines between $1,000 and $100,000 and/or 1–1.5 years in prison
Over 5,000 but under $20,000	Class 5 Felony	Fines between $1,000 and $100,000 and/or 1–3 years in prison
Over $20,000 but under $100,000	Class 4 Felony	Fines between $2,000 and $500,000 and/or 2–6 years in prison
Over $100,000 but under $1 million	Class 3 Felony	Fines between $3,000 and $750,000 and/or 4–12 years in prison
$1 million or more	Class 2 Felony	Fines between $5,000 and $1 million and/or 8–24 years in prison
(Colo. Rev. Stat. § § 18-3-202, 18-3-203, 18-1.3-401, 18-1.3-406, 18-1.3-501.)

Value of the Damage Caused

Classification

Penalty

Under $300

Petty Offense

Maximum of $300 in fines and/or 10 days in jail

Over $300 but under $1,000

Class 2 Misdemeanor

Maximum of $750 in fines and/or 120 days in jail

Over $1,000 but under $2,000

Class 1 Misdemeanor

Maximum of $1,000 in fines and/or 364 days in jail

Over $2,000 but under $5,000

Class 6 Felony

Fines between $1,000 and $100,000 and/or 1–1.5 years in prison

Over 5,000 but under $20,000

Class 5 Felony

Fines between $1,000 and $100,000 and/or 1–3 years in prison

Over $20,000 but under $100,000

Class 4 Felony

Fines between $2,000 and $500,000 and/or 2–6 years in prison

Over $100,000 but under $1 million

Class 3 Felony

Fines between $3,000 and $750,000 and/or 4–12 years in prison

$1 million or more

Class 2 Felony

Fines between $5,000 and $1 million and/or 8–24 years in prison

(Colo. Rev. Stat. § § 18-3-202, 18-3-203, 18-1.3-401, 18-1.3-406, 18-1.3-501.)

The prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty of criminal mischief.

To do this, prosecutors must prove these elements:

You damaged the property in question.
The property damaged belonged to another person.
You caused the damage to the other person’s property deliberately

The best available defenses for criminal mischief in Colorado then are:

The defendant did not knowingly or intentionally cause the damage, and it was, in fact, an accident
The defendant damaged the property in a reasonable act of self-defense
The defendant was misidentified, and they were not the person that damaged the property
The defendant is a victim of a false accusation and did not damage the property in question
The defendant had nothing to do with the damage caused, or the damage was incurred previously to the defendant’s involvement

Colorado Revised Statutes, CRS 18-4-501:

18-4-501. Criminal mischief.

(1) A person commits criminal mischief when he or she knowingly damages the real or personal property of one or more other persons, including property owned by the person jointly with another person or property owned by the person in which another person has a possessory or proprietary interest, in the course of a single criminal episode.

(2) and (3) Repealed.

(4) Criminal mischief is:

(a) A class 3 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is less than three hundred dollars;

(b) A class 2 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is three hundred dollars or more but less than seven hundred fifty dollars;

(c) A class 1 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is seven hundred fifty dollars or more but less than one thousand dollars;

(d) A class 6 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one thousand dollars or more but less than five thousand dollars;

(e) A class 5 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is five thousand dollars or more but less than twenty thousand dollars;

(f) A class 4 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is twenty thousand dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand dollars;

(g) A class 3 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one hundred thousand dollars or more but less than one million dollars; and

(h) A class 2 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one million dollars or more.

CRS 18-4-501

Colorado Criminal Mischief

Penalties for Criminal Mischief in Colorado

Here Is What The Prosecution Must Prove to Convict You

Possible Defenses for Criminal Mischief in Colorado

Colorado Revised Statutes, CRS 18-4-501:

Have you been charged or arrested for criminal mischief in Colorado Springs or El Paso County?

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