Does anyone know what the statute of limitations is on auto theft in California?

Bet that's the last time you ask that question on this forum and did you ever get your original question answered?

 

I am getting the popcorn...it is time for this thread to die....

 

right on.

 

and again

 

Actually I did. There were some good people that seemed to know what they are talking about. Since laws are different everywhere I wasn't sure if California had some law that would eliminate ownership after a period of time. It is sort of strange that many states have an adverse possession law for real estate where ***le transfers to the person in possession. It doesn't happen often.

What is so funny is that no one pointed out how easy it would have been to solve this case back in the 70s with just a small effort. It looks like it was treated as just another stolen car and since it was not running and 30 years old not much was done. One contact with the Tucker Club would have got a list of all the cars and likely targets for which car it was. I suppose a lot of that has to do with how much an owner is pushing them to find it. No police department would have the staff to solve every crime. Some have to go in the low priority bin.

 

Even though this isn't a tucker this is a similiar story that came out late in 2009.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/09/vw-bus-stolen-35-years-ago-returned-in-mint-condition-to-alls/

 

Carl La Fong ... common sense would suggest that an auto theft investigation start with the first person to claim ownership (***le holder) when the car was re***led/reappeared. The paper trail stopped when the car was stolen when it was ***led using the engine number ... a new paper trail started when the car was ***led using the ch***is number. The first person to ***le the car using the ch***is number instantly becomes a "person of interest" or a "likely suspect" in the theft ... it is very possible the first person on the new ***le is either the thief or got it from the thief. That means if TuckerFan knows the name of the person on the new ***le (deceased or not) ... he quite possibly, and unknowingly "knows who the thief is or knows someone who knows who the thief is" (meaning the person on the new ***le bought it from and knows the real thief). If this doesn't make any sense to you I'm sorry, I can't explain it any simpler than that. Also, there in no one more likely to have a spare Tucker engine laying around than a Tucker enthusiast/club member ... and the stolen car did receive a different engine.

By the way, if you never called anyone a "douchenozzle", why in the world would you possibly think I was referring to you in the other post ?

TuckerFan is saying the car would not have been easy to locate/recognize due to the ***ling differences between states ... but, due to the extremely limited number of cars produced, one can use the process of elimination to determine which car actually had been stolen and re***led.

Based on the story above regarding the VW bus, it would appear as though California does NOT have a statute of limitations and with the legitimate owner of the car in question never having been paid out by the insurance co, they are still (in the eyes of the law) the legal and rightful owners of the Tucker (if it can be proven that the car in question actually IS their stolen Tucker).

PS ... my posting here actually is relevant to the original post ... wonder if it will still get deleted.

 

So what? So what if he knows the name of a dead guy who knew the name of the real thief? What possible difference could that make in this situation? None.

 

Douchenozzle! Ha the Aceman sayeth

 

To bring a dead thread back. On the nes this morning was a story about an Austin Healy that was stolen in Philly 43 years ago. The owner has been keeping his eye open since then. He spotted a Healy for sale on ebay in LA and contacted the police. They checked it out an it turned out to be his. It was returned to him. No details of how many "owners" it had during those years. But it seems once its stolen it stays stolen. No limitation.

 

Ryan or an Admin, could someone please just lock this thread? Lots of speculation regarding laws from non-attorneys, confusion as to jurisdiction, the mixing of criminal and civil remedies.... this thread is a disaster with no redeeming value to anyone.

 

I think they should leave it open,i like to hear how it turns out...only my 2 cents...

 

i am interested in ...the rest of the story...as well - hoping for a "happy ending"

 

I think a lot of us would like to know how this one turns out...if it does

 

Had my '55 Chevy g***er stolen in 1971, and never seen again. If it ever shows up anywhere I still have the ***le, and I'd damn sure want it back. I could care less who bought it, or how they bought it. It was mine when it was stolen, and always will be mine!

 

It would seem to me that it already "has turned out". The origional owner said they don't want to persue it so I would think that would be enough." Lock this thread", I agree

 

if it was stolen from me, I'd want it back.....

 

Given that a good Tucker is worth over a million dollars these days I would expect the owner to change his mind in a hurry.

One way would be to talk to the owner and offer him some money to sign a quit claim deed or hand over the ownership. Then you would find out how much he doesn't care.

 

On that one the dealer in California who had it on Ebay had posted the Vin on Ebay and that was how the owner with the ***le recovered the car.
http://news.yahoo.com/texas-man-finds-stolen-car-42-years-later-203003133--abc-news-topstories.html

 

Produce a report and send it to police in city where it is and they will seiz it and return to orig**** reporting party. Ownership and a Police report are all you need. However in Calif. all cars before 1954 were registered by Motor Number (on Engine) so hope the motor is still in it.

 

it seems like there is no limitation,,recently a car stolen 42 years ago was recovered. HRP

http://www.scpr.org/news/2012/07/15/33284/stolen-1967-austin-healy-recovered-east-la/

 

I can't believe this thread hasn't been closed and wish I had back all the time I wasted reading this ********. Simple answer, give all the information to the police and let the chips fall where they may. Done deal!!!!!

 

Maybe if the family goes to see the car they can bring some kind of paper work to give to the new owner saying that the original owner gives ownership of the car to them. A bill of sale or the original ***le would be cool. See if you can get permission to post info and pictures of the car in question. This is a cool story. Too bad you can't trace it back to the person who stole it.

 

Maybe it is time to close this thread. At least we now know there is no statute of limitation on stolen property. Whether or not the family in the original post want their car back or not is up to them but o those who have had a car stolen at least they know if it turns up they will get it back.

 

read recently about a guy that found his Healey that was stolen back in 68. the car was for sale on a lot and with a police report from 1968 and help from the local LA police, he got his car back.

prosecuting the thief is probably 7 years, but recovering the vehicle? all you have to do is show proof of ownership and an official police report and the guy just might get his Tucker back.

wish him good luck!

 

Ditto for my 1971 SS 454 Chevy El Camino stolen here in Tacoma it's been over 4 years now, I wish the deadbeat(s) get whats coming to them in future....

 

So you asked the wrong question.
Statutes of limitations on auto theft, or any other crime, have to do with prosecution of the perpetrator for commiting the crime. They have nothing to do with ownership of stolen personal property.

I believe every American jurisdiction has an adverse posession statute - these date back to English laws of 1540 and 1623, and are used to quiet ***le to real property (land).

I am unaware of any similar statutes relating to personal property. Stolen personal property always belongs to the original owner, there is no limitation period.

 

The stories of stolen cars being returned to the rightful owners after long periods of time and expensive restorations is alarming. I just read about one in one of the antique mags about a '30s Mercedes convertible that sold recently at one of the large auctions for $3.5 million and the new owner was showing it in it's home country of Germany. The car was taken from it's original owner in the sweep after WWII but confi****ed by the German government at this recent show and returned to the family (I believe) of the original owner. The lawsuits to the auction firm have probably been filed and it will get messy going through the previous owners. This is not right in my opinion. If the owner who had it stolen was compensated he should have no right to the car. If he wasn't, he should only be compensated for the value (plus interest) when it was stolen or given the opportunity to pay the difference between that value and the current value to the current owner. It just isn't right for someone who had a $1000.00 car stolen 30 or more years ago who given the odds probably would not have kept the car very long anyway to be rewarded handsomely at the expense of someone who owns the car honestly.

 

48 Tucker fan was arrested last week for stealing the car back then. The car went back to the original owner.
I thought he knew a bit too much about the whole damn thing!











LOL just kidding.

 

Agreed on all that is bold.

However when originally active, the thread inspired me to do some reading about the Tucker (man, motor, myth, etc.) and brought forth older automotive information that I wouldn't have otherwise attained. An interesting tale like this about a famous marque of car such as Tucker can tend to bring people to a forum such as the H.A.M.B. (which has it's yays and nays with regard to redeeming value as well but I digress.)

No matter how sound your logic is, this would tend to open doors for parties who would hang onto the car long enough to legally swipe it from the legitimate owner(s).