I was reading a story about a woman who left her car with keys in the ignition (a violation of MGO 12.128(1): Prohibiting Operators From Leaving Keys in Parked Motor Vehicles. ), whose car was then driven away by another woman. The thief was charged with "operating a motor vehicle without owner's consent" which seems to be covered by WSS 943.23(2) & 943.23(3)
The question I am pondering is: does the phrase "any vehicle" in this section apply to bicycles? "Vehicle" is defined in this section of the statutes to be: 939.22(44) "Vehicle" means any self-propelled device for moving persons or property or pulling implements from one place to another, whether such device is operated on land, rails, water, or in the air. So it seems to come down to the interpretation of "self-propelled" - which I assume rules out vehicles powered exclusively by human power. Lawyers, am I correct? Why is this relevant to bikies? It turns out that violation of 943.23(2) or 943.23(3) is a felony, which is the threshold that the Madison Police Department uses to determine whether a crime gets the "self-report form" treatment (usually no investigation), or is actively investigated. Currently, unless a bicycle is worth more than $2500( the general threshold for a felony theft under WSS), the MPD will usually not do anything but ask for a self-report form if you report the bicycle as stolen. So for comparison, based on my current understanding: If someone who just bought a used car off a friend for $100 has their car taken and driven without the owner's consent: Felony - police can actively investigate. If someone takes a $169 pocket motorcycle and rides away with it without the owner's consent: Felony - police can actively investigate. http://www.minipocketrockets.com/ If someone takes a $699 moped and rides away without the owner's consent: Felony - police can actively investigate. http://www.scooterdepot.us/50cc-Gas-Moped-Scooter-p-436.html If someone takes a $852 Phantom 3 Wheel Scooter and rides away with it without the owner's consent: Felony - police can actively investigate. http://tinyurl.com/6eygz3 If someone takes a $2499.95 Cervelo P2 Carbon (Ultegra) bicycle and rides away with it without the owner's consent: Misdemeanor - The police tell you to go file a self-report form. Good luck ever seeing your bike again. http://tinyurl.com/58gllj - Matt _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
