Stealing a car is charged as Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft in Castle Rock and Douglas County. A man is facing these charges after taking a woman’s car from a Walmart parking lot. According to the report, the woman had remotely started the car so it would be warm when she got to it. A man saw the unattended running car, snuck in and drove away before she even got to the parking lot. The man was in a bit of a pickle after he parked the car couldn’t get it going again. He tried to reach out for help and ended up on the phone with the car owner. The man was quickly caught.

Douglas County, Colorado Definition of Aggravated Motor Vehicle in the Second Degree

The Douglas County, Colorado law definition of Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft – C.R.S. 18-4-409 – is:

“

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."

Those aggravating factors include:

• Taking the car out of the state for 12 hours or more
• Keeping the car for 24 hours or more
• Changing the appearance of the car
• Removing the VIN
• Uses the vehicle in another crime
• Causes damage to the car totaling $500 or more
• Using different or fake plates
• Causes an injury to another while in possession of the car

The man had the car for a little over two hours and didn’t meet any of the aggravating factors, so he would be facing the Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft in the Second Degree charge. If one of the aggravating factors was present, then Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft in the First Degree would be charged.

Sentence for Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft in Highlands Ranch and Parker

In Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, and Parker, Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft in the Second Degree is charged based on the value of the car. A car valued at $20,000 or more, then the charge would be a class 5 felony. For a car valued from $1,000 to under $20,000, it would be charged as a class 5 felony. Any vehicle worth less than $1,000 is a class 1 misdemeanor.

If you have been charged with Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from Sawyer Legal Group at 303-265-1950 today. Together, we can protect your future.

Image Source: Pixabay-Burak Kebapci