(a)Any person who drives or takes a vehicle not his or her own, without the consent of the owner thereof, and with intent either to permanently or temporarily deprive the owner thereof of his or her title to or possession of the vehicle, whether with or without intent to steal the vehicle, or any person who is a party or an accessory to or an accomplice in the driving or unauthorized taking or stealing, is guilty of a public offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code or by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(b)If the vehicle is (1) an ambulance, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 165, (2) a distinctively marked vehicle of a law enforcement agency or fire department, taken while the ambulance or vehicle is on an emergency call and this fact is known to the person driving or taking, or any person who is party or an accessory to or an accomplice in the driving or unauthorized taking or stealing, or (3) a vehicle which has been modified for the use of a disabled veteran or any other disabled person and which displays a distinguishing license plate or placard issued pursuant to Section 22511.5 or 22511.9 and this fact is known or should reasonably have been known to the person driving or taking, or any person who is party or an accessory in the driving or unauthorized taking or stealing, the offense is a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for two, three, or four years or by a fine of not
more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(c)In any prosecution for a violation of subdivision (a) or (b), the consent of the owner of a vehicle to its taking or driving shall not in any case be presumed or implied because of the owner’s consent on a previous occasion to the taking or driving of the vehicle by the same or a different person.
(d)The existence of any fact which makes subdivision (b) applicable shall be alleged in the accusatory pleading, and either admitted by the defendant in open court, or found to be true by the jury trying the issue of guilt or by the court where guilt is established by plea of guilty or nolo contendere or by trial by the court sitting without a jury.
(e)Any person who has been convicted of one or more previous felony violations of this
section, or felony grand theft of a vehicle in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 487 of the Penal Code, former subdivision (3) of Section 487 of the Penal Code, as that section read prior to being amended by Section 4 of Chapter 1125 of the Statutes of 1993, or Section 487h of the Penal Code, is punishable as set forth in Section 666.5 of the Penal Code. The existence of any fact that would bring a person under Section 666.5 of the Penal Code shall be alleged in the information or indictment and either admitted by the defendant in open court, or found to be true by the jury trying the issue of guilt or by the court where guilt is established by plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or by trial by the court sitting without a jury.
(f)This section shall become operative on January 1, 1997.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
2,005
cases (
690 in the last 5 years), 1961–2026 · leading case:
United States v. Vidal, 504 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 2007).
United States v. Vidal, 504 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 2007).
· cites it 21× “Therefore, there is no need to discuss theoretical possibilities, or even realistic probabilities, about the extent of liability under California Vehicle Code § 10851 because the existence of Penal Code § 32 and the case law showing that California uses it to prosecute…”
Gabriel Almanza-Arenas v. Loretta E. Lynch, 815 F.3d 469 (9th Cir. 2015).
· cites it 22× “771 (BIA 2009), which held that a conviction for vehicle theft under California Vehicle Code § 10851(a) constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude.”
People v. Montoya, 94 P.3d 1098 (Cal. 2004).
· cites it 12× “Here, the Court of Appeal held that unlawful taking of a vehicle (Veh.Code, § 10851) is not a lesser included offense of carjacking (Pen.”
People v. Page, 406 P.3d 319 (Cal. 2017).
· cites it 5× “The trial court denied the petition and the Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that Proposition 47 did not affect punishment under Vehicle Code section 10851. We conclude the lower courts erred in holding that a defendant with a Vehicle Code section 10851 conviction is…”
People v. Superior Court (Zamudio), 999 P.2d 686 (Cal. 2000).
· cites it 10× “Defendant and real party in interest Jose Francisco Zamudio was advised, when pleading no contest in 1992 to the felony of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle without the owner's consent (Veh. Code, § 10851), that conviction of that offense might have the consequences of his…”
Penuliar v. Mukasey, 528 F.3d 603 (9th Cir. 2008).
· cites it 11× “Penuliar, a lawful permanent resident, pled guilty to two counts of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in violation of California Vehicle Code § 10851(a), and one count of evading *607 an officer in violation of California Vehicle Code § 2800.”
Nopring Paulino Penuliar v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney Gen., 435 F.3d 961 (9th Cir. 2006).
· cites it 11× “Penuliar, a lawful permanent resident, pled guilty to two counts of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in violation of California Vehicle Code § 10851(a), and one count of evading an officer in violation of California Vehicle Code § 2800.”
People v. Solis, 200 Cal. Rptr. 3d 463 (Cal. Ct. App. 2nd 2016).
· cites it 8× “(d)(1) ; count 1); driving or taking a vehicle, a felony (Veh.Code, § 10851, subd. (a) ; count 2); and theft of identifying information, a misdemeanor (Pen.”
People v. Smith, 303 P.3d 368 (Cal. 2013).
· cites it 5× “Barrick recognized that ―joyriding is not intrinsically a necessarily included offense within Vehicle Code section 10851‖ (Barrick, supra, 33 Cal.”
People v. Rios, 222 Cal. App. 4th 542 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).
· cites it 6× “(a)(1); 1 count 1), one count of vehicle theft (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a); count 3), and one count of street terrorism (§ 186.”
Nopring Paulino Penuliar v. John Ashcroft, Attorney Gen., 395 F.3d 1037 (9th Cir. 2005).
· cites it 11× “Nopring Paulino Penuliar petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), Penuliar, a lawful permanent resident, pled guilty to two counts of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in violation of California Vehicle Code § 10851(a), and one count…”
— Cal. Vehicle Code § 10851(A) — 2 cases
V-z-s, 22 I. & N. Dec. 1338 (2000).
— Cal. Vehicle Code § 10851(a) — 76 cases
Gabriel Almanza-Arenas v. Loretta E. Lynch, 815 F.3d 469 (9th Cir. 2015).
“771 (BIA 2009), which held that a conviction for vehicle theft under California Vehicle Code § 10851(a) constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude.”
United States v. Vidal, 504 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 2007).
“Therefore, there is no need to discuss theoretical possibilities, or even realistic probabilities, about the extent of liability under California Vehicle Code § 10851 because the existence of Penal Code § 32 and the case law showing that California uses it to prosecute…”
Penuliar v. Mukasey, 528 F.3d 603 (9th Cir. 2008).
“Penuliar, a lawful permanent resident, pled guilty to two counts of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in violation of California Vehicle Code § 10851(a), and one count of evading *607 an officer in violation of California Vehicle Code § 2800.”
Nopring Paulino Penuliar v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney Gen., 435 F.3d 961 (9th Cir. 2006).
“Penuliar, a lawful permanent resident, pled guilty to two counts of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in violation of California Vehicle Code § 10851(a), and one count of evading an officer in violation of California Vehicle Code § 2800.”
Nopring Paulino Penuliar v. John Ashcroft, Attorney Gen., 395 F.3d 1037 (9th Cir. 2005).
“Nopring Paulino Penuliar petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), Penuliar, a lawful permanent resident, pled guilty to two counts of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in violation of California Vehicle Code § 10851(a), and one count…”
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