Someone told me that some judges like to set examples of people who steal by sending them to jail for 3 years for a first offense of a class...

Question

Someone told me that some judges like to set examples of people who steal by sending them to jail for 3 years for a first offense of a class B misdemeanor. Is this true? I thought the maximum penalty for a class b in Texas is up to 180 days in jail and/or up to $2000 in fines.

Answer

You are correct. The longest that a person can be sent to jail for a class B misdemeanor is 180 days. However multiple prior convictions of theft can be used to enhance what would be a class B misdemeanor to a felony. Multiple felony convictions can be used to further enhance felony convictions.

So it is possible that a person who commits a what would be a Class B misdemeanor theft to have that offense enhanced to 3 year prison sentence.