Rizio and Nelson California Law Blog

Grand theft of an automobile occurs when one person takes another person’s car without their permission, with the intent to permanently remove it from their custody. A charge of grand theft auto requires that the automobile stolen have a value that is more than $400. Grand theft auto is classified as a felony, and is punishable with imprisonment in a state prison for 16 months to 3 years.

In order to convict a defendant for grand theft auto, the following case must be proven exactly, according to the instructions that the judge will advise the jury to follow before they deliberate on the case presented before them. Jury instructions define the law and the parameters that the jury must abide within when examining the facts of the case. In California, these jury instructions are called CALJIC.

CALJIC 14.35 reads:

“Every person who steals, takes, or drives away the automobile of another with the specific intent to deprive him/her permanently of his/her property is guilty of the crime of grand theft of an automobile in violation of Penal Code section 487h.”

In order to prove this crime, each of the following elements must be proven:

1. A person took or drove away an automobile belonging to another person; and
2. When the person took or drove away the automobile, he/she had the specific intent to deprive the owner permanently of his/her property.”

However, if a defendant is convicted of more than one grand theft auto offense, the punishment increases to imprisonment in a state prison for at least 2 to 4 years and/or fined up to $10,000. This enhancement applies to all motor vehicles, trailers, special construction equipment and motorized vessels.

The enhancement must be found to be true by a jury, in a case that must be proved “beyond a reasonable doubt,” or admitted to by the defendant in open court, or by way of defendant’s plea of guilty or nolo contendere. If this is not done, the enhancement cannot be found true by a jury.

If you or a loved one was charged with grand theft auto, do not hesitate to contact an experienced defense lawyer such as those available at the law offices of Rizio and Nelson today.