Cargo theft is a distinct offense from ordinary theft, written to address freight taken from the supply chain. Houston's port, rail, and warehouse corridors make it a regularly charged offense in Harris County.
What the Statute Prohibits
A person commits an offense if the person:
- knowingly or intentionally conducts, promotes, or facilitates an activity in which the person receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, abandons, or disposes of stolen cargo, or cargo explicitly represented to the person as being stolen cargo; or
- is employed as a driver lawfully contracted to transport a specific cargo by vehicle from a known point of origin to a known destination, and intentionally diverts or fails to deliver that cargo as contracted.
"Cargo" means goods, as defined by Section 7.102 of the Business & Commerce Code, that constitute wholly or partly a commercial shipment of freight moving in commerce. A shipment is moving in commerce if it is located at any point between the point of origin and the final destination, regardless of any temporary stop for transshipment or otherwise.
Penalties
Cargo theft is graded by the value of the cargo involved, beginning at a state jail felony and rising through the third-, second-, and first-degree felony grades as the value increases. Because value sets the level, the valuation methodology is usually the most consequential issue in the case.
The Two Theories
The receiver theory reaches warehouse operators, buyers, and anyone who stores or moves goods they know are stolen — or that were represented as stolen, which permits sting operations where the goods were never actually stolen at all.
The driver theory is aimed at contracted drivers who divert a load. It is worth noting what it requires: an intentional diversion or failure to deliver as contracted. Ordinary commercial disputes — a delayed delivery, a route change, a disagreement over payment, a load refused at the receiver — are not this offense, and drivers are sometimes charged when the real dispute is contractual.
Defenses
Knowledge. For the receiver theory, the State must prove the accused knew the cargo was stolen or was told it was. Warehouse workers, yard employees, and buyers frequently handle goods with no knowledge of provenance. Paperwork that appeared regular on its face is powerful evidence.
Value. Overstated valuations are common — retail price instead of wholesale, gross invoice instead of actual contents, or aggregation of separate loads into one figure. Moving the value below a threshold drops the offense a full grade.
Aggregation and "single scheme." Whether multiple incidents form one continuing course of conduct is contestable and drives the grading.
Intent (driver theory). Mechanical breakdown, dispatch instructions, rejected deliveries, and hours-of-service compliance all explain non-delivery without criminal intent.
Identity and linkage. In warehouse and yard cases, connecting a specific person to specific goods is often the weakest part of the State's case.
Related
- Houston theft attorney · Organized retail theft · Engaging in organized criminal activity (71.02)
- Houston federal criminal defense
Charged in Harris County?
Brian Foley is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and a former Harris County Felony Chief Prosecutor; Luis Baez is a former Trial Bureau Chief. Call or text (713) 703-1718 for a free, confidential consultation.