H. B. 2880
(By Delegates Hutchins, L. White,
Amores, Hunt and Johnson)
[Introduced February 24, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article eight, chapter
seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to providing second
offense joyriding as a felony, at the discretion of the
county prosecuting attorney; and providing that the third or
subsequent joyriding offense is a mandatory felony.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article eight, chapter seventeen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. SPECIAL ANTITHEFT LAWS.
§17A-8-4. Unlawful taking of vehicle.
(a) Any person who drives a vehicle, not his or her own,
without consent of the owner thereof, and with intent temporarily
to deprive said owner of his or her possession of such vehicle,
without intent to steal the same, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The consent of the owner of a vehicle to its taking or driving
shall not in any case be presumed or implied because of such
owner's consent on a previous occasion to the taking or driving
of such vehicle by the same or a different person. Any person
who assists in, or is a party or accessory to or an accomplice in
any such unauthorized taking or driving, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(b) Any second violation of this section may be charged and
prosecuted as a felony, at the discretion of the prosecuting
attorney. Upon conviction of a felony for a second violation of
this section, the offender shall be confined to a state
correctional facility for one to three years, or alternatively,
may be confined in a regional jail facility for up to one year,
or fined not more than three thousand dollars, or both confined
and fined.
(c) Any third or subsequent violation of this section is a
felony. Upon conviction therefor, an offender shall be confined
in a state correctional facility for one to three years, or fined
not more than five thousand dollars, or both fined and confined.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that the
prosecuting attorney has discretion to charge and prosecute a
second offense joyriding as a felony. The bill further provides
that a third offense joyriding offense is a felony.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.