Theft of a vehicle without the purpose of theft, qualification of the crime and penalties

ST 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

1. Wrongful seizure of a car or other means of transport without the purpose of theft (theft) - shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to one hundred twenty thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year, or by restriction of freedom for a term of up to three years, or forced labor for a term of up to five years, or arrest for a term of up to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to five years.

2. The same act committed: a) by a group of persons by prior conspiracy; b) has become invalid; c) with the use of violence not dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of using such violence - is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to eighteen months, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years, or imprisonment for a term of up to seven years.

3. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, committed by an organized group or causing particularly large damage, are punishable by imprisonment for up to ten years.

4. Acts provided for in parts one, two or three of this article, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of such violence, are punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to twelve years.

Differences between types of theft

A crime related to vehicle theft is classified depending on the ultimate purpose of the criminal act. Theft for the purpose of theft involves obtaining a certain material benefit from the fact of theft. The Criminal Code provides for Article 158 for car theft for the purpose of theft. The concept and signs of theft are discussed in the article.

If the offense is committed, for example, for the purpose of revenge or out of hooligan motives, and is not intended to obtain benefits, then such an offense falls under Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Despite the fact that both of these crimes are committed against someone else’s property, theft of a vehicle is not considered theft under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Let's analyze the main differences between the types of theft according to the fundamental characteristics of the crime using a summary table.

No danger

Well, the part doesn't end there. Art. 166 also indicates the measures applied to violators for theft, which was accompanied by threats or the use of violence. It is important to note that the acts committed were of a nature not dangerous to human life and health.

As you might guess, for this kind of violation you will have to rely on the measures given above. That is, a fine of up to 200,000 rubles (or expressed as income for a maximum of 1.5 years), or forced labor for up to 5 years, or imprisonment for no more than 7 years.

As you can see, there is no restriction of freedom (probation) or arrests in such a development of events. So for now we should conclude: a person is punished most lightly for theft committed alone and without the use of violence. Such cases happen very often. And they are not new in Russia.

Theft of a vehicle without theft purpose

Every crime implies the presence of:

• subject of a criminal act,
• subject
• subjective and objective aspects of the offense.

The subject of this crime is a vehicle. The legislation states that this is a vehicle that can be used to move on land or water:

• cars,
• boats and motor boats,
• motorcycles,
• tractors,
• other vehicles equipped with an internal combustion engine or an engine powered by electricity.

It is worth noting: theft of a bicycle, rowing boat, canoe, horse-drawn cart, or trailer does not fall under the jurisdiction of Art. 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The subject of the theft is a legally capable citizen, 14 years of age or older.

The objective side of the criminal act is manipulation to illegally take possession of a vehicle and set it in motion. Moreover, if this action is committed by relatives or friends of the owner of the vehicle who have previously used this vehicle, then such an event does not contain the elements of a crime considered by Art. 166 of the Criminal Code.

The subjective side is the presence of thoughts of theft without committing theft of both the vehicle itself and its parts.

The crime is considered committed from the moment the vehicle begins to move, regardless of how it was carried out. The vehicle can move independently (if functional capabilities are available), towed, pushed by hand or transported on another vehicle.

Use of violence

Theft, accompanied by slight damage to the health of the owner, is punishable under Art. 166 (2) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A person is also held accountable if he threatens the owner of the vehicle. Under actions of a violent nature, within the meaning of Art. 166 (2) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, you need to understand beatings inflicted intentionally, or other behavioral acts, the consequence of which is the infliction of physical pain on the victim with restriction of freedom (use of handcuffs, tying up, and so on).

Violence dangerous to the owner of the vehicle is considered to be of a moderate type, as well as minor harm, as a result of which a short-term disorder or minor permanent loss of general ability to work occurs.

When qualifying an act, threats of violent action are also taken into account. At the same time, prosecution under additional articles is not carried out.

If actions of a violent nature accompanying the theft caused the death of the vehicle owner through negligence, the act is qualified in accordance with Part 4 of Art.

166 and part 4 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code.

Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and penalties for theft

The regulatory measures of liability for car theft under Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provide for:

1. Punishment in the form of a fine of up to 120 thousand rubles or imprisonment for up to 5 years for theft.
2. For theft committed by a group of people, if there is reason to believe that they were in conspiracy, the punishment is up to 7 years in prison.
3. For theft committed by an organized group of persons, or resulting in particularly large harm, the penalty is 10 years in prison.
4. For theft, for which threats of physical harm or violent actions were used - up to 12 years in prison.

Full responsibility for a crime begins at the age of 16. But a person who has reached the age of 14 and has committed the theft can also be prosecuted under the article for hooliganism.

In the absence of aggravating circumstances, you can count on the court to impose a minimum sentence. Otherwise, the penalty may be close to the specified upper limits. Aggravating circumstances are:

1. Being in a state of alcoholic intoxication during the hijacking. This circumstance makes the crime more socially dangerous, because suggests that the thief was driving the vehicle while drunk. In addition to the punishment for theft, the culprit will also have to pay a fine for failure to comply with traffic rules or may have his driver's license revoked.
2. Theft of a vehicle with passengers in it. In addition to theft, the offender also forcibly restricts the freedom of other people (unlawful restriction of freedom is described in the article). If threats were made against passengers during the crime, this further aggravates the guilt. Passengers may also demand payment of moral compensation.
3. Damage to the vehicle or its components during theft. The hijacker is obliged to compensate the victim for repair costs and, possibly, compensation for moral damages.

It is worth noting: in addition to imprisonment, the court in each specific case may also impose other types of punishment. This can be compulsory labor for a period of up to 360 hours, correctional labor for a period of up to 1 year, forced labor for a maximum period of 5 years, or arrest for a period of up to 3 months.

However, the court may also take into account mitigating circumstances:

1. The defendant's need to provide for minor children and other dependents.
2. Voluntary payment of compensation to the injured party.
3. No claims from the victim.
4. Voluntary admission of guilt.
5. No prior criminal or administrative charges.
6. Positive characteristics from place of residence, place of work, etc.
7. Unsuccessful hijacking attempt.

Watch the video about car theft and the punishment for this offense.

Examples from judicial practice

The following case can serve as an example of the qualification of a criminal case under this article.

18-year-old citizens Ivanov and Petrov decided to joke with their friend, Count. Sidorov, to whom his parents gave him a car. They agreed to steal a car to a neighboring neighborhood. Not finding his car on the spot, gr. Sidrov filed a statement with the police. A few hours later the car was discovered. Witnesses described the young people who drove the car. As a result, gr. Ivanov and Petrov were detained. The court qualified their actions under Art. 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 2 - theft without the intent of theft by a group of persons by prior conspiracy and awarded a fine of 150 thousand rubles.

Let's consider 2 more examples from judicial practice of recent years:

1. 2 citizens of the Russian Federation, while intoxicated, stole the plaintiff’s car without the intent of theft. During the investigation, it turned out that the citizen who was driving the car when it was stolen had previously been deprived of his driver's license, and was also brought to administrative responsibility for hooliganism. The court also found out that the defendants are not officially employed and each of them has two dependent young children. The court took into account the voluntary compensation by the defendants for the damage caused to the plaintiff, as well as the voluntary admission of guilt and the positive characteristics of the defendants. Based on all the information listed above, the court sentenced the defendants to a minimum fine.
2. A citizen of the Russian Federation committed deliberate theft of a car while on probation for a sentence in another case. The defendant voluntarily confessed to the crime. Also, as mitigating circumstances, the court took into account the satisfactory characteristics of the defendant and his state of health, including the presence of HIV infection. As a result of the trial, the defendant was sentenced to 1 year and 9 months in prison.

You can ask questions about vehicle theft in the comments to the article.

Set of acts

In the case where an entity who has committed the theft of a car or other vehicle without the intention of stealing it, at the same time illegally appropriates the property that is in it, his actions must also be qualified under the article in question. 166, and other relevant criminal provisions. When taking possession of a car for its subsequent dismantling and illegally obtaining its parts or using the vehicle for one’s own benefit or for third parties, the act is qualified as theft. Theft with the aim of returning property to the owner for a fee is considered in a similar way. Illegal possession can be carried out either secretly for the owner or in an open way. In the latter case, the culprit makes demands on the owner to transfer the vehicle to him.

A comment

To clearly understand the information presented in the article, you need to refer to the comments to the latter. Almost every crime prescribed in the Criminal Code has its own clarifications. They help establish what kind of punishment is due and for what.

So, in Art. 166 comments indicate that the object of a crime can be not only a car, but any vehicle in general. For example, a boat or an airplane. Anything that has an engine. But bicycles, skateboards and other devices for transportation without engines do not qualify as vehicles.

Theft can be carried out both openly and secretly. In this case, the vehicle is moved from its parking place. Criminals should not have any rights to transport. It is necessarily alien. Otherwise, the crime cannot be recognized as theft.

additional information

Vehicles belonging to the accused can be confiscated only if they were used as an instrument of an intentional unlawful act. When a crime is committed by a subject whose guilt is recognized under Art. 264, a car cannot be considered a means by which illegal actions are carried out. In case of unlawful seizure of transport to facilitate the commission of another criminal act, the behavior is qualified under the article in question in conjunction with the norms of the Special Part of the Code.

Property damage

Harm expressed in serious damage to the vehicle is recognized as particularly large. Such damage excludes the possibility of restoring defects and further operation of the car or other transport. The monetary assessment of damage is carried out based on the actual value of the property on the day the crime was committed. In case of illegal seizure of a vehicle followed by its deliberate destruction, the crime is classified as a combination of acts. This provision applies if, as a result of these actions, significant damage was caused to the owner, and the behavior of the perpetrator was not considered as theft on the basis of causing harm to the victim on an especially large scale.

What type of crime is robbery?

Depending on the nature and degree of danger of the crime for society, all offenses listed in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are classified into several categories:

• of minor gravity - these are acts committed intentionally or through negligence, the maximum punishment for which does not exceed 3 years of imprisonment;
• of medium gravity - intentional acts, the commission of which is punishable by no more than 5 years of imprisonment, as well as crimes committed through negligence, with a sentence of more than 3 years in prison;
• grave - these are intentional acts, the maximum punishment for which does not exceed 10 years in prison;
• especially serious - these are intentional crimes, providing for a term of imprisonment for a period of more than 10 years or another, more severe punishment;

Note! Robbery is qualified under Art. 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the first part of which assumes an average degree of severity of the crime, the second - grave, and the third - especially grave.

To summarize, it should be noted that when qualifying crimes of this kind, many controversial situations usually arise. Many investigators and even judges often confuse robbery and robbery, since the first often turns into the second. Robbery is a more serious act and carries a more severe punishment.

In order to understand all the intricacies of your case and avoid unnecessary troubles, seek help from a qualified lawyer. The specialist will explain your rights to you, and if necessary, conduct his own legal investigation, find new evidence and facts that speak in your favor.