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That the amount of damage inflicted to the property was more then $250.That the defendant injured or destroyed the personal property, house, dwelling or building of another.In order to prove the defendant guilty of this offense, the Commonwealth must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt: 266 §127 which makes it a crime to wilfully and maliciously destroy the property of another. The malicious destruction of property law in Massachusetts is codified in M.G.L. The value of the property destroyed or injured is critical to the charge and is set at over $250.

The terms wilful and malicious require proof of a cruel, hostile or vengeful intent in addition to the intentional doing of the act itself. With the latter, the government must prove that the destruction of or injury to the property was wilful and malicious, not simply wanton. Wanton destruction of property is not a lesser included offensive of malicious destruction of property because there are different elements involved in both crimes. The case may only be a wanton destruction of property case but they usually do not bring this alternative count in the complaint. They do not realize, however, that the malicious intent element is often difficult or impossible for the prosecutor to prove in court. The police always seem to choose to file the malicious destruction of property charge rather than seeking a wanton destruction of property charge. With over 37,000 of these property crimes reported in Boston last year, you can be certain that the police are doing what they can to stop these alarming property crime numbers. With wilful and malicious destruction of property, there is an element of malicious intent by the actor that must be present.

It is distinguished from wanton destruction of property which is a misdemeanor offense. In Massachusetts, the wilful and malicious destruction of property is considered a felony crime.