Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-117 (2026)

Failure of bailee to return animal, aircraft, vehicle or boat

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

If any person comes into the possession as bailee of any animal, aircraft, vehicle, boat or vessel, and fail to return the same to the bailor, in accordance with the bailment agreement, he shall be deemed guilty of larceny thereof and receive the same punishment, according to the value of the thing stolen, prescribed for the punishment of the larceny of goods and chattels. The failure to return to the bailor such animal, aircraft, vehicle, boat or vessel, within five days from the time the bailee has agreed in writing to return the same shall be prima facie evidence of larceny by such bailee of such animal, aircraft, vehicle, boat or vessel.

Code 1950, § 18.1-163; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 20 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1976–2024 · leading case: Darcella Reed v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 746 S.E.2d 81 (Va. Ct. App. 2013).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Darcella Reed v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 746 S.E.2d 81 (Va. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 48× “The trial court convicted Dareella Reed (appellant) of failing to return bailed property, in violation of Code § 18.2-117. On appeal, appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting this conviction, which arose from appellant’s continued and unauthorized use…”

Francis Anyokorit Masika v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 757 S.E.2d 571 (Va. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 22× “On appeal, appellant does not contest that he failed to return a rented vehicle or that the evidence would be insufficient to establish that he violated Code § 18.2-117. Rather, his argument is that he did not violate Code § 18.”

Ketchum v. Commonwealth, 403 S.E.2d 382 (Va. Ct. App. 1991). · cites it 20× “Ketchum (appellant) appeals from a judgment of the Circuit Court of the City of Petersburg (trial court) which approved a jury verdict convicting her for violation of Code § 18.2-117 which provides: If any person comes into the possession as bailee of any animal, aircraft,…”

Molash v. Commonwealth, 348 S.E.2d 868 (Va. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 8× “Chester David Molash and Kathy Ann Molash were convicted of larceny in violation of Code § 18.2-117 for failure to return bailed property.”

Commonwealth v. Hensley, 375 S.E.2d 182 (Va. Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 10× “The Supreme Court held that while there was no explicit proscription in Virginia’s Constitution against imprisonment for debt, it nevertheless was clear that a person could not be *470 imprisoned, absent fraud, for mere failure to pay a debt arising from a contract.”

Tucker v. Com., 604 S.E.2d 66 (Va. 2004). · cites it 2× “2-102 contains no such requirement, and the evidence plainly allowed the fact finder to conclude that the owner's permission to let Tucker use the car to go to a restaurant and a store did not extend to a period of several days afterward in which the car was removed from the…”

Bruhn v. Commonwealth, 559 S.E.2d 880 (Va. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “1, Failure to account by special receivers; § 18.2-117, Failure of bailee to return property; § 18.”

Makarov v. Commonwealth, 228 S.E.2d 573 (Va. 1976). “1-163 (now § 18.2-117), which declared that a bailee of any animal, aircraft, vehicle, boat or vessel, was guilty of larceny if he failed to return the bailed property to the bailor in accordance with the bailment agreement.”

McDowell v. Commonwealth, 701 S.E.2d 820 (Va. Ct. App. 2010). “2-118 states in relevant part: (a) Whenever any person is in possession or control of any personal property, by virtue of or subject to a written lease of such property, except property described in § 18.2-117, and such person so in possession or control shall, with intent to…”

Delano Compton, etc. v. Commonwealth, 473 S.E.2d 95 (Va. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “That statute reads in pertinent part as follows: (a) Whenever any person is in possession or control of any personal property, by virtue of or subject to a written lease of such property, except property described in § 18.2-117, and such person so in possession or control shall,…”

Demetrius Tarpley v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 6× “52 was ‘substantially similar’ to Virginia Code § 18.2-117 for purposes of establishing a necessary predicate conviction under § 18.”

Brian Scott Newport v. Commonwealth (Va. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 7× “Brian Scott Newport appeals a conviction for failure to return bailed property in violation of Code § 18.2-117. Newport raises two issues: whether the trial court erred in: (1) applying the statute’s prima facie presumption of larceny for failure to return a rental car within…”

Show all 20 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.