I hope this message finds you well, present circumstances excluded. A violation of California Penal Code Section 496(a) is actually considered to be a serious Misdemeanor and is punishable by fine as well as up to one year in the county prison. As a matter of course, when a person is convicted of such a crime, they rarely receive jail time if they do not have any prior offenses, or a relatively clean record.

What should you do about this?

You certainly need to obtain an attorney to help defend you in this case. If the case is pretty solid against you, having an attorney familiar with this particular judge and court system as well as prosecutors may help to have the charge either reduced or have the penalties passed down at a very low level.

What if you cannot afford an attorney?

You need to contact the court in which you are charged before and request that they appoint a public defender to your case. This is a constitutional right and therefore one will be appointed to your case.

How bad can the punishment be for this?

Up to one year in prison in the county of conviction. You may be assessed court costs and fees. The person to whom the property belonged can also petition the court to assess fees to be paid to them up to three times the value of the item in question that was misappropriated.

I wish you the best going forward and appreciate the opportunity to assist you in this matter.