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Reviewed by Ryan Markus, Fort Collins criminal defense attorney and former Colorado State Public Defender.
Criminal mischief in Colorado is knowingly damaging the real or personal property of one or more other persons in a single criminal episode. The charge level depends on the total dollar amount of damage, from a petty offense up to a class 2 felony.
A criminal mischief charge can feel out of proportion when it starts with a moment of anger or a bad night. You don’t have to sort it out alone, and understanding how the statute works is a good first step.
Under C.R.S. 18-4-501(1), the crime is knowingly damaging the real or personal property of one or more other persons in the course of a single criminal episode. Under subsection (4), the classification depends on the aggregate damage, meaning the total damage added together. A small amount is a petty offense; $1,000,000 or more is a class 2 felony. If you want to talk through a charge, you can contact us.
These scenarios show how a criminal mischief charge can come up. Whether any of them is charged, and at what level, depends on the facts and the damage amount.
- After an argument outside a bar in Old Town, a man kicks the door of a parked car and dents it. The repair estimate is several hundred dollars.
- A college student, angry at a roommate, throws the roommate’s laptop against a wall. The laptop is worth more than $1,000.
- During one night, a group of teenagers smashes the windows of several cars in a Larimer County parking lot. The damage to all the cars is added together. Each party is responsible for the same pot of restitution and for each other’s damages.
An experienced criminal defense attorney can do the work necessary to accurately assess the damages and restitution. The amount of damage not only determines the level of charge, it also largely determines the amount you will owe. Gathering relevant reports, photographing necessary evidence, interviewing helpful witnesses are all necessary parts of protecting your future and protecting your wallet.
In this article
- What the prosecution must prove
- Common defenses
- Penalties
- Domestic violence designation
- Sealing your record
- Related offenses
- Full text of C.R.S. 18-4-501
- Frequently asked questions
1. What the prosecution must prove
To convict you under C.R.S. 18-4-501(1), the prosecution must prove each of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt. For the charge level, it must also prove the damage amount under subsection (4).
- You acted knowingly. Under C.R.S. 18-1-501(6), a person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or a circumstance when he or she is aware that the conduct is of such nature or that the circumstance exists. For a result, it means being aware that the conduct is practically certain to cause the result.
- You damaged real or personal property.
- The property belonged to one or more other persons. The statute includes property you own jointly with another person, and property you own in which another person has a possessory or proprietary interest.
- The damage happened in the course of a single criminal episode.
- The aggregate damage amount fits the level charged under subsection (4), for example $300 or more but less than $1,000 for a class 2 misdemeanor.
Aggregate damage
The total damage to all the property in the single criminal episode, added together. The statute uses this total to set the charge level.
Possessory or proprietary interest
A right someone else holds in property you own, such as a right to use it or a financial stake in it. The statute counts that property as belonging to another person.
2. Common defenses
No knowing damage
The prosecution must prove you acted knowingly, meaning you were aware your conduct was of the nature charged or practically certain to cause the damage. Accidental damage may not meet that standard.
Disputed damage amount
The classification turns on the aggregate damage. The prosecution must prove the amount that fits the level charged, and a different amount may change the level, for example from a class 1 misdemeanor to a class 2 misdemeanor.
Property was not another person’s
The statute covers property of one or more other persons, including jointly owned property or property in which another person has a possessory or proprietary interest. If no one else owned or had a possessory or proprietary interest in the property, that element may not be met.
Identity
The prosecution must prove you were the person who caused the damage. If someone else may have done it, that question goes to the heart of the charge.
Consent or claim of right
If the owner agreed to the damage, or you honestly believed you had a right to the property, that may bear on the charge. It is a material element that you damaged the property of another.
It is frequently the case that restitution requests will be made that are much higher than what should be owed. Litigating that issue can save tens of thousands of dollars in restitution and interest payments. A small cost today can save you a large cost tomorrow.
3. Penalties
Under C.R.S. 18-4-501(4), the classification depends on the aggregate damage. Misdemeanor and petty offense penalties apply to offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022.
Penalties by classification:
- Petty offense (damage under $300): a fine up to $300, up to 10 days in county jail, or both. C.R.S. 18-1.3-503(1.5).
- Class 2 misdemeanor ($300 to under $1,000): up to 120 days in jail, a fine up to $750, or both. C.R.S. 18-1.3-501(1)(a.5).
- Class 1 misdemeanor ($1,000 to under $2,000): up to 364 days in jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both. C.R.S. 18-1.3-501(1)(a.5).
- Class 6 felony ($2,000 to under $5,000): 1 year to 18 months in prison, a fine of $1,000 to $100,000, and 1 year of mandatory parole.
- Class 5 felony ($5,000 to under $20,000): 1 to 3 years in prison, a fine of $1,000 to $100,000, and 2 years of mandatory parole.
- Class 4 felony ($20,000 to under $100,000): 2 to 6 years in prison, a fine of $2,000 to $500,000, and 3 years of mandatory parole.
- Class 3 felony ($100,000 to under $1,000,000): 4 to 12 years in prison, a fine of $3,000 to $750,000, and 3 years of mandatory parole.
- Class 2 felony ($1,000,000 or more): 8 to 24 years in prison, a fine of $5,000 to $1,000,000, and 3 years of mandatory parole.
Felony prison ranges are presumptive and come from C.R.S. 18-1.3-401. Criminal mischief is not on the crime-of-violence or extraordinary-risk lists. The court may also order restitution for damages proximately caused by your or a co-defendant’s conduct.
4. Domestic violence designation
Criminal mischief is a crime against property. Under C.R.S. 18-6-800.3(1), a crime against property, including an animal, can carry the domestic violence label when it is used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge against a person with whom you are or were in an intimate relationship.
- If you are convicted and the court finds on the record that the facts include an act of domestic violence, C.R.S. 18-6-801(1)(a) requires an order to complete a treatment program and a treatment evaluation. Under 18-6-801(2), this does not apply to a person sentenced to the department of corrections, and 18-6-801(1)(a) has other exceptions.
- Under C.R.S. 18-6-801(3), you are generally not entitled to plead guilty or nolo contendere to an offense without the domestic violence designation unless the prosecutor makes a good faith representation on the record that no prima facie case of an intimate relationship could be established, and the court makes a finding to that effect.
A domestic violence finding also affects whether a conviction can be sealed, as described below.
5. Sealing your record
Sealing hides a criminal record from the public but does not erase the conviction. Courts, police, and prosecutors can still see it.
If the case is dismissed, you are found not guilty on every count, or you complete a deferred judgment and all counts are dismissed, the law requires the court to seal the record on its own. That does not always happen, so an experienced criminal defense attorney can help make sure it does. If you were convicted of another count in the same case, the dismissed counts can be sealed only when that conviction can be.
If you are convicted, the waiting time depends on the level. Once the case and any supervision have ended, you can ask to seal a petty offense after 1 year, a class 2 misdemeanor after 2 years, and a class 1 misdemeanor or class 4, 5, or 6 felony after 3 years. You must have no new convictions and restitution must be paid. A class 2 or 3 felony (damage of $100,000 or more) cannot be sealed.
A conviction with a domestic violence finding generally cannot be sealed, outside exceptional circumstances for a misdemeanor, and a domestic violence felony cannot be sealed. A felony sentenced under the crime-of-violence, extraordinary-risk, or aggravating-circumstances rules also cannot be sealed.
6. Related offenses
| Offense | C.R.S. | What it covers | Level |
| First degree criminal trespass | C.R.S. 18-4-502 | First degree criminal trespass | Class 1 misdemeanor or class 6 felony, depending on the facts |
| Second degree criminal trespass | C.R.S. 18-4-503 | Second degree criminal trespass | Petty offense, class 2 misdemeanor, or class 5 felony, depending on the facts |
| Third degree criminal trespass | C.R.S. 18-4-504 | Third degree criminal trespass | Petty offense, class 5 felony, or class 6 felony, depending on the facts |
| First degree criminal tampering | C.R.S. 18-4-505 | First degree criminal tampering | Class 2 misdemeanor |
| Second degree criminal tampering | C.R.S. 18-4-506 | Second degree criminal tampering | Class 2 misdemeanor |
| Defacing or destruction of written instruments | C.R.S. 18-4-507 | Defacing or destruction of written instruments | Class 2 misdemeanor |
7. Full text of C.R.S. 18-4-501
(1) A person commits criminal mischief when he or she knowingly damages the real or personal property of one or more other persons, including property owned by the person jointly with another person or property owned by the person in which another person has a possessory or proprietary interest, in the course of a single criminal episode.
(2) and (3) Repealed.
(4) Criminal mischief is:
(a) A petty offense when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is less than three hundred dollars;
(b) A class 2 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is three hundred dollars or more but less than one thousand dollars;
(c) A class 1 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one thousand dollars or more but less than two thousand dollars;
(d) A class 6 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is two thousand dollars or more but less than five thousand dollars;
(e) A class 5 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is five thousand dollars or more but less than twenty thousand dollars;
(f) A class 4 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is twenty thousand dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand dollars;
(g) A class 3 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one hundred thousand dollars or more but less than one million dollars; and
(h) A class 2 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one million dollars or more.
Source: C.R.S. § 18-4-501 (2026). Statute text current through the 2026 legislative session.
8. Frequently asked questions
Is criminal mischief a felony in Colorado?
It can be. Under C.R.S. 18-4-501(4), it is a felony when the aggregate damage is $2,000 or more, starting at a class 6 felony. Below $2,000 it is a petty offense, a class 2 misdemeanor, or a class 1 misdemeanor, depending on the amount.
How is the damage amount figured?
The statute uses the aggregate damage to the real or personal property, meaning the total in a single criminal episode. If several items or several owners’ property were damaged in one episode, the amounts are added together.
Did you know that there is a rebuttable presumption that anything approved by Victim Impact Services is automatically owed restitution? You have no right to even see the underlying documentation unless you convince a Judge that an in-camera review and release is necessary. Forcing the Judge to reveal the underlying documents to accurately contest such requests can be a complicated legal process and a talented criminal defense attorney will go a long way.
What if I damaged something I own jointly with someone else?
Under C.R.S. 18-4-501(1), property you own jointly with another person is covered. So is property you own in which another person has a possessory or proprietary interest. Owning part of something does not by itself rule out the charge.
Can I be charged if the damage was an accident?
The statute requires that you acted knowingly, meaning you were aware your conduct was of the nature charged or, as to a result, practically certain to cause it. The prosecution must prove that mental state beyond a reasonable doubt. If you’d like to talk about your situation, you can schedule a confidential consultation.
Talk to a Fort Collins criminal defense lawyer
If you’ve been charged with criminal mischief in Fort Collins or Larimer County, Markus Legal can review the damage amount, the charge level, and your options. Call 970.698.5334 or contact us for a confidential consultation with attorney Ryan Markus.
This article provides general information about Colorado law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change; consult an attorney about your specific situation. Attorney Advertising.