Section 570.010

Title XXXVIII CRIMES AND PUNISHMENT; PEACE OFFICERS AND PUBLIC DEFENDERS

Chapter 570

Effective - 28 Aug 2023, 4 histories   

  570.010.  Chapter definitions. — As used in this chapter, the following terms mean:

  (1)  "Adulterated", varying from the standard of composition or quality prescribed by statute or lawfully promulgated administrative regulations of this state lawfully filed, or if none, as set by commercial usage;

  (2)  "Appropriate", to take, obtain, use, transfer, conceal, retain or dispose;

  (3)  "Check", a check or other similar sight order or any other form of presentment involving the transmission of account information for the payment of money;

  (4)  "Coercion", a threat, however communicated:

  (a)  To commit any offense; or

  (b)  To inflict physical injury in the future on the person threatened or another; or

  (c)  To accuse any person of any offense; or

  (d)  To expose any person to hatred, contempt or ridicule; or

  (e)  To harm the credit or business reputation of any person; or

  (f)  To take or withhold action as a public servant, or to cause a public servant to take or withhold action; or

  (g)  To inflict any other harm which would not benefit the actor.  A threat of accusation, lawsuit or other invocation of official action is justified and not coercion if the property sought to be obtained by virtue of such threat was honestly claimed as restitution or indemnification for harm done in the circumstances to which the accusation, exposure, lawsuit or other official action relates, or as compensation for property or lawful service.  The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of justification as to any threat;

  (5)  "Credit device", a writing, card, code, number or other device purporting to evidence an undertaking to pay for property or services delivered or rendered to or upon the order of a designated person or bearer;

  (6)  "Dealer", a person in the business of buying and selling goods;

  (7)  "Debit device", a writing, card, code, number or other device, other than a check, draft or similar paper instrument, by the use of which a person may initiate an electronic fund transfer, including but not limited to devices that enable electronic transfers of benefits to public assistance recipients;

  (8)  "Deceit or deceive", making a representation which is false and which the actor does not believe to be true and upon which the victim relies, as to a matter of fact, law, value, intention or other state of mind, or concealing a material fact as to the terms of a contract or agreement.  The term "deceit" does not, however, include falsity as to matters having no pecuniary significance, or puffing by statements unlikely to deceive ordinary persons in the group addressed.  Deception as to the actor's intention to perform a promise shall not be inferred from the fact alone that he did not subsequently perform the promise;

  (9)  "Deprive":

  (a)  To withhold property from the owner permanently; or

  (b)  To restore property only upon payment of reward or other compensation; or

  (c)  To use or dispose of property in a manner that makes recovery of the property by the owner unlikely;

  (10)  "Electronic benefits card" or "EBT card", a debit card used to access food stamps or cash benefits issued by the department of social services;

  (11)  "Financial institution", a bank, trust company, savings and loan association, or credit union;

  (12)  "Food stamps", the nutrition assistance program in Missouri that provides food and aid to low-income individuals who are in need of benefits to purchase food operated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in conjunction with the department of social services;

  (13)  "Forcibly steals", a person, in the course of stealing, uses or threatens the immediate use of physical force upon another person for the purpose of:

  (a)  Preventing or overcoming resistance to the taking of the property or to the retention thereof immediately after the taking; or

  (b)  Compelling the owner of such property or another person to deliver up the property or to engage in other conduct which aids in the commission of the theft;

  (14)  "Internet service", an interactive computer service or system or an information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, and includes, but is not limited to, an information service, system, or access software provider that provides access to a network system commonly known as the internet, or any comparable system or service and also includes, but is not limited to, a world wide web page, newsgroup, message board, mailing list, or chat area on any interactive computer service or system or other online service;

  (15)  "Means of identification", anything used by a person as a means to uniquely distinguish himself or herself;

  (16)  "Merchant", a person who deals in goods of the kind or otherwise by his or her occupation holds oneself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the practices or goods involved in the transaction or to whom such knowledge or skill may be attributed by his or her employment of an agent or broker or other intermediary who by his or her occupation holds oneself out as having such knowledge or skill;

  (17)  "Mislabeled", varying from the standard of truth or disclosure in labeling prescribed by statute or lawfully promulgated administrative regulations of this state lawfully filed, or if none, as set by commercial usage; or represented as being another person's product, though otherwise accurately labeled as to quality and quantity;

  (18)  "Pharmacy", any building, warehouse, physician's office, hospital, pharmaceutical house or other structure used in whole or in part for the sale, storage, or dispensing of any controlled substance as defined in chapter 195;

  (19)  "Property", anything of value, whether real or personal, tangible or intangible, in possession or in action, and shall include but not be limited to the evidence of a debt actually executed but not delivered or issued as a valid instrument;

  (20)  "Public assistance benefits", anything of value, including money, food, EBT cards, food stamps, commodities, clothing, utilities, utilities payments, shelter, drugs and medicine, materials, goods, and any service including institutional care, medical care, dental care, child care, psychiatric and psychological service, rehabilitation instruction, training, transitional assistance, or counseling, received by or paid on behalf of any person under chapters 198, 205, 207, 208, 209, and 660, or benefits, programs, and services provided or administered by the Missouri department of social services or any of its divisions;

  (21)  "Services" includes transportation, telephone, electricity, gas, water, or other public service, cable television service, video service, voice over internet protocol service, or internet service, accommodation in hotels, restaurants or elsewhere, admission to exhibitions and use of vehicles;

  (22)  "Stealing-related offense", federal and state violations of criminal statutes against stealing, robbery, or buying or receiving stolen property and shall also include municipal ordinances against the same if the offender was either represented by counsel or knowingly waived counsel in writing and the judge accepting the plea or making the findings was a licensed attorney at the time of the court proceedings;

  (23)  "Teller machine", an automated teller machine (ATM) or interactive teller machine (ITM) is a remote computer terminal owned or controlled by a financial institution or a private business that allows individuals to obtain financial services including obtaining cash, transferring or transmitting money or digital currencies, payment of bills, or loading money or digital currency to a payment card or other device without physical in-person assistance from another person.  "Teller machine" does not include personally owned electronic devices used to access financial services;

  (24)  "Video service", the provision of video programming provided through wireline facilities located at least in part in the public right-of-way without regard to delivery technology, including internet protocol technology whether provided as part of a tier, on demand, or a per-channel basis.  This definition includes cable service as defined by 47 U.S.C. Section 522(6), but does not include any video programming provided by a commercial mobile service provider as "commercial mobile service" is defined in 47 U.S.C. Section 332(d), or any video programming provided solely as part of and via a service that enables users to access content, information, electronic mail, or other services offered over the public internet, and includes microwave television transmission, from a multipoint distribution service not capable of reception by conventional television receivers without the use of special equipment;

  (25)  "Voice over internet protocol service", a service that:

  (a)  Enables real-time, two-way voice communication;

  (b)  Requires a broadband connection from the user's location;

  (c)  Requires internet protocol-compatible customer premises equipment; and

  (d)  Permits users generally to receive calls that originate on the public switched telephone network and to terminate calls to the public switched telephone network;

  (26)  "Writing" includes printing, any other method of recording information, money, coins, negotiable instruments, tokens, stamps, seals, credit cards, badges, trademarks and any other symbols of value, right, privilege or identification.

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(L. 1977 S.B. 60, A.L. 1979 H.B. 165, A.L. 1986 S.B. 450, A.L. 1999 S.B. 328, et al., A.L. 2002 H.B. 1888, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491, A.L. 2023 S.B. 186)