
Acted with a vehicle owner’s consent and,Ī violation of this section is charged as a misdemeanor, as opposed to a California felony or an infraction.Īs a misdemeanor, the crime of malicious mischief to a vehicle is punishable by:.Had no intent to commit any malicious mischief.These include showing that an accused party: Luckily, there are several legal defenses that a person can raise if accused of a crime under this section. Jose sneaks into a rival gang member’s car and fools with its brakes and gearshift.
Upset at her boyfriend, Jennifer climbs into his motor vehicle and tries scratching and damaging the vehicle’s radio. Steven jumps onto the hood of his neighbor’s new sports car and dents it while jumping up and down. No person shall with intent to commit any malicious mischief, injury, or other crime, climb into or upon a vehicle whether it is in motion or at rest, nor shall any person attempt to manipulate any of the levers, starting mechanism, brakes, or other mechanism or device of a vehicle while the same is at rest and unattended, nor shall any person set in motion any vehicle while the same is at rest and unattended. The offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in county jail.ġ0853. Vehicle Code § 10853 VC is the California statute that makes it a crime to commit malicious mischief to a vehicle.