Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed legislation on Tuesday that will toughen penalties for retail and package theft in Florida.
Package theft will now be considered a third-degree felony if the item is worth $40 or more, a third-degree felony for a subsequent violation, and a first-degree misdemeanor for property worth less than $40.
“If you order something and they leave it at your front door, you come home from work or you bring your kids home from school, the package is gonna be there, and if it’s not, someone is gonna have hell to pay for stealing it,” DeSantis said.
The retail theft clauses will include harsher penalties if five or more criminals work together to steal and if social media is used to carry out the crime. Those provisions will look to cut down on “flash mob thefts,” when groups organize online, flood stores, and overwhelm
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