Injury to Personal Property
Injury to Personal Property is a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable up to 60 days in the county jail. When married couples or intimate partners break each other’s personal property intentionally, they are frequently arrested and charged with injury to personal property. To be guilty of this offense, one willfully or wantonly injures the personal property of another. There is generally no spousal immunity to this. Keep in mind that personal property would include diamond rings, jewelry, televisions, dvds, firearms, kitchen equipment, clothes, motor vehicles, power tools, toys, computers, books, furniture, magazines, and any other commonly encountered property that is not a fixture.
Cameron and Michael are living together. They have been in a relationship for 3 years now. Cameron is a cocktail waitress at an exclusive club while Michael is a dermatologist working days at the university hospital. For Michael’s birthday, Cameron buys him an extremely expensive Rolex watch. Michael starts to wear the watch every day. One day, Cameron gets extremely angry and she snatches the Rolex she had given Michael and stomps on it. She breaks the watch and hurls it across the room. Michael calls the police, and Cameron is arrested for injury to personal property. Now she is facing up to 60 days in jail for her actions. Please note that it does not matter that Cameron gave the watch to Michael as a gift from her originally. Once a gift is given, the giver of the gift no longer retains any possessory right in the item.