Criminal Defense
Germantown theft cases split into two very different paths, and which one you are on depends entirely on the dollar figure written on the affidavit.
Under $1,000: Germantown Municipal Court
A misdemeanor theft charged by Germantown PD can be resolved in Germantown Municipal Court at 1930 South Germantown Road. The court sits one evening a week, which is convenient and also means the docket moves quickly — decisions get made faster than most people expect, and showing up without counsel to a fast docket is how people end up with convictions they did not intend to accept.
Over $1,000: Shelby County
A felony cannot be disposed of in Germantown. It goes to Shelby County General Sessions at 201 Poplar for a preliminary hearing and then to the grand jury. If you were arrested rather than cited, you were transported to the Shelby County Jail for booking regardless of where the stop happened.
A felony that can be reduced to a misdemeanor, though, can sometimes come back to Germantown to be resolved — which is one reason the valuation fight matters so much and so early.
The valuation fight
Germantown’s retail corridors along Poplar generate a steady stream of theft cases, and Germantown PD has been active on organized retail theft investigations. Loss-prevention paperwork tends to use retail price, aggregate multiple visits, and count items that never left the store. The statute asks for fair market value on what was actually taken. On a case sitting near the line, testing that number is the difference between an evening in municipal court and a felony in Criminal Court.
What the dollar amount means under Tennessee law
Tennessee grades theft by value under T.C.A. § 39-14-105, and the same table applies to a shoplifting case and to any other theft of property:
- $1,000 or less (other than a firearm): a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days and a fine of up to $2,500.
- More than $1,000 and less than $2,500: a Class E felony, with a range of one to six years.
- $2,500 and up: $2,500 to less than $10,000 is a Class D felony, $10,000 to less than $60,000 is Class C, $60,000 to less than $250,000 is Class B, and $250,000 or more is Class A.
Shoplifting is charged as theft of merchandise under § 39-14-146 and graded by the same table. A fifth or later theft-of-merchandise conviction within two years is punished one class higher, with a fine of at least $300.
The organized retail theft investigations mentioned above follow a different statute. When the State says several people acted together to take merchandise for resale or return, it can charge organized retail crime under § 39-14-113, adding thefts together over a set window when the total is more than $1,000. For acts on or after July 1, 2026, that window is 180 days, up from 90. A conviction carries at least 30 days in jail if a firearm or a device for defeating store security was used or possessed (2026 Pub. Ch. 1124). See felony theft over $1,000.
Cited or arrested: what to do before court
An officer may write a citation for misdemeanor theft instead of making an arrest, but does not have to (§ 40-7-118). Since July 1, 2025, an officer may also take a person into custody on probable cause, even for an offense the officer did not witness (2025 Pub. Ch. 409). If you were cited, the citation is not the end of the paperwork: a person cited for a misdemeanor must still report for booking, and failing to do so is a separate Class A misdemeanor.
Before the first court date, whether it is at Germantown Municipal Court at City Hall or at 201 Poplar, keep the citation or bond papers where you can find them, put the date on your calendar, and write down what happened while it is fresh. Do not sign anything for the store or answer any letter from it before we have talked, and do not go back to the store if you were told not to return.
Keeping it off your record
Dismissal, merchant restitution with no plea entered, amendment to a non-theft offense, or judicial diversion — the same routes available downtown are available here, and which one is realistic depends on the store, the prosecutor, and your record. Whichever way it ends, file the expungement; a dismissed charge does not clear itself.
What it costs
Misdemeanor theft starts at a $750 flat fee. Felony theft starts at $1,500. See full fee detail.
Common questions
Is shoplifting under $1,000 a felony in Tennessee?
No. Merchandise worth $1,000 or less is a Class A misdemeanor, whether the value is $20 or $900 (§ 39-14-105). The amount still matters to how the case is resolved, but not to the class of the charge.
I read that theft over $500 is a felony. Is that still true?
No. That was the line before January 1, 2017. Since then the felony line has been $1,000, and theft of more than $1,000 and less than $2,500 is a Class E felony. Some older articles and websites were never updated.
Can a felony theft charge get diversion?
Not pretrial diversion, which is limited to misdemeanors (§ 40-15-105). Judicial diversion’s felony bar covers Class A and B felonies, so a Class E felony theft can be diverted at the judge’s discretion if you otherwise qualify (§ 40-35-313). Either kind needs a $100 TBI certificate and can be used only once. More on first-offense theft and diversion.
How long before a theft conviction can be expunged?
A misdemeanor theft conviction becomes eligible five years after the sentence is completed. Felony theft at the Class C, D and E levels can also qualify, after five years for Class E and ten for Class C or D. All fines, costs and restitution must be paid first, and the number of convictions you can clear is limited (§ 40-32-107).
More: shoplifting defense · Memphis misdemeanor theft cases · Germantown criminal defense. Office (901) 324-5000 · 901-412-2973.