October 6, 2006

THAT ONE CRIES OUT FOR JURY NULLIFICATION:

136 stolen cars, 1 suspect: "He enjoyed driving" (Natalie Singer, 10/06/06, Seattle Times)

He had fun, fun, fun — until the police took his screwdriver away.

Until that happened, Seattle police say, 23-year-old Liam Moynihan had been on a one-man crime wave, stealing more cars than anyone in King County history. Armed with only a screwdriver and hammer, they say, he jimmied his way into at least 136 vehicles during a six-month joyride of epic proportions.

From last November until his arrest in May, Moynihan allegedly stole enough cars to stock a good-sized dealership, averaging one theft every 32 hours. [...]

And unlike many car thieves, Moynihan didn't sell the stolen cars for parts, say detectives in Seattle's Major Crimes Task Force, which investigates car thefts. Instead, they say, Moynihan simply liked to drive, often taking a stolen car out for a spin for a few hours, sometimes until the gas tank ran dry, and then stealing another.

"He'd just drive around, deciding to go to Kenmore or Tukwila one day. He needed to get from Point A to Point B — he enjoyed driving," said the undercover detective who investigated the case.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 6, 2006 8:19 AM
Comments

I dunno.

It's not like he was stealing trains to joyride in. How sick do you have to enjoy driving cars that much? /oj

Posted by: Jim in Chicago at October 6, 2006 9:57 AM

Enjoying it at all is an indicator of derangement--why punish him?

Posted by: oj at October 6, 2006 9:59 AM

Don't worry. He probably won't get jail time. A while back a discussion on KVI talk radio explained that car thieves in King County don't get jail time until their 7th conviction.

Posted by: Patrick H at October 6, 2006 1:56 PM

What's scary is the idea of twelve people in a room all with TIme Zone Boy's prejudices against modern transportation.

And Patrick is correct. King County has one of the highest rates of auto theft because there's already no penalty.

Posted by: Raoul Ortega at October 6, 2006 2:43 PM

If our car were taken, most, even though not all, of us would be very unhappy. We would say that our car had been "stolen." But that is not how the law looks at it in most jurisdictions.

Commonly, absent some special circumstances, such as taking the car to a chop shop, simple caption and asportation, the taking and carrying away, are not going to make out theft, but some lesser offense. In Pennsylvania, the charge is Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, and C&R, "Catch and Release," is the usual disposition..

Posted by: MFEM MF MFEMFEM at October 6, 2006 3:37 PM
« OF COURSE, JACK STRAW RESENTS THEIR DIFFERENTNESS: | Main | ISN'T THAT BACKWARDS?: »