Section 31.15 targets the tools of retail theft — most commonly the foil-lined "booster bag" used to defeat electronic article surveillance at store exits, and devices used to remove or deactivate security tags.
What the Statute Says
(b) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to use the instrument to commit theft, the person: (1) possesses a shielding or deactivation instrument; or (2) knowingly manufactures, sells, offers for sale, or otherwise distributes a shielding or deactivation instrument.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(Subsection (a) was repealed in 2011.)
Intent Is the Whole Case
For the possession theory the State must prove intent to use the instrument to commit theft. The items themselves are not contraband — foil, lined bags, magnets, and hand tools are ordinary objects, and many have legitimate uses.
Prosecutors prove intent circumstantially: the item's construction, where it was found, whether the person was in a store, prior conduct, statements, and companion evidence. Each of those is contestable:
- Construction. A shopping bag that happens to be lined, a reusable insulated bag, or a bag someone else prepared is not necessarily an adapted instrument.
- Location and context. Possession in a vehicle, at home, or away from any retail setting says little about intent.
- Ownership. In vehicles and shared residences, affirmative links to the accused are frequently absent.
- Statements. Custodial statements taken without warnings, or after a request for counsel, are suppressible.
Where These Charges Appear
Almost always alongside other charges: theft under Section 31.03, organized retail theft under Section 31.16, and sometimes engaging in organized criminal activity where three or more people are alleged to be involved. Loss prevention officers at the major Houston retail corridors initiate most of them, and the case file is typically built by a private LP investigator before any officer arrives.
That matters, because LP evidence has its own problems: incomplete video, missing inventory documentation, valuation by retail price rather than restoration cost, and detention practices that raise their own legal issues.
Resolution
A Class A misdemeanor is serious enough to matter — a theft-related conviction is a crime of moral turpitude that follows a person through every future job application. First offenders in Harris County are frequently eligible for pretrial diversion, which ends in dismissal and permits expunction. That should be the objective from the first setting.
Related
- Houston theft attorney · Organized retail theft · Employee theft
- Section 12.44 — reduction to misdemeanor punishment
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.