The four most common ways to commit misdemeanor theft or felony theft in Texas are these:

1. Shoplifting - Taking items out of a store with the deliberate intention of not paying the store for the full value of the item. This includes taking, say, a shirt and leaving with it, or switching the tag on an expensive shirt with the tag on a less expensive one and paying the lower price at checkout.

2. Bad checks - Paying for an item on a closed account or an account that does not enough money to cover the amount of the check. If the check is written on a closed account, that alone is evidence of theft under Texas criminal law. If the check bounces, and you do not reimburse the merchant within 10 days of notification, then that is evidence of theft under the law.

3. General theft - Taking an item that belongs to someone else by any means when you do not have permission. Examples of this include taking a woman's purse from her shopping cart when her back is turned, stealing copper from a construction site, or taking $20 from the cash register at work.

4. Buying/accepting stolen property - Taking possession of an item when you know the person selling or giving it to you is not the rightful owner. If you know a friend shoplifted an item from a store, then passed the item on to you, you have committed theft by taking it, whether you paid for it or it was a gift.

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