Criminal mischief; classification of crime; class F felony; class G felony; class A misdemeanor; unclassified misdemeanor; defense.
Del. Code tit. 11, § 811
in effect(a) A person is guilty of criminal mischief when the person intentionally or recklessly does any of the following:
(1) Damages tangible property of another person.
(2) Tampers with tangible property of another person so as to endanger person or property.
(3) Tampers or makes connection with tangible property of a gas, electric, steam or waterworks corporation, telegraph or telephone corporation or other public utility, except that in any prosecution under this subsection it is an affirmative defense that the accused engaged in the conduct charged to constitute an offense for a lawful purpose.
(4) Damages an authorized emergency vehicle. For purposes of this section:
a. “Aircraft” means a device in, on, or by which an individual or thing may be transported in the air.
b. “Authorized emergency vehicle” means all of the following:
1. A vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or unmanned aircraft system owned, leased, or used in performance of duties by any of the following:
A. A fire department or fire company, including the use by fire chief, assistant fire chief, chief engineer, or fire police officer.
B. A law-enforcement agency.
C. An ambulance company.
2. A specialized vehicle used by a paramedic in performance of the paramedic’s duties.
c. “Law-enforcement agency” means an agency that employs a “law-enforcement officer,” as defined under § 222 of this title.
d. “Unmanned aircraft system” means as defined under § 1334 of this title.
e. “Vehicle” means as defined under § 222 of this title.
f. “Watercraft” means a device in, on, or by which an individual or thing may be transported on the water.
(b) Criminal mischief is punished as follows:
(1) Criminal mischief is a class F felony if the person intentionally causes damage to an authorized emergency vehicle resulting in pecuniary loss of $5,000 or more and in the authorized emergency vehicle becoming temporarily unable to be used to respond to an emergency.
(2) Criminal mischief is a class G felony if the person intentionally causes pecuniary loss of $5,000 or more, or if the person intentionally causes a substantial interruption or impairment of public communication, transportation, supply of water, gas, or power, or other public service.
(3) Criminal mischief is a class A misdemeanor if the person intentionally or recklessly causes pecuniary loss in excess of $1,000 and paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section do not apply.
(4) Criminal mischief is an unclassified misdemeanor if paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(3) of this section do not apply.
(5) If the person commits an act of criminal mischief on or along a Delaware byway, as defined in § 101 of Title 17, the court shall impose a minimum mandatory fine of at least $500.
(c) It is a defense that the person has a reasonable ground to believe that the person has a right to engage in the conduct set forth in subsection (a) of this section.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title11/c005/sc03/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026