{"id":1373,"date":"2019-10-14T17:34:23","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T17:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/?p=1373"},"modified":"2019-10-14T17:34:23","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T17:34:23","slug":"the-difference-between-car-theft-and-grand-theft-auto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/the-difference-between-car-theft-and-grand-theft-auto\/","title":{"rendered":"The Difference Between Car Theft and Grand Theft Auto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week, we cleared up the confusion regarding the\ndifference between burglary crimes and robbery crimes. Today, we will continue\nthe discussion of Indiana theft laws and penalties by outlining the difference\nbetween two very common types of theft that involve cars: car theft and grand\ntheft auto. Continue reading to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Grand
Grand Theft Auto Lawyer 317-636-7514<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Car Theft<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Grand theft auto is the same offense as car theft. If a\nperson steals a vehicle with the intent of keeping it, or not returning it, it\nis considered the crime of grand theft auto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theft of a motor vehicle is a Level 5 Felony crime in Indiana,\nwhich are punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison, up to $10,000 in fines, and\nadditional strict penalties. The type of felony and subsequent penalties can increase\ndepending on the details and circumstances of the crime. Furthermore, auto\ntheft does not apply to just cars and trucks; it also includes boats,\nmotorcycles, campers, and other vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminal Conversion Theft<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

If a person commits theft of a vehicle without the intention\nof depriving the property forever, Indiana will charge this as \u201ccriminal\nconversion\u201d instead of a felony theft charge. An example of criminal conversion\nwould be borrowing a person\u2019s car without their permission, but with the intent\nof returning it when finished. If you commit this crime, you could face Class A\nmisdemeanor criminal charges. In some instances, Indiana will charge a person\nwith a Class A misdemeanor if the property value is under a certain dollar\namount; and amount that is generally at the prosecutor\u2019s discretion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unauthorized Use (Joy-Riding)<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

If a person takes another person\u2019s vehicle without permission with the intent to return it, they are violating Indiana\u2019s Unauthorized Control of a Vehicle Statute, a crime commonly called joy-riding. Although it is a crime, it is not a car theft crime. Instead, it is charged as a less serious misdemeanor crime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Car Rental Theft<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In the case that a person rents a vehicle from a commercial\nbusiness, and then fails to return it after 30 days of signing the rental car\nagreement (or 3 days following a written demand for the vehicle\u2019s return), then\nthey are guilty of an auto theft crime. If a written or mailed demand for the\nvehicle\u2019s return is sent to the address on the signed agreement (in which case\nthey would have 3 days to comply), but the person no longer lives there, they\ncannot use that as a defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obtain an Aggressive Car Theft Lawyer in Indiana<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Call David E. Lewis, Attorney at Law, at 317-636-7514<\/strong> if you have been charged with grand theft auto in Indianapolis<\/a> or anywhere else within Central Indiana. He offers aggressive and experienced criminal defense for anyone facing car theft charges in Indiana. Don\u2019t settle for an attorney that doesn\u2019t have the drive. Attorney David E. Lewis will stop at nothing to protect your rights and preserve your freedoms. We also offer criminal record expungement services to help clean up your criminal history and improve your quality of life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Indianapolis
Schedule a Free Consultation Today!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, we cleared up the confusion regarding the difference between burglary crimes and robbery crimes. Today, we will continue the discussion of Indiana theft laws and penalties by outlining the difference between two very common types of theft that … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1,250,94,857,229],"tags":[854,851,852,855,856,853],"class_list":["post-1373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense","category-criminal-law","category-criminal-record-expungement","category-felony-charges","category-grand-theft-auto","category-theft-charges","tag-car-theft-grand-theft-auto-difference","tag-car-theft-laws-indiana","tag-car-theft-lawyer-indianapolis","tag-grand-theft-auto-law-indiana","tag-grand-theft-auto-lawyer-indianapolis","tag-indianapolis-car-theft-attorney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1375,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1373\/revisions\/1375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}