Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft is charged in Fort Collins and Larimer County when a person is accused of taking the vehicle of another without permission. Depending on the circumstances, this crime can be charged as First Degree Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft or Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft in the Second Degree. A woman recently reported her car as stolen when it wasn’t where she had left in the parking lot. When the car was located, the windows had been busted out, the exterior was scratched up, and the interior was trashed. It was covered in cigarette burns, smelled of urine and there was even blood. Also, the car thieves left behind a nasty note, taunting those who found the car to ‘catch us if you can’ along with some not so pleasant language and pictures. Based on the information provided, if caught, the thieves would be facing the Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft in the First Degree charges along with Criminal Mischief charges for the damage.
Larimer County Nasty Note Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft Attorney: Definition of Motor Vehicle Theft in Colorado
The Larimer County, Colorado law definition of Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft – C.R.S. 18-4-409 – is:
(a) Retains possession or control of the motor vehicle for more than twenty-four hours; or
(b) Attempts to alter or disguise or alters or disguises the appearance of the motor vehicle; or
(c) Attempts to alter or remove or alters or removes the vehicle identification number; or
(d) Uses the motor vehicle in the commission of a crime other than a traffic offense; or
(e) Causes five hundred dollars or more property damage, including but not limited to property damage to the motor vehicle involved, in the course of obtaining control over or in the exercise of control of the motor vehicle; or
(f) Causes bodily injury to another person while he or she is in the exercise of control of the motor vehicle; or
(g) Removes the motor vehicle from this state for a period of time in excess of twelve hours; or
(h) Unlawfully attaches or otherwise displays in or upon the motor vehicle license plates other than those officially issued for the motor vehicle.
(4) A person commits aggravated motor vehicle theft in the second degree if he or she knowingly obtains or exercises control over the motor vehicle of another without authorization or by threat or deception and if none of the aggravating factors in subsection (2) of this section are present.
The aggravated factors do apply in the case above, as the damage caused totaled more than $500.
Sentence for Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft in Loveland and Estes Park
In Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park, Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft is charged as follows:
(a) Class 5 felony if the value of the motor vehicle or motor vehicles involved is less than twenty thousand dollars;
(a.5) Class 4 felony if the value of the motor vehicle or motor vehicles involved is twenty thousand dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand dollars;
(b) Class 3 felony if the value of the motor vehicle or motor vehicles involved is more than one hundred thousand dollars or if the defendant has twice previously been convicted or adjudicated of charges separately brought and tried either in this state or elsewhere of an offense involving theft of a motor vehicle under the laws of this state, any other state, the United States, or any territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Aggravated motor vehicle theft in the second degree is a:
(a) Class 5 felony if the value of the motor vehicle or motor vehicles involved is twenty thousand dollars or more;
(b) Class 6 felony if the value of the motor vehicle or motor vehicles involved is one thousand dollars or more but less than twenty thousand dollars;
(c) Class 1 misdemeanor if the value of the motor vehicle or motor vehicles involved is less than one thousand dollars.
As you can see, the value of the car is very important in determining the charge level.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-658-0007 to schedule a free initial consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
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