Also known as: taking · asportation · caption and asportation · taking and carrying away
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The physical elements of larceny at common law consisting of obtaining control over tangible personal property of another without consent and moving it any distance however slight as part of the carrying away.
Tonya Takahashi entered a store and slipped a necklace into her pocket without paying. She walked several steps toward the exit before security stopped her. The movement of the necklace established the required carrying away even though she never left the building.
Talia Torres took a stapler from her coworker's desk and carried it to her own cubicle across the room. The brief relocation satisfied the movement element despite the short distance. Her later decision to keep it permanently completed the offense.
Tabitha Taylor removed a reference book from the library shelf and placed it in her bag. She walked ten feet toward the door before being confronted. That slight displacement met the carrying-away requirement under the common-law definition.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Tamara Tan unscrewed a light fixture from her rented apartment wall and carried it to her car in the parking lot. The act of detaching and transporting the item satisfied both control and movement elements. The landlord later reported the loss as larceny.
Tracy Torres lifted a small electronic device from a retail display and placed it inside her purse. She advanced three paces before an alarm sounded. The minimal relocation of the device fulfilled the asportation element.
Tiana Tan removed two towels from her hotel bathroom and packed them in her suitcase. She carried the suitcase down the hallway to the elevator. The act of packing and transporting the towels completed the required physical elements.
The taking element requires the defendant to obtain actual control over the property. This occurs when the defendant exercises dominion over the item without the owner's consent. Control need not be permanent or complete to satisfy the element.
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Any movement of the property however slight meets the asportation requirement. The defendant need not remove the item from the premises or transport it a significant distance. Courts focus on whether the property was carried away from its original location.
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Yes. The taking must be trespassory meaning the defendant obtains control without the consent of the person who has custody or possession. Consent obtained by force deception or incapacity does not defeat the trespassory character of the taking.
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The intent to permanently deprive must exist at the exact moment of the taking. Later formation of intent after lawful acquisition does not satisfy the concurrence requirement for larceny. The physical acts and mental state must occur together.
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…guarantees elsewhere provided in the Constitution. This liberty' is not a series of isolated points pricked out in terms of the taking of property; the freedom of speech, press, and religion; the right to keep and bear arms; the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures; and so on. It is a rational continuum which,…