N.M. Stat. Ann. § 30-16D-4
History: 1953 Comp., § 64-3-505, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 92; 1978 Comp., § 66-3-505, recompiled and amended as § 30-16D-4 by Laws 2009, ch. 253, § 4 and 2009, ch. 261, § 4; 2025, ch. 4, § 14.
Recompilations. — Laws 2009, ch. 253, § 4 and Laws 2009, ch. 261, § 4 recompiled and amended former 66-3-505 NMSA 1978, relating to receiving or transferring stolen vehicles or motor vehicles, as 30-16D-4 NMSA 1978, effective July 1, 2009.
The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, increased penalties for repeat and habitual vehicle theft offenders by allowing enhancements based on prior convictions for any vehicle-related theft crimes rather than requiring multiple convictions for the same specific charge; in Subsection B, deleted former Paragraphs B(1) through B(3) and added "felony as provided in Section 30-16D-4.1 NMSA 1978".
The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, in Subsection A, at the beginning of the first sentence, added "Receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle or motor vehicle consists of"; after "motor vehicle", in the first sentence, added "defined by the Motor Vehicle Code that the person"; at the beginning of the second sentence, added "This section shall not apply to" and after "the officer’s duty as an officer", deleted the remainder of the sentence which provided that the offense was a fourth degree felony and prescribed penalties; and added Subsection B.
Statute defines two separate crimes. — This statute, 30-16D-4 NMSA 1978, defines two separate crimes: (1) taking, receiving, or transferring possession of a vehicle with knowledge or reason to believe it is stolen and with intent to procure or pass title, and (2) unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. The legislature’s use of the word "or" indicates that a person who possesses a stolen vehicle is independent from a person who, with intent to procure or pass title to a vehicle, receives or transfers possession of the vehicle. State v. Bernard, 2015-NMCA-089.
Where defendant was convicted of four counts of receiving or transferring stolen vehicles for his unlawful possession of a stolen enclosed trailer, a snowmobile, and two all-terrain vehicles, defendant’s claim that the jury instructions failed to instruct the jury that it was required to find that defendant intended to procure or pass title to a vehicle, and therefore improperly omitted an essential element of the offense of possession of a stolen vehicle, was without merit, because the "intent to procure or pass title to a vehicle" is not an essential element of the crime of possession of a stolen vehicle, which is a separate and distinct offense under 30-16D-4 NMSA 1978. State v. Bernard, 2015-NMCA-089.
Double jeopardy analysis applied to unlawful possession of stolen vehicles. — Where defendant was convicted of four counts of receiving or transferring stolen vehicles for his unlawful possession of a stolen enclosed trailer, a snowmobile, and two all-terrain vehicles (ATV), and where defendant claimed that his four convictions based on a single statute violated the double jeopardy protection against multiple punishments for the same offense, defendant’s four convictions were justified because the language of the statute indicates that the legislature sought to address the harm inflicted on the public by a particularized type of criminal enterprise: vehicle theft. Because 30-16D-4 NMSA 1978 appears designed to protect the public from the trafficking of stolen vehicles, it follows that the legislature intended to allow for separate charges for each stolen vehicle separately possessed by an individual. Defendant’s acts of possession of a trailer, a snowmobile, and two ATVs are sufficiently distinct to justify four convictions for possession of a stolen vehicle. State v. Bernard, 2015-NMCA-089.
Evidence sufficient to convict of possession of stolen vehicle. — Where the evidence showed that a stolen vehicle was parked next to defendant’s house, the vehicle was partially covered with a tarp, numerous parts had been removed from the vehicle, and the vehicle was covered with dust, the jury could reasonably infer that defendant possessed the stolen vehicle. State v. Brown, 2010-NMCA-079, 148 N.M. 888, 242 P.3d 455, cert. denied, 2010-NMCERT-007, 148 N.M. 610, 241 P.3d 611.
Sufficient evidence of receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle. — Where defendant was convicted of receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, and where the state presented evidence that defendant, when stopped by police, was driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen and that the owner of the vehicle identified the vehicle defendant was driving as the one reported stolen, there was sufficient evidence to support defendant's conviction for receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle. State v. Ford, 2019-NMCA-073.
The general/specific rule of statutory interpretation does not limit prosecutorial discretion to choose between prosecuting possession or taking of a motor vehicle. — Where defendant was convicted of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and where defendant claimed, in a motion for directed verdict, that his conviction should have been vacated because the general/specific rule of statutory construction required the prosecutor to charge the more specific unlawful taking of a motor vehicle rather than the more general possession of a stolen motor vehicle when there was evidence supporting the violation of both statutes, the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion, because there is a presumption that the legislature intended to punish the two offenses separately based on the fact that each statute requires proof of at least one element that the other does not, and therefore also intended to leave prosecutorial charging discretion intact, and defendant did not present evidence of legislative intent sufficient to overcome this presumption. State v. Carbajal, 2026-NMCA-030, cert. denied.