Have you been caught while slashing tires and frightened of being charged with felony then lets see Is Slashing Tires a Felony And Can You Go To Jail?

This guide is about Is Slashing Tires Considered a Felony? where you will learn about different charges, fines and penalties for slashing someone tires.

Is Slashing Tires a Felony?

No slashing tires is not considered a felony; it comes under criminal mischief and the charges imposed on you depend on the total damage cost of the victim. If it is greater or equal to the $1000 then you are charged with a felony otherwise you are charged with a misdemeanor.

Unfortunately if you go to the court then it is possible that you can get probation, fine  and you are forced to make restitution for the tires that you have slashed. The worst condition that you can face is ending up in prison but this when you have a criminal past.

Scroll down if you want to learn in detail that Is Slashing Tires Considered Felony? Reading this article will be worthwhile for you.

Is Slashing Tires Considered a Felony

Is Slashing Tires Considered a Felony? [Detailed]

What Types of Crime Could be Imposed on You for Slashing Someone Tires?

You can be impose criminal mischief or  disorderly conduct depending on jurisdiction and in which state you are present in the United states. Along this your intention and the seriousness of the crime define that in which level you fall in.

Property Damage

We first understand the action of slashing a tire then we get into that is Slashing Tires a Felony?

Slashing those tires which are not yours means you are intruding into someone’s property and it is a legal crime. If you had any misconception about this  before then it should be cleared now. So if you puncture someone’s tire it means you have intruded into someone’s property and damage it.

Vandalism

As we already know, slashing someone’s tires means intruding into someone’s property and damaging it. Act of slashing a tire actually comes under the act of vandalism. So if you slash or puncture someone’s tires it means you intrude into someone’s property and vandalize it.

Criminal Mischief

What is considered a mischief

If you are in the United States and do crime then the crime is considered to be a mischief unless your intention becomes the reason for any property damage, alteration, defacement and destruction of property. The graffiti and vandalism are common examples of mischief.

Every country has its own sets of rules and regulations. So when you damage someone property they mention this crime according to their state terminology. In some countries, when you damage someone property it comes under the action of criminal mischief.

Further according to the seriousness of crime this “criminal mischief” is further divided into 3 categories.

These are:

  1. First Degree
  2. Second Degree
  3. Third Degree

Elements of criminal mischief

Elements of criminal mischief include your behavior and intentions that how negligently, carelessly, purposely and deliberately you vandalize someone’s property. When your intention and behavior are decided then you fall into the particular category of criminal mischief.

Disorderly Conduct

In some jurisdictions in the United states when you vandalize someone’s property then this crime is also known as disorderly conduct. As criminal mischief has different levels of categories the same as disorderly conduct has also different levels of categories defined after the intention and the seriousness of the crime you do.

Element of the disorderly conduct

The elements of disorderly conduct includes behavior and intention of yours that how negligently, carelessly, purposely and deliberately you damage someone property. When your intention and behavior are decided then you fall into the particular category of disorderly conduct crime.

Your intention and seriousness of crime can easily be defined by how negligently, carelessly, purposely and deliberately you slash someone’s tires which do not belong to you that can cause a vehicle unsafe to drive.

What Types of Criminal Charges Could be Brought Against Someone for Slashing Tires?

Criminal charges brought against you for slashing tires depend upon the amount of the damage,  reasons that provokes you to do that and crime that you do result as a provocation.

When you slash or puncture someone’s tire then the criminal charges brought against you for slashing tires depend on 3 things.

  • Amount of the damage done by you
  • What is the reason that provokes you to do that?
  • As a result of provocation what you do

Amount of the damage

Amount of damage can easily be determined by collecting all of the damage altogether. Let’s take example if you slash three tires and cost per tire is $200 then total damage done from you costs $600.

The damage continues from how many tires you slash to how long the car sits on slashed tires.

Reasons of provocation

If you slash someone’s tire then the reasons that provoke you play an important role when criminal charges are brought against you. Like you did it in self defense or you did it with criminal mind intention.The purpose of this is to find out your intentions why you did that crime.

Result of provocation

In the end when criminal charges are brought against you then crime that you have done as a result of provocation is also given priority.

Which Criminal Charge, Misdemeanor or Felony, will be Filed Against You when Cut Tires

Slashing someone’s tires is a Misdemeanor and  does not come under the felony until the total damage doesn’t exceed or equal to $1000 because tire changes cost just a few hundred dollars. 

What is a felony and misdemeanor

Traditionally a crime is said to be a felony when the intensity of the crime becomes high seriousness. On the other hand a crime is said to be a misdemeanor when the intensity of the crime is less serious.

What is a felony in the US

If you are in the United States and commit a crime then it is said to be a felony until it leads you toward a minimum imprisonment of one year. In general felony comes under high seriousness crimes if we do comparison with misdemeanor crimes which are less serious.

Difference between a misdemeanor and a felony

Difference between a misdemeanor and a felony is that a misdemeanor is imposed on you when total property damage is less than $1000 on the other hand if the total vandalism damage is equal or greater than $1000 then a felony is imposed.

Scenario 1

Normally a single tire costs you $250. And when you slash 3 tires of someone it means you have given total damage of $750 to a victim. We have already discussed the misdemeanor impose if you damage property worth less than $1000. Therefore in this case a misdemeanor charge is imposed on you.

Scenario 2

If a single tire cost is $250 and if you slash all 4 tires of a car it will cost a total $1000. In this case a Felony charge is imposed on you.

Scenario 3

Let’s assume you have slashed someone’s tires and the car owner does not know about this. And the car sits on these flat tires for so long.  If any damage to owner property  occurs in this duration then it will also be included into the tire cost. Then if the total damage cost exceed to $1000, a felony will be impose.

Scenario 4

Let’s see another scenario. Assume that you slash someone’s vehicle tires but tires don’t inflate completely and the owner doesn’t know about it.

Here in this situation if the victim drives a car and gets into an accident and gets dead or severe injury. And in this situation he damages other people’s property also. Then in this you are imposed felonies of highest seriousness including assault, negligent homicide, manslaughter, attempted murder and other charges.

For all of these you will be set responsible.

Is the Number of Tires Slashed Important?

Yes, the number of slash tires are also very important in order to impose the charges on you. Number of slashed tires help to figure out the total damage in order to put charges on you. If the total damage cost exceeds $1000 then definitely you will be charged with a felony. And if it does not exceed $1000 then you will be charged with a misdemeanor.

The Decision to Charge on You is Influenced by Your Motivations and Intentions

The slight change in your  motivations, intentions and behavior can make your charge change from misdemeanor to a felony. Lets see how your motivations and intentions impact on your charge.

Assault intention

If you slash tires with intention to physically damage someone then your charge moves from misdemeanor to felony even if you slash a single tire of  $200. With such assault intention you can easily get into jail for two to five years.

Besides this if your intention damages another person more severely by slashing a tire then it will be called aggravated assault and you will be charged  seriousness felony. Which can lead you to 10 to 15 or even 20 years in jail with heavily fine of $5,000 too $20,000 also.

Murder intention

On the other hand if you even slash someone’s single tire with intention of murder then the crime charges on you will rise automatically. And if the victim dies in a road accident while driving on flat tire tire that is done by you then seriousness of the crime will increase.

Determination of intention

Although it is very difficult for someone to determine your intentions that are involved in slashing tires. But crime departments have many different method by which they determine yours or any perpetrator crime intention

They go through your text messages, social media accounts, recent social media posts, recent contact list to determine your intention. Besides they go to those people whom you are contact with.

They interrogate all the witnesses that are present at the time of crime you did. Further they check out all the security camera nearby. Crime department also see that is any past criminal activity conducted by you against that specific victim

Crime with intention

The crime with serious harm intention to someone is considered to be a serious crime and charged with felony with high seriousness and with high fines. Which can lead you to the jail also. This mean the way you aggressively slash someone tire show your intention which can change charges on you.

Criminal History

If you or any defendant has any previous criminal activity or have done the same crime constantly in a specific time period then jurisdictions will accuse you more seriously.

How Long Will You be Jailed for Slashing Tires?

How long you will be jailed for slashing tires is determined by the charges on you. If you are charged with a felony that means you have destroyed property of a total cost $1000 or more than this, then for this you will end up in jail for five year. On the other hand if you are charged with a misdemeanor that means you have destroyed property of a total cost less than $1000 then for this you will end up in jail for almost one year.

Is slashing 3 tires a felony?

No, slashing 3 tires is not a felony. Although it comes into the action of criminal mischief, it is charged with a misdemeanor. This is because slashed 3 tires can not cost more than $1000.

Is slashing 4 tires a felony?

Yes, slashing 4 tires is a felony. This is because slashing 4 tires cost more than $1000. Although there are many factors involved when charged perpetrator.

Is it illegal to slash tires?

Yes, definitely it is it illegal to slash someone’s tires which are not yours. Slashing or puncturing others vehicle tires comes under the action of vandalism which is known as criminal mischief.

Conclusion

From the article Is Slashing Tires A Felony? you can easily conclude that this actually depends on the cost of the damage of the victim’s property by you. You will be charge a felony if slashed tire total cost is one thousand dollar or greater. On the other hand if it is less then you will be charged with a misdemeanor.

Although this will all happen if the victim proves whether its tire is slashed by you. Otherwise it will be considered an accidental puncture.

David Miller

Article By:

David Miller

I am  automotive engineer, having 15 years of experience in automobile manufacturing industry and currently running my own car repairing business in Florida. My job is to make sure the site’s content is top-notch so that you, our reader, can focus solely on buying best gadgets for their automobile and get best products reviews and guide for vehicle.