A woman selling computers from the back of a truck has computers with missing serial numbers. Police arrest the woman for knowingly selling property with altered serial numbers. Did officers act appropriately?

• A. Yes
• B. No, they should have charged Burglary
• C. No, they should have charged Fraud
• D. No, they should have charged Larceny

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is that serial numbers identify property and help show where it came from. Altering or removing those numbers to hide origin is illegal, and selling items with altered identifiers shows the seller is dealing in property with concealed origins. Because the officer charged the seller with knowingly selling property with altered serial numbers, the arrest fits the crime of dealing in or selling goods that have been tampered with to conceal theft or illicit origin. The other charges describe different crimes (burglary is breaking in, larceny is taking property, fraud involves deception) and don’t most accurately capture the act of selling goods with altered identifiers, which is why this charge is the appropriate one.