Appropriation of Lost Property DefenseCalifornia Penal Code § 485

What counts as a violation of Penal code § 485?

Penal Code § 485 makes it a crime to appropriate (meaning to keep) lost property belonging to another person.

To avoid a conviction under Penal Code § 485 for appropriation of lost property, a person has a duty to first make reasonable efforts to find the true owner and to restore the property to the owner. If you fail to take these efforts before deciding to keep the property for yourself or to give the property to someone else, then you may be convicted under Penal Code § 485 for appropriation of lost property.  

However, if the circumstances do not give the “finder” any knowledge of the means or identity of the true owner, then the finder does not have a duty to try to find the true owner.

For example, you would not be convicted of appropriating lost property if you found a baseball hat floating on the surface of the water while taking a boat ride on a quiet lake. This would not be a crime because the finder would have no reasonable way of finding or identifying the true owner of the hat.

But you may be convicted of appropriating lost property if you found an expensive purse on the floor of a restaurant. This is because the circumstances would indicate to the “finder” that the true owner of the purse may be at the restaurant. Additionally, reasonable efforts to find the true owner would have been available – like asking a waiter if a customer forgot a purse.

What is the punishment for violating Penal code § 485?

Depending on the value of the lost property misappropriated, Penal Code § 485 can be treated as grand theft or petty theft.

If the value of the property was $950 or less, it will be a petty theft misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in jail and substantial court fines.

If the value of the property exceeds $950, the defendant can be charged with grand theft. Grand theft is itself a “wobbler” which means that it can be filed as a felony or a misdemeanor. Felony grand theft is punishable by up to three years in prison.

What are the defenses to Penal Code § 485?

• You had no way to identify the true owner
• You tried to find the true owner but you were unable to find the true owner
• You mistakenly thought the property belonged to you