Malicious mischief is a category of Nevada crimes involving vandalism or destruction of property, animals, signs, and papers. One of the most frequently prosecuted malicious mischief crimes is using graffiti (NRS 206.330).
Depending on the specific offense and extent of the damage, malicious mischief can be a
In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys summarize the following:
- 1. Graffiti Offenses
- 2. Damage to Land or Structures
- 3. Damage to Animals or Livestock
- 4. Damage to Signage
- 5. Damage to Papers
- 6. Increased Penalties for Gang Activities
- 7. Defenses
- Additional reading
Malicious mischief is sometimes referred to as criminal mischief.
1. Graffiti Offenses
Penalties for defacing public or private property with graffiti (“tagging”) turn on the value of the property loss and whether you have prior graffiti convictions. The following table spells out the punishments.
| Graffiti Crime (NRS 206.330) | Penalties in Nevada |
| Loss is less than $250 | Misdemeanor:
|
| Loss is $250 to less than $5,000 | Gross misdemeanor:
|
| Loss is $5,000 or more | Category E felony:^
|
| The damage impairs public communication, transportation, or police and fire protection | Category E felony:^
|
| The site was protected by the state, such as a landmark | Category D felony:
|
| You have at least one prior felony graffiti conviction or two prior non-felony graffiti convictions | Category D felony:
|
*Additional penalties:
| |
| ^For category E felonies, the judge may impose prison instead of probation if you have two or more prior felony convictions. The penalties may include 1 to 4 years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines. | |
Meanwhile, merely carrying a graffiti implement (such as a spray can) with the intent to vandalize is a misdemeanor under NRS 206.335. The sentence is:
- Up to 6 months in jail and/or
- Up to $1,000 in fines.
You also face civil lawsuits by the property owners. Under NRS 206.345, Nevada courts may award plaintiffs treble damages (triple the cost of the damage done and restoration costs) plus court costs and attorney fees.
Note that you may instead face criminal charges under NRS 206.125 if you put graffiti on a religious, burial, education, transportation, or community site. Scroll down to the next section for more information.
2. Damage to Land or Structures
Public Offenses
The following five vandalism crimes are treated as “public offenses,” which means that the seriousness of the charges depends on the extent of the damage.1
- Destruction or damage of property by unlawful assembly (NRS 206.01): Where unlawfully assembled crowds pull down, damage or destroy any dwelling house or other building, or any shop, steamboat, vessel or other property
- Destruction or damage of crops, gardens, trees, or shrubs (NRS 206.015): This does not include burning (see our article on arson). You must have acted willfully and maliciously to be convicted.
- Injury to other real estate or personal property (NRS 206.310): You must have acted willfully and maliciously to be convicted.2
- Causing a nuisance in a building, or disturbing a peaceful assembly (NRS 206.140): This offense can never be less than a misdemeanor, even if the damage amounts to less than $25.
- Removing, altering, or destroying monuments or landmarks designating boundaries (NRS 206.220): You must have acted willfully and maliciously to be prosecuted. This offense can never be less than a misdemeanor, even if the damage amounts to less than $25.
The following table spells out the punishments for these public offenses.
| Value of the Loss | Penalty for “Public Offense” in Nevada |
| Less than $25 | Up to $500 in fines |
| $25 to less than $250 | Misdemeanor: Up to 6 months in jail and/or $1,000 |
| $250 to less than $5,000 | Gross misdemeanor: Up to 364 days in jail and/or $2,000 |
| $5,000 or more | Category C felony: 1 to 5 years in prison and up to $10,000 |
| Damage impairs public communication, transportation, or police or fire protection (no matter the costs) | Category C felony: 1 to 5 years in prison and up to $10,000 |
Misdemeanors
The following three property crimes are prosecuted as misdemeanors, which means the maximum penalties are $1,000 in fines and/or six months in jail.
- Entering property with the intention to damage or destroy property (NRS 206.040): You must be acting willfully and malicious to be convicted. Plus the circumstances must not amount to burglary (NRS 205.060).
- Removing, concealing, or destroying real property with the intention to defraud a secured party (NRS 206.045): The secured party must have suffered a pecuniary loss upon the foreclosure of the property3
- Unlawful removal of petrified wood from posted or designated sites (NRS 206.320)
Gross Misdemeanors
NRS 206.125 makes it a gross misdemeanor to damage property used for:
- Religion (such as churches, mosques, and synagogues),
- Burial or memorialization of the dead,
- Education,
- Transportation facilities or public transportation vehicles
- Community centers
Penalties include:
- Up to 364 days in jail and/or $2,000 in fines,
- Restitution,
- A $250 administrative assessment fee, and
- Counseling (at the judge’s discretion).
Finally, there are additional penalties depending on whether you have prior NRS 206.125 convictions:
| NRS 206.125 Crime | Additional Punishments |
| First offense | $400 to $1,000 in fines and 100 hours of community service |
| Second offense | $750 to $1,000 in fines and 200 hours of community service |
| Subsequent offense | $1,000 in fines and 200 hours of community service |
Note that you also face a civil lawsuit, where the court under NRS 206.345 can award treble damages, attorney’s costs, and court costs.
3. Damage to Animals or Livestock
It is a misdemeanor under NRS 206.160 to willfully and maliciously lead or drive away a horse. Penalties include:
- Up to 6 months in jail and/or
- Up to $1,000 in fines.
It is a category D felony under NRS 206.150 to willfully and maliciously kill, maim, disfigure, or give poison to another person’s animal. Penalties include:
- 1 to 4 years in prison,
- Up to $5,000 in fines, and
- An additional potential fine of $10,000.
Finally, it is a category C felony under NRS 206.150 to willfully and maliciously kill livestock or estray without authority. Penalties include:
- 1 to 5 years in prison and
- Up to $10,000 in fines.
Also see our article on animal cruelty laws.
4. Damage to Signage
NRS 206.200 makes it a misdemeanor in Nevada to willfully, unlawfully, or maliciously deface property by pasting a printed sign, poster, or advertisement without permission of the owner or a permit by the board of county commissioners. Penalties include:
- Up to 6 months in jail and
- Up to $1,000 in fines.
NRS 206.300 makes it a more serious crime to endanger a vessel, railway, motor vehicle, or automobile by altering or removing any light or signal – or by exhibiting a false light or signal:
This is a gross misdemeanor if the incident resulted in no property damage or physical injury. This carries:
- Up to 364 days in jail and/or
- Up to $2,000 in fines.
Otherwise, altering or removing a light or signal is a category B felony, carrying:
- 1 to 10 years in prison and
- Up to $10,000 in fines.
5. Damage to Papers
Malicious mischief of certain papers can be a felony or a misdemeanor depending on the offense. The following table spells out the punishments.
| Paper Crime | Nevada Penalty |
Fraudulent and malicious destruction of writings (NRS 206.260). You must have acted with intent to defraud, prejudice, or injure. The writings include:
| Category D felony: 1 to 4 years in prison and up to $5,000 |
| Tampering with papers (NRS 206.280): The papers must contain a claim, legal right, authority, or privilege. Plus you must have acted willfully or maliciously and with an intent to injure another person. | Gross misdemeanor: Up to 364 days in jail and/or $2,000 |
| Opening or publishing sealed letters (NRS 206.290): You must have acted willfully and without authorization
| |
| Defacing proclamations and notices (NRS 206.270) | Up to $500 in fines |
6. Increased Penalties for Gang Activities
If you are convicted of a malicious mischief felony as part of a gang, the judge will impose an additional sentence to be served consecutively with your underlying felony sentence.
The minimum length of this gang enhancement is one year in prison. The maximum length of this gang enhancement is the shorter of:
- The underlying felony sentence or
- 20 years in prison.4
This way, the total sentence you can serve can never be more than double your underlying felony sentence.
Example: John is convicted of a category D felony for committing malicious mischief on a state-protected landmark. The judge sentences him to two years in prison for the malicious mischief itself.
Since John vandalized the landmark as part of a gang initiation, the judge must impose an additional sentence. The judge decides to give John the maximum enhancement of two extra years (equal to his underlying sentence). Therefore, John will serve four years in total.
7. Defenses
Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, I have represented literally thousands of people charged with an assortment of malicious mischief offenses. In my experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries:
- You acted with no malice. Perhaps the incident was an accident. For example if you are skateboarding, trip and fall through a neighbor fence, you committed no crime since you had no intention to destroy the fence. At most you would be civilly liable to your neighbor for the cost of repairs.
- You had the owner’s permission. In these cases, we rely on text messages, voicemails, and other recorded communications to show that the property owner gave you permission to deface their property. As long as any reasonable person in your position would believe you had the owner’s permission, you committed no crime.
- You were falsely accused. Vandals often wear masks and go out at night precisely so that they will be hard to identify during lineups. When our clients are falsely accused, we search for surveillance video, forensic evidence, and reliable eyewitnesses to show that you had nothing to do with the malicious mischief charges.
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Criminal Law–Malicious Mischief–Felony or Misdemeanor? – West Virginia Law Review.
- Protecting Artistic Vandalism: Graffiti and Copyright Law – NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law.
- The Writing on Our Walls: Finding Solutions through Distinguishing Graffiti Art from Graffiti Vandalism – University of Michigan Journal of Legal Reform.
- Punishing Vandalism Correctly in an Access Economy – Notre Dame Journal of Legal Ethics & Public Policy.
- Theft and Vandalism on Construction Sites – Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.
Legal References
- Nevada Revised Statute 193.155; Romero v. State (2000) 116 Nev. 344, 996 P.2d 894.
- NRS 206.310. Injury to other property (“1. Every person who shall willfully or maliciously destroy or injure any real or personal property of another, for the destruction or injury of which no special punishment is otherwise specially prescribed, shall be guilty of a public offense proportionate to the value of the property affected or the loss resulting from such offense. 2. It is not a defense that the person engaging in the conduct prohibited by subsection 1 holds a leasehold interest in the real property that was destroyed or injured.”).
- NRS 206.045. Removing, concealing or destroying real property with intention to defraud secured party. (“1. A person who occupies real property, including a person with an ownership interest in the real property, who has personal knowledge of the pendency of an action for the foreclosure of a mortgage upon real property or a proceeding for the judicial or other foreclosure of a deed of trust given to secure a loan made to purchase real property shall not remove, conceal or otherwise destroy any portion of the real property upon which a security interest exists. 2. A person who: (a) Violates the provisions of subsection 1 with the intent to defraud the secured party; and (b) Causes the secured party to suffer a pecuniary loss upon the conclusion of a proceeding for the foreclosure of the real property, -> is guilty of a misdemeanor.”)
- NRS 193.168.