Criminal Tampering (1st Degree) requires:

• A. Intentionally causes interruption or impairment of a service by a utility or safety-protecting institution.
• B. Knowingly stealing property from a public utility.
• C. Recklessly damages private property.
• D. Intentionally tampers with personal property to cause minor annoyance.

Answer: (A)

First-degree criminal tampering centers on intentionally causing interruption or impairment of a service provided by a utility or safety-protecting institution. The option that states this exact element matches the statute’s core requirement: a deliberate act that interrupts or impairs a critical service run by a utility or safety entity. The other options describe different crimes or lack the specific service-interruption element—stealing from a utility is theft, not tampering; damaging private property recklessly isn’t about interrupting a service; and tampering with personal property to cause minor annoyance targets private property and not a utility/service. So the best choice is the one that articulates intentional interruption or impairment of a utility or safety-protecting service.