Michigan Motor Vehicle Law: Unlawful Driving Away

Man Gets Probation for Stealing Own Car from Impound

Andrew R. Kolar was a man with a plan. Faced with the issue of having lost his van, he set about retrieving it. But because his van had been impounded and was therefore considered to be temporarily the property of Village Towing, the only way he could think to get it back was to steal it. And surely stealing your own property isn’t really stealing, right? Unfortunately, that isn’t how the law views it.

According to police, two unidentified men were seen on surveillance footage, entering the fenced in lot of Village Towing after hours. One man placed a battery into Kolar’s 2006 Chevrolet Express, and then drove it away, followed by the second man in a separate vehicle.

Unexpectedly, however, the 37-year-old West Branch man then visited the Bay County Sheriff’s Department the next day and explained to the officer on duty what he had done. He admitted to having broken into the impound lot and then stolen his own car.

The day after that he showed up at Village Towing and explained to the owner what he had done. He admitted to having removed the bolts on the gate in order to get his vehicle out, but offered to fix the gate it the owner felt it was necessary. But while Kolar conversed with the owner, another employee called 911 and reported what Kolar was saying.

Police showed up at the impound lot and arrested him. Why they hadn’t arrested him the day before when he voluntarily walked into the police station and explained what he had done, we will likely never know.

Kolar was charged with a single counts of unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle, and breaking and entering with intent. However, Kolar eventually accepted a plea bargain, pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle. In return the prosecution agreed to dismiss all other charges.

Under Michigan law, unlawful use of a motor vehicle is a high court misdemeanor. This means that, unlike a standard misdemeanor which cannot be punished by more than one year in jail, a high court misdemeanor is punishable by up to two years in prison, along with a fine of $1,500.

But Bay County District Judge Dawn A. Klida sentenced Kolar to a single year of probation, with no jail time. He was given credit for time served, which was only four days in jail, and fined $505 in court fines.

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