Bill Text: MS HB1374 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Stolen property; create crime for the sale of and require payment made to the owner of the property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-03-05 - Died In Committee [HB1374 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2024-HB1374-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative Ladner
House Bill 1374
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-17-70, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE THE CRIME OF SELLING STOLEN PROPERTY; TO INCREASE THE PENALTIES FOR THE CRIME OF RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY; TO REQUIRE THE SELLER OF STOLEN PROPERTY TO PAY THE OWNER OF SUCH PROPERTY THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY BEFORE ANY COURT FEES OR OTHER CRIMINAL PENALTIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 97-17-70, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-70. (1) (a) A person commits the crime of receiving stolen property if he intentionally possesses, receives, retains or disposes of stolen property knowing that it has been stolen or having reasonable grounds to believe it has been stolen, unless the property is possessed, received, retained or disposed of with intent to restore it to the owner.
(b) A person commits the crime of selling stolen property if he intentionally sells stolen property knowing that it has been stolen or having reasonable grounds to believe it has been stolen.
(2) The fact that the person who stole the property has not been convicted, apprehended or identified is not a defense to a charge of receiving stolen property.
(3) (a) Evidence that the person charged under this section stole the property that is the subject of the charge of receiving stolen property is not a defense to a charge under this section; however, dual charges of both stealing and receiving the same property shall not be brought against a single defendant in a single jurisdiction.
(b) Proof that a defendant stole the property that is the subject of a charge under this section shall be prima facie evidence that the defendant had knowledge that the property was stolen.
(4) Any person who shall be
convicted of receiving or selling stolen property which exceeds One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, but less than Five Thousand Dollars
($5,000.00) in value shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the
State Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding * * * seven (7) years or by a fine
of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(5) Any person who shall be
convicted of receiving or selling stolen property which exceeds Five
Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more, but less than Twenty-five Thousand
Dollars ($25,000.00) in value shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody
of the State Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding * * * twelve (12) years or by a fine
of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(6) Any person who shall be
convicted of receiving or selling stolen property which exceeds Twenty-five
Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) in value shall be punished by imprisonment in the
custody of the State Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding * * * twenty-two (22) years or by
a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(7) Any person who shall be
convicted of receiving or selling stolen property which does not exceed
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) in value may be punished by imprisonment in
the county jail for not more than * * * nine (9) months or by a fine of
not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both, if the court
finds substantial and compelling reasons why the offender cannot be safely and
effectively supervised in the community, is not amenable to community-based
treatment, or poses a significant risk to public safety. If such a finding is
not made, the court shall suspend the sentence of imprisonment and impose a
period of probation not exceeding one (1) year or a fine of not more than One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both. Any person convicted of a third or
subsequent offense under this subsection where the value of the property is not
less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), shall be imprisoned in the Penitentiary
for a term not exceeding * * * three (3) five (5) years or fined an amount not
exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both.
(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court shall order a person convicted of selling stolen property to pay the owner of the stolen property the total value of the stolen property before paying any court fees or other criminal penalties.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.
