Lawmakers advance bill to increase theft penalties

SHERIDAN — Shoplifters could face heftier penalties in Wyoming.

The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee backed a bill Wednesday to stiffen the state’s penalties for theft.

Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce President and CEO and Wyoming Chamber of Commerce CEO Dale Steenbergen said retailers across Wyoming would support stiffer penalties.

“Retail theft is something that has been climbing significantly in this state,” Steenbergen said.

Wyoming State Liquor Association Executive Director Mike Moser said stricter penalties for shoplifting would greatly benefit liquor stores in Wyoming. Alcohol and tobacco products are easily sold after they’re stolen.

“If you go into a retail store and steal a polo shirt or a pair of jammies, you’re not going to be able to sell it down the street,” Moser said. “However, if it’s a carton of Marlboros or a handle of Pendleton, you can find a buyer pretty easily.”

Shoplifting is a regular occurrence in Sheridan, Sheridan Police Department Chief Travis Kolstika told The Sheridan Press.

“Oftentimes it’s the larger retailers because individuals think they have a better opportunity of getting away with it,” Koltiska said.

If the proposed legislation becomes law, maximum penalties for misdemeanor theft would increase from six months imprisonment, a fine of $750 or both to one year imprisonment, a fine of $1,500 or both. Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police Executive Director Allen Thompson said he and WASCOP members would hope the increased penalties would discourage theft and shoplifting.

Perhaps the most important component, though, is reducing the number of prior offenses, regardless of degree, required for a felony. Presently, somebody convicted of a fifth or subsequent offense for theft is charged with a felony. The bill would reduce that to somebody convicted of a third or subsequent offense.

Thompson said a third strike felony could have the greatest impact in preventing organized retail theft. Organized retail theft is often what SPD encounters, Koltiska said.

As the bill was presented, it would have reduced the stolen property value threshold for a felony from $1,000 to $500. The reduction took aim, at least in part, at organized retail theft operations.

The initial proposed change sparked conversation among lawmakers.

Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, expressed concern about Wyoming children graduating high school with a felony because of a mistake. Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, noted many cellphones are worth more than $500 nowadays, adding that people who steal a cellphone could immediately become felons.

“We’re capturing a whole bunch of people with this statute that are probably under the age of 21 that did something really stupid that are now going to be (felons). And I’m concerned about that,” Hicks said.

Thompson said law enforcement and prosecutors have discretion on whether to charge someone with a felony, adding he’d expect them to charge appropriately for a given situation.

Hicks proposed an amendment to restore the felony threshold to $1,000 in the proposed bill. The amendment was originally rejected by the committee; Senate members of the committee subsequently voted against the bill.

To save the bill and send it to the legislature’s 2026 budget session sponsored by the Joint Judiciary Committee, Hicks’ amendment was approved after a second vote.

The budget session is set to begin Feb. 9, 2026.

This story was published on August 14, 2025.