Title 16, Crimes and Offenses

A first offense shoplifting prosecution or second offense resulting in a conviction shall be reported by the magistrate or city recorder hearing the case to the Communications and Records Division of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division which shall keep a record of such co…

It is permissible to infer that any person wilfully concealing unpurchased goods or merchandise of any store or other mercantile establishment either on the premises or outside the premises of the store has concealed the article with the intention of converting it to his own use …

The offense created by Section 16-13-110 and the inferences provided in Section 16-13-120 are not exclusive and are in addition to previously existing offenses and those rights and presumptions as were heretofore provided by law.

(A) It is unlawful for a person to create or conspire with another person to create a product code for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining goods or merchandise from a merchant at less than its actual sale price. (B) It is unlawful for a person to commit or conspire with another…

(A) As used in this section: (1) "Organized retail crime" means two or more people conspiring to commit theft of retail property from a retail establishment with the intent to sell, barter, exchange, or reenter such retail property into commerce for monetary or other gain. (2) "R…

In any action brought by reason of having been delayed by a merchant or merchant's employee or agent on or near the premises of a mercantile establishment for the purpose of investigation concerning the ownership of any merchandise, it shall be a defense to such action if: (1) Th…

(A) It is unlawful for any person to falsify or alter a transcript, a diploma, or the high school equivalency diploma known as the GED from any high school, college, university, or technical college of this State, from the South Carolina Department of Education, or from any other…

It is unlawful for a person to snatch suddenly and carry away from another a purse or other thing of value with intent to deprive the owner or person lawfully in possession of the article in circumstances not constituting grand larceny or robbery. A person who violates the provis…

(A) It is unlawful for a person to: (1) break or attempt to break into a motor vehicle or its compartment with the intent to steal it or anything of value from it, or attached or annexed to it, or used in connection with it or in the perpetration of any criminal offense; or (2) b…

(A) It is unlawful for a person to: (1) knowingly and intentionally import, manufacture, sell, offer for sale, install, or reinstall in a motor vehicle, a counterfeit airbag, a nonfunctional airbag, or an object that the person knows was not designed to comply with Federal Motor …

It is unlawful for a person to: (1) enter, without breaking, or attempt to enter a house or vessel, with intent to steal or commit any other crime; or (2) conceal himself in a house or vessel, with intent to commit a crime. A person who violates the provisions of this section is …

(A) In addition to the penalties for larceny of property, the motor vehicle used in the commission of the larceny may be confiscated and forfeited to the jurisdiction where the larceny occurred if the offender is the registered owner of the motor vehicle and the offender used the…

(A) In addition to the penalties provided by law, when an offense in violation of Section 16-11-580, 16-13-30, 16-13-230, or 16-13-240 involves timber theft valued in excess of five thousand dollars, all motor vehicles, conveyances, tractors, trailers, watercraft, vessels, tools,…

(A) It is unlawful for a person to buy, receive, or possess stolen goods, chattels, or other property if the person knows or has reason to believe the goods, chattels, or property is stolen. A person is guilty of this offense whether or not anyone is convicted of the property the…

Any person who has been injured or suffered damages because of a violation of Section 16-13-180 may bring an action in the circuit court against the person convicted of the violation for three times the amount of damages suffered, if any, plus costs of the action and reasonable a…

(A) No person shall drive a motor vehicle so as to cause it to leave the premises of an establishment at which gasoline offered for retail sale was dispensed into the fuel tank of the motor vehicle unless due payment or authorized charge for the gasoline so dispensed has been mad…

(A) It is unlawful for an officer or other person charged with the safekeeping, transfer, and disbursement of public funds to embezzle these funds. (B) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a: (1) felony and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discr…

In trials under Section 16-13-210, upon production of evidence tending to prove that any such officer or other person has received public funds and failed to account for the funds as required by law, it is permissible to infer that the funds received and unaccounted for have been…

(A) A person committing a breach of trust with a fraudulent intention or a person who hires or counsels another person to commit a breach of trust with a fraudulent intention is guilty of larceny. (B) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a: (1) misdem…

A person who by false pretense or representation obtains the signature of a person to a written instrument or obtains from another person any chattel, money, valuable security, or other property, real or personal, with intent to cheat and defraud a person of that property is guil…

If upon the trial of any person indicted for a misdemeanor under the provisions of Section 16-13-240 it shall be proved that he obtained the property in such a manner as to amount in law to larceny he shall not, by reason thereof, be entitled to be acquitted of such misdemeanor. …

A person who falsely and deceitfully obtains or gets into his hands or possession any money, goods, chattels, jewels, or other things of another person by color and means of any false token or counterfeit letter made in another person's name is guilty of a: (1) felony and, upon c…

It is unlawful for a person, with intent to defraud either the State, a county, or municipal government or any person, to act as an officer and demand, obtain, or receive from a person or an officer of the State, county, or municipal government any money, paper, document, or othe…

(A) Simple larceny of any article of goods, choses in action, bank bills, bills receivable, chattels, or other article of personalty of which by law larceny may be committed, or of any fixture, part, or product of the soil severed from the soil by an unlawful act, or has a value …

Whoever, with intent to defraud, removes or secretes personal property which has been attached or levied on by the sheriff or any other officer authorized by law to make such attachment or levy shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by imprisonme…

Any person who shall take any record from the office of the clerk of the court, judge of probate or master in equity without the consent of the officer having control of such record shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of fifty …

Whoever shall (a) inveigle or entice by any arts or devices any person to play at cards, dice or any other game or bear a share or part in the stakes, wagers or adventures or bet on the sides or hands of such as do or shall play as aforesaid, (b) sell, barter or expose to sale an…

Any person who shall steal or unlawfully take or wilfully or maliciously write upon, cut, tear, deface, disfigure, soil, obliterate, break or destroy, or who shall sell or buy or receive, knowing it to have been stolen, any book, pamphlet, document, newspaper, periodical, map, ch…

Whoever, without authority, with the intention of depriving the library or archive of the ownership of such property, wilfully conceals a book or other library or archive property, while still on the premises of such library or archive, or wilfully or without authority removes an…

A library or agent or employee of the library causing the arrest of any person pursuant to the provisions of Section 16-13-331 shall not be held civilly liable for unlawful detention, slander, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, false arrest, or assault and battery of the …

Whoever borrows from any county library or municipal, school, college or other institutional library or gallery, museum, collection or exhibition any book, newspaper, magazine, manuscript, pamphlet, publication, recording, film or other article belonging to or in the care of such…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any criminal prosecution where a credit card currently in force is the subject of a larceny, the value of the same shall be prima facie presumed to be greater than fifty dollars. As used in this section "credit card" shall mean an id…

Every county library or municipal, school, college or other institutional library or gallery, museum, collection or exhibition or any such institution belonging to any incorporated college or library or belonging to any incorporated institution devoted to educational, scientific,…

Any and all fines collected pursuant to the terms of Sections 16-13-330 and 16-13-340 shall be paid into the fund of the county library or municipal, school, college or other institutional library or gallery, museum, collection or exhibition injured by the act of the person so fi…

The provisions of Sections 16-13-330 to 16-13-360 are not intended as a substitute for or a replacement of any penalties now provided by law, but shall be considered accumulative and in addition thereto.

Any person who (a) has no contract, agreement, license, or permission with or from any person authorized to manufacture, sell, or use electricity for the purpose of light, heat, or power or with or from any authorized agent of the person for the use of electrical current belongin…

(A) It is unlawful for an unauthorized person to alter, tamper with, or bypass a meter which has been installed for the purpose of measuring the use of electricity, gas, or water. A meter found in a condition which would cause electricity, gas, or water to be diverted from the re…

Any person who (a) has a contract, agreement, license or permission, oral or written, with or from any person authorized to manufacture, sell or use electricity for the purpose of light, heat or power or with or from any authorized agent of such person for the use of the electric…

(A) It is unlawful for a person to steal or take by robbery a bond, warrant, bill, or promissory note for the payment or securing the payment of money belonging to another. (B) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a: (1) misdemeanor triable in magistr…

Any person who knowingly avoids or attempts to avoid, or causes another to avoid, the lawful charges or payments, in whole or in part, for any telecommunications service or for the transmission of a message, signal, or other telecommunication over telephone or telegraph facilitie…

(1) Any person who knowingly makes or possesses any device or any plans or instructions for making the same which can be used to violate the provisions of Section 16-13-400 or to conceal from any supplier of telecommunication service the existence, origin or destination of any te…

(A) A person having any property in his possession or under his control by virtue of a lease or rental agreement is guilty of larceny if he: (1) wilfully and fraudulently fails to return the property within seventy-two hours after the lease or rental agreement has expired; (2) fr…

(A) It is unlawful for a person to: (1) obtain, attempt to obtain, aid, abet, or assist any person to obtain, by means of a false statement or representation, false impersonation, fictitious transfer, conveyance, or other fraudulent device, food stamps or coupons to which an appl…

It is unlawful for a person knowingly to make a false statement or representation with respect to the person's individual or family income to a public housing agency in obtaining or retaining public housing or with respect to the determination of rent due from the person for publ…

(A) It is unlawful for a person to give a false or fictitious name or address, or to give the name or address of another person without that person's approval, for the purpose of obtaining or attempting to obtain a refund from a business establishment for merchandise. A person wh…

(1) It is unlawful for any person to sell or issue, or to offer to sell or issue, in this State any identification card or document purporting to contain the age or date of birth of the person in whose name it was issued unless: (a) Prior to selling or issuing an identification c…