Unauthorized Motor Vehicle Use Could Get You Two Years in Prison
Video Transcribed: This is Wagoner Attorney Stuart Ericson, and we’re talking about some automobile or vehicle crimes right now.
One that sometimes surprises people is just an offense called unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. That’s found not even in our criminal Title 21. It’s in Title 47 under the vehicle statutes in Oklahoma. The elements of that are taking and using a vehicle without permission from the owner but without the intent to basically steal it. So no intention to steal, but you’re using somebody’s car. You grab somebody’s keys, you find keys, you use them, you do not have permission to use it, and you actually do use it. That is a crime, and it’s actually a felony that carries up to two years in the Department of Corrections.
Now, that same crime under other circumstances could be charged as joy riding, which is a misdemeanor, and that only carries up to one year in the county jail.
Again, everything is fact-driven. Upon getting charged, you would discuss with me, a criminal defense attorney, what the facts are and begin to fight for your case at that point in time, see what the facts are, see what the proper charge is, or absolutely didn’t do it, not guilty.
If you have any questions about unauthorized motor vehicle use, that comes up more than you would think, especially in boyfriend-girlfriend situations when there’s a breakup and somebody’s mad at each other. All of a sudden, they’re using a car, and they claim, “I didn’t give permission.” Sometimes those offenses are charged, and you’ll have to fight them. So any questions about that for a criminal defense lawyer in Oklahoma, reach out to me, Stuart Ericson, at wagonerlawyer.com.
