A woman waiting for the bus has her wallet containing $45 stolen from her pocket; a man nearby stops the thief. Is this an example of grand theft, petty theft, or robbery?

• A. Petty theft
• B. Grand theft (felony)
• C. Robbery
• D. Misdemeanor grand theft

Answer: (D)

The key idea is how theft is categorized based on force used and the value of what's stolen. Robbery is theft accomplished with force, intimidation, or fear against the person. Here, the wallet is taken from a person’s pocket without any indication of threats or violence, so it’s not robbery.

The amount matters for how theft is labeled. Grand theft is typically a felony, charged when property is above a certain value threshold. Petty theft is usually a misdemeanor for property below that threshold. In this scenario the wallet contained $45, which is a small amount. Some statutes don’t place this value in grand theft as a felony; instead, they classify it as a misdemeanor grand theft, a separate category used in certain jurisdictions for theft of modest value without meeting the felony threshold. Because the theft involved a minor amount and no force, the situation fits the jurisdictional label of misdemeanor grand theft rather than felony grand theft, and it’s certainly not robbery.

The bystander who stops the thief doesn’t change the crime to robbery; the classification hinges on whether force was used and on the value of the property stolen. So the most fitting label in this context is misdemeanor grand theft.