If you are a porch pirate, be forewarned, it is now a felony to steal packages off someone's porch.

The new law in Texas will take effect coming up on September 1st. It's going to make it a felony if you steal anything that is considered mail. This includes:

  • Letters
  • Postcards
  • Packages
  • Other sealed items

There's varying degrees of felony depending on how many people you steal from.

  • Steal from less than 10 people - State felony
  • Steal from 20 to 50 people - Second-degree felony
  • Steal from more than 50 people - First-degree felony

I'm not sure what happens if you steal between 11 and 19 people because all the news stories I found on this had the same gap in reference the type of felony you'd be looking at based on depending how many people you stole from.

If you are caught and convicted you could spend anywhere from 6 months to 10 years in prison. And the fines are pretty hefty too. They range from $4,000 to $10,000.