California Codes
Cal. Penal Code § 490 (2026)
✓ current as of May 2026
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Petty theft is punishable by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or both.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 32
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1884–2025 · leading case: United States v. Moses Corona-Sanchez, A/K/A Enrique Sanchez-Corona, 291 F.3d 1201 (9th Cir. 2002).
United States v. Moses Corona-Sanchez, A/K/A Enrique Sanchez-Corona, 291 F.3d 1201 (9th Cir. 2002). “See Cal.Penal Code § 490. Thus, on its face, a conviction for petty theft under California Penal Code §§ 484(a) and 488 does not qualify as an aggravated felony under federal sentencing law.”
Ewing v. California, 538 U.S. 11 (2003). “63, authorizes the treatment of otherwise misdemeanor conduct, see Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 490 (West 1999), as a felony only when the offender has previously committed a property crime.”
Leandro Andrade v. Attorney Gen. of the State of California Ernest B. Roe, Warden, 270 F.3d 743 (9th Cir. 2001). “CaLPenal Code § 490; see also CaLPenal Code § 487 (defining grand theft as theft over $400).”
Castillo-Cruz v. Holder, 581 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2009). “California Penal Code Section 490 states that “Petty theft is punishable by fíne not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or both.”
Pedro Jose Hernandez-Cruz v. Eric H. Holder Jr., 651 F.3d 1094 (9th Cir. 2011). “The theft offense that was dismissed in each of the two prosecutions at issue in this case was punishable by no more than a year in jail, see Cal.Penal Code §§ 490 & 666, *1111 whereas Hernandez-Cruz was sentenced to 16 months for the burglary offenses.”
People v. George B., 91 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 2163 (Cal. Ct. App. 1991). “(Pen. Code, § 490.) Grand theft of anything except a firearm, on the other hand, is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for one year or in the state prison for sixteen months, two years or three years.”
People v. Jovan B., 863 P.2d 673 (Cal. 1993). “1), plus six months for the petty theft (Pen. Code, § 490). 5 New wardship petitions may be filed against the minor for crimes committed before July 29, 1994, when he turns 18.”
Michael Wayne Riggs v. J.W. Fairman, Jr., Warden, 399 F.3d 1179 (9th Cir. 2005). “Cal. Penal Code § 490 . However, Riggs had previously been convicted of four counts of robbery in 1988.”
United States v. Duval, 496 F.3d 64 (1st Cir. 2007). “Thus, the Ninth Circuit found that a prior conviction for petty theft in California, which provides for a maximum sentence of six months, Cal.Penal Code § 490, could not be a felony conviction even though the defendant had been subject to California’s repeat offender statute…”
United States v. Rivera, 658 F.3d 1073 (9th Cir. 2011). “3d at 1210 (citing CaLPenal Code § 490), and, in determining whether a state offense is an aggravated felony, courts “must consider the sentence available for the crime itself, without considering separate recidivist sentencing enhancements,” id.”
In re Wright, 422 P.2d 998 (Cal. 1967). “Code, § 489]) and an offense subject to a greater penalty but not listed in the habitual criminal statute (e.g., issuing a cheek without sufficient funds, with a maximum term of 14 years [Pen.”
G. C. v. Garland, 136 F.4th 832 (9th Cir. 2024). “’s petty theft conviction was punishable by a maximum of six months imprisonment, see Cal. Penal Code § 490 , the government argues that review is not precluded by § 1252(a)(2)(C).”
— Cal. Penal Code § 490(a) — 1 case
Burlington Indus., Inc. v. Wilson (In Re Wilson), 114 B.R. 249 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. 1990).
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