§ 13A-8-11 — Unauthorized Use of Vehicle; Unlawful Breaking and Entering a Vehicle

(a) A person commits the crime of unauthorized use of a vehicle if:
(1) Knowing that he does not have the consent of the owner, he takes, operates, exercises control over or otherwise uses a propelled vehicle; or
(2) Having custody of propelled vehicle pursuant to an agreement between himself or another and the owner thereof whereby the actor or another is to perform for compensation a specific service for the owner involving the maintenance, repair or use of the vehicle, he intentionally uses or operates it, without the consent of the owner, for his own purpose in a manner constituting a gross deviation from the agreed purpose; or
(3) Having custody of a propelled vehicle pursuant to an agreement with the owner thereof whereby it is to be returned to the owner at a specified time, he knowingly retains or withholds possession thereof, without the consent of the owner, for so lengthy a period beyond the specified time as to render the retention or possession a gross deviation from the agreement.
(4) Unauthorized use of a vehicle is a Class A misdemeanor, except that if a person by force or threat of force takes, operates, usurps or exercises control over a propelled vehicle with an operator or one or more passengers aboard he is guilty of a Class B felony.
(b) A person commits the crime of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle if, without the consent of the owner, he breaks into and enters a vehicle or any part of a vehicle with the intent to commit any felony or theft. For the purposes of this section, “enters” means to intrude:
(1) Any part of the body; or
(2) Any physical object connected with the body.
(3) Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle is a Class C felony.

Legislative History

(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §3225; Acts 1979, No. 79-664, p. 1163, §1.)