§ 131.01 THEFT AND RELATED OFFENSES.
   (A)   Petty larceny; embezzlement. No person shall steal, take and carry away by fraud or stealth, with intent to deprive another thereof, any personal property under the value of $100 or embezzle any money, personal property or effects of another. This division (A) does not apply to taking property from the person of another.
   (B)   Larceny by false pretense. No person shall induce, or attempt to induce, any person to give up or pay over any money or other thing of value which money or value does not exceed $100, by any false representation or pretense, or in exchange for any false or bogus coin or check, draft or other false evidence of value, or in consideration of refraining from a lawful or unlawful arrest, or in consideration of refraining from reporting any unlawful act to any public official.
   (C)   Altering keys. No person shall make or alter or attempt to make or alter any key or other instrument that will open the lock of a building unless requested to do so by some person having the right and authority to make such request.
   (D)   Possession of stolen property. No person shall keep in his or her possession, or dispose of, or conceal any stolen property, or fail promptly to inform some proper official of the possession thereof, under circumstances indicating that such property had been stolen or the possession thereof obtained unlawfully.
   (E)   Defrauding public accommodations.
      (1)   No person shall obtain food, lodging or other accommodation in any hotel, motel, inn, boarding, eating or rooming house or place, or any other lodging place, with the intent to defraud the owner or keeper.
      (2)   Proof that lodging, food and other accommodations were obtained by false pretense or fictitious show of any package or other property or that the person gave a check or negotiable paper on which payment was refused or that the person left the hotel, motel, inn, boarding, eating or rooming house or place, or other lodging place, without paying or offering to pay for the food, lodging or other accommodation or that the person surreptitiously removed or attempted to remove the package or property, or that the person registered under a fictitious name shall be prima facie proof of attempt to defraud.
      (3)   This division (E) shall not apply where there has been an agreement in writing for delay in payment.
   (F)   Failure to pay conveyance fare.
      (1)   No person shall use or accept the use and services of any streetcar, taxicab, omnibus, automobile or any other means of public conveyance or passengers, operating under this code or any ordinance, franchise, permit or license of the town or state, and refuse or fail to pay to the operator of the conveyance the usual, customary, regulation or legal charge, or price as fare immediately upon the performance of the service.
      (2)   No person shall refuse to pay the legal fare of any of the vehicles mentioned in this division (F) after having hired the same, and no person shall hire any vehicle with intent to defraud the person from whom it is hired of the value of such service.
      (3)   This division (F) shall not apply where there has been an agreement in writing for delay in payment.
   (G)   Shoplifting. Any person concealing unpurchased merchandise of any establishment, either on the premises or outside the premises of the establishment, shall be presumed to have so concealed the merchandise with the intention of committing a wrongful taking of such merchandise. Such concealment or the finding of such unpurchased merchandise concealed upon the person or among the belongings of such person shall be conclusive evidence of reasonable grounds and probable cause for the detention in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable length of time of such person by a merchant, his or her agent or employee; any such reasonable detention shall not be deemed to be unlawful, nor render any such merchant, his or her agent or employee, criminally or civilly liable.
   (H)   False or bogus checks. It is unlawful for any person, with intent to cheat and defraud, to obtain or attempt to obtain from any person any money, property or valuable thing by means of any false or bogus check or by any other written or printed or engraved instrument or spurious coin. The term FALSE OR BOGUS CHECK shall include checks or orders given for money or property which are not honored on account of insufficient funds of the maker to pay same, or because the check or order was drawn on a closed account or on a non-existent account when such checks or orders are given in exchange for money or property or in exchange for any benefit or thing of value, as against the maker or drawer thereof. The making, drawing, issuing or delivering of a check, draft or order, payment of which is refused by the drawee, shall be prima facie evidence of intent to defraud and the knowledge of insufficient funds in or credit with such bank or other depository. Such maker or drawer shall not have paid the drawee the amount due thereon, together with the protest fees, within five days from the date the same is presented for payment, and the check or order shall be presented for payment within 30 days after same is delivered and accepted.
   (I)   False weights. It is unlawful for any person to sell any commodity or article of merchandise and in the sale thereof, knowingly make or give a false or short weight therefor or for any person owning or keeping or having in charge any scale used in weighing any animal, commodity or article to knowingly and willfully report any false or untrue weight whereby another person shall be defrauded or damaged.
(Prior Code, § 5-3A-1) Penalty, see § 131.99