INDIANAPOLIS (WOWO): How much time thieves spend in Indiana jails now depends on the value of what they steal. Under a new law in effect, theft of items worth less than $750 is a misdemeanor with a maximum one-year penalty. Before, it was a low-level felony with a potentially harsher penalty. The change is part of a three-year overhaul of the Indiana Criminal Code, which gives judges more flexibility to send low-level offenders to work-release or home detention instead of prison.