Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.140 (2026)

Theft of mail matter

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) A person is guilty of theft of mail matter when with intent to deprive the owner thereof he or she: (a) Steals; (b) By fraud or deception obtains; (c) Embezzles; (d) Conceals; (e) Damages; or (f) Destroys; any mail matter of another (including but not limited to any letter, postal card, package, bag, or other item) from any letterbox, mail receptacle, or other authorized depository for mail matter, or from a letter carrier, postal vehicle, or private mail box or which has been left for collection or delivery adjacent thereto by the United States Postal Service, common carrier, or delivery service. (2) Theft of mail matter is a Class D felony. Effective: July 14, 2022 History: Amended 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 97, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2022. -- Created 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 425, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1982.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1988–2021 · leading case: Cooley v. Commonwealth, 821 S.W.2d 90 (Ky. 1991).
Cooley v. Commonwealth, 821 S.W.2d 90 (Ky. 1991). · cites it 3× “A number of Kentucky statutes provide alternative means of committing an offense.”
Commonwealth v. Griffin, 759 S.W.2d 68 (Ky. 1988). “150 relating to the possession of stolen mail, and KRS 514.140 relating to the theft of mail matter, that these statutes are designed to protect the owner of the mail.”
Jonathan F. Davis v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. 2021). · cites it 3× “” 5 It is notable that KRS 514.140 uses the disjunctive or several times to establish multiple equally legitimate circumstantial bases for a conviction, practically listing a range of familiar circumstances.”
Courtney Lightner v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2021). “1 KRS 514.140 (“Theft of mail matter”) reads: (1) A person is guilty of theft of mail matter when with intent to deprive the owner thereof [s]he: (a) Steals; (b) By fraud or deception obtains; (c) Embezzles; (d) Conceals; (e) Damages; or (f) Destroys; any mail matter of another…”
Hill v. Tischbein (E.D. Ky. 2021). “In all, Plaintiffs allege one count of slander of title, one count of trespass to real property, one count of trespass to chattels, and one count of a violation of KRS 514.140, while also requesting injunctive relief from the affidavit and trespass to property.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.140(1) — 1 case
Jonathan F. Davis v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. 2021). “” 5 It is notable that KRS 514.140 uses the disjunctive or several times to establish multiple equally legitimate circumstantial bases for a conviction, practically listing a range of familiar circumstances.”
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