Remember your teenage and college days? The days when you or your peers made downright stupid decisions and that—if caught—could have landed you in handcuffs. I remember being in college and hanging out at the local midnight diner. One night, a group of other college students were sitting next to the table where me and my friends were seated. They looked like they were having a great time, eating and laughing it up. The ordered, ate and the waitress brought the bill. Minutes later, they all sprinted out of the diner as if they were in a horror film running for their lives. They had skipped out on the bill. They had committed a crime and if caught, would have surely been charged with theft of services.
In the state of Georgia, a person commits the offense of theft of services when by deception and with the intent to avoid payment he knowingly obtains services, accommodations, entertainment, or the use of personal property which is available only for compensation. O.C.G.A. 16-8-5. In addition to the above scenario, other examples of theft by services include: not paying for automobile repairs, not paying for transportation services, not paying for maid services and stealing cable and Internet services just to name a few. “The essential ingredient of the offense is the intention to avoid payment.” Roberson v. State, 145 Ga. App. 687, 688 (1) (244 SE2d 629) (1978).