Mississippi Taking Away of a Motor Vehicle: First-Offence Exposure

Attorney Answer

This is a felony, and it is not a small one — Mississippi allows up to fifteen years for a first offence. A clean record helps you, but it does not change what you are charged with.

Miss. Code Ann. § 97-17-42 makes it an offence to take away a motor vehicle belonging to another, without the owner's authority, with intent to permanently or temporarily convert it or to deprive the owner of possession. It also reaches anyone who knowingly aids and abets. A first offence is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for up to fifteen years, or both, and restitution for damage to the vehicle is mandatory. A second or subsequent offence carries up to $20,000 and five to twenty years; where the vehicle belongs to a commercial vehicle business, ten to thirty years.

Do not assume the word "temporarily" softens this. The statute does not create a lesser joyriding grade — a temporary-deprivation theory carries the same penalty range as a permanent one.

The two elements worth focusing on with a lawyer are authority and intent. The State has to prove the vehicle was taken without the owner's authority and with the required intent. Cases like this frequently turn on what the owner actually said, who else was involved, and what was understood about permission — which is why the messages on your phone may matter more than anything you say out loud.

What you can do

1. Do not discuss the facts with police, with the vehicle's owner, or with anyone else involved. Fifteen years of exposure is not a situation for explaining yourself. 2. At your first court appearance, ask for court-appointed counsel if you cannot afford a lawyer. Given the exposure, do not attempt this alone. 3. Preserve everything — texts, calls, messages, social media — bearing on permission to use the vehicle. Do not delete anything, even if it looks bad. Deletion creates a separate problem. 4. Write down, for your lawyer only, who owned the vehicle, what you were told and by whom, who was present, and the timeline. 5. Comply with every bond condition exactly. A violation while a felony is pending changes how you are viewed on everything else. 6. Ask your lawyer what dispositions are available in your county for a first felony charge. That varies by court, and it is a question to ask early rather than late.