Palm Beach County Criminal Mischief Lawyer West Palm Beach Criminal Mischief - Florida Criminal Mischief Attorney

WEST PALM BEACH COUNTY
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF LAWYER

Palm Beach County criminal mischief accusations occur for a variety of reasons. Sometimes kids or young adults are burning off youthful energy vandalizing things, other times we see couples that have a heated argument and something gets broken and occasionally someone is mad, drunk or clumsy and something randomly gets broken. The alleged victims of Palm Beach County criminal mischief are usually upset about their property being damaged. They become a thorn in the side of the prosecutor and often want their pound of flesh. This is why you need an experienced Palm Beach County criminal mischief lawyer. Under Florida law, criminal mischief or vandalism is defined as the wilful and malicious destruction of property belonging to another person. As the value of the property or cost of repair increase so do the consequences. It is important to remember just because the property damaged is very expensive doesn’t mean you have to replace the entire value. The cost to return the property to its original condition is all that applies.

Criminal mischief with damages under $200 is a second degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail, 6 months of probation, $500 fine, court cost and cost of prosecution. Criminal mischief with damages greater than $200 but less than $1,000 can be charged as a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail, 12 months of probation, $1,000 fine, court cost and cost of prosecution. Criminal mischief with damages over $1,000 or a second criminal mischief can be charged as a third degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison, 60 months of DOC probation, $5,000 fine, court cost and cost of prosecution. If arrested for criminal mischief you can post a cash bond or use a bondsman.