Class 5 Felony

Class 5 Felony Basics
A Class 5 Felony carries a less severe penalty than that of a Class 1 (2, 3 or 4) Felony. It is considered a lesser felony offense, however it is more serious than a Class 6 Felony. Jail terms for a Class 5 Felonies include presumptively eighteen months with a minimum of nine months and a maximum of twenty-four months of incarceration. A presumptive term can be lowered in mitigated circumstances to six months. Aggravated circumstances can change a term up to thirty months incarceration.

These definitions do vary by state, so you will want to look up the exact class type in your state (Class 5 felonies may not exist in your area).

Class 5 felonies include various discrepancies that can include incest, aggravated assault, distribution conspiracy of drugs, conspiracy to distribute, trespassing with intent, and the performance of illegal medical procedures. There are many more crimes that are classified as Class 5 felonies.

Class 5 felonies are tried by a judge or by a jury, who may choose jail up to twelve months and a fine up to twenty-five hundred dollars, an imprisonment from one to ten years, or both circumstances combined.

This kind of felony varies in each state. Some states do not even have Class 5 Felonies. Fines can be doubled along with imprisonment terms depending on the state of residence. For instance, a Class 5 Felony in Colorado can range from a year imprisonment with a one thousand dollar fine for a minimum sentence to three years in prison with a one hundred thousand dollar fine for a maximum sentence. This is comparable to Virginia Class 5 Felonies where imprisonment ranges from no less than a year to no more than ten years imprisonment. At times, depending on the jury, this may change to twelve months imprisonment with a twenty-five hundred dollar fine.

Repeat Offenses
At times a person may be charged with multiple felonies at once. In the case of two felony offenses that are not committed at the same time with no prior history of felony conviction, a person can presumptively face an eighteen month sentence with a pending minimum of nine months and a maximum of twenty-four months imprisonment. In mitigated circumstances these can be lowered by a few months or raised depending on the crimes at hand.

In the case of a category two repeat offender, someone who has been convicted of three or more felonies not committed at the same time, jail terms will most likely escalate. Offenses are usually consolidated and can sometimes be considered as a past history of convictions. Penalties for multiple Class 5 Felonies include a presumptive jail term of twenty-seven months that can turn into a minimum of eighteen months or a maximum of thirty-six months. Like other circumstances, these can be mitigated to twelve months minimum or three years and nine months maximum.

Those with three repeated Class 5 Felony offenses can serve as little as three years in prison to as much as seven years and six months with mitigation.

Dangerous Offenses
Those being charged with a dangerous Class 5 Felony will most often be sentences to a minimum two years in prison with a maximum of four years. This can be aggravated if the offense is a repeat of a former offense. These sentences can escalate up to eight years. In Arizona any dangerous Class 5 Felony is defined as only less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars.