Larceny and Possession Can Both Lead to Serious Consequences
Video Transcribed: Hi, my name is Stuart Ericson and I am a lawyer in Wagoner County. We’re talking about some vehicle crimes.
So we’re talking about larceny of a vehicle versus possession of a stolen vehicle because they are different and they are charged quite a bit. So possession of a stolen vehicle is when you have possession of a vehicle and you’re not entitled to that possession. And this is the key factor for the crime is that you know it was stolen. So if you have some buddies that all of a sudden come up to you and have this vehicle and you’re like, “You’ve never had this vehicle before.” And they ask you to drive it some way or do something with it, and it all seems suspicious. And they’re not telling you how they got the car, you know nothing about it, it seems like. Gosh, they have no money. So perhaps you should have known it was stolen.
So that is possession of a stolen vehicle. That is a crime that is charged in this state. Other possession of stolen vehicles would be some chop shops, can be that, where the person doesn’t steal the car, but a stolen car is brought to them. It is dismantled and then sold for each of its parts. So in that case, that person probably knew or should have known that vehicle was stolen. And so that’s just a crime in and of itself. Being in a chop shop would be another crime. The possession of a stolen vehicle is a felony and it carries up to two years in the Department of Corrections. So now, larceny of a vehicle is the actual stealing and taking of a vehicle with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the vehicle. You’re stealing the vehicle, you’re not just going to use it, you’re going to use it forever and you intend to have it, either to have or to sell it.
Of course, you could steal a car to sell it, and that’s a permanent deprivation to the actual owner. So again, these are all fact-driven as with every criminal case. So if you’re charged with an offense, you’d come to me, Stuart Ericson, a criminal defense attorney. We would talk about the facts and develop a defense at that point in time. Larceny of a vehicle is a felony, and in this statute, $50,000 is the magic cutoff for punishment, up to five years in the Department of Corrections if the vehicle is less than $50,000. If it’s more than $50,000, it’s a potential minimum of 3, and a maximum of 10 years in the Department of Corrections. So again, these are charges that do pop up in Oklahoma under all kinds of circumstances. Many times, these offenses and charges can be fought.
So again, fact-driven, you would need to come to speak with an Oklahoma criminal defense attorney. So if you have any questions about that, reach out to me, at stuartericson@wagonerlawyer.com. Thank you.
