Under the Revised Code of Washington Section 9A.48.070, a person will be charged with malicious mischief in the first degree if there are damages of $5,000 or more.Īdditionally, if the damages caused in the incident cause an ‘interruption or impairment of service rendered’ by an emergency vehicle, public utility, or property of the state, or if you damage an aircraft, then you can be charged with malicious mischief in the first degree.Ĭrime Classification: Class B Felony punishable by up a maximum of ten years in prison and a $20,000 fine.* Malicious Mischief in the Second Degree

Malicious mischief can be either a gross misdemeanor, a Class C felony, or a Class B felony, depending on the value of the items/property damaged. For instance, erasing records or digital files with value, or tampering with an emergency vehicle can be considered physical damage under the Revised Code of Washington Section 9A.48.100. The charge can also surface in less common scenarios due to a broad legal definition of what is considered to be physical damage. In a domestic dispute, this typically involves an allegation that one party destroyed the property of an intimate partner or family member during an argument/fight. Malicious mischief most often involves the destruction of property (such as a phone or a car), vandalism, etc. Malicious mischief occurs when property is physically damaged willfully and maliciously. What is malicious mischief in Washington state? Follow along and learn about malicious mischief in Washington state and what to do if you’ve been charged.

We also include links to all the relevant Washington state codes. We’ve put together all the information you should know about malicious mischief in general, and how it relates to domestic violence. In this article, we are going to fix that. For instance, many don’t understand that malicious mischief is a common charge in domestic violence cases. Yet, the crime and its penalties remain a mystery. In 2018, there were more than 56,000 domestic violence offenses, constituting 16.7% of all crimes in the state, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

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