OLYMPIA – It’s an illicit thrill glorified in two generations of high-octane car-thief movies. It’s a profitable crime that can bring a kid with nerve and a pocketful of tools thousands of dollars for black-market parts.
And let’s face it, who hasn’t wanted to take that fancy ride down the street for a spin? In Washington, you can do it seven times before you even have to go to state prison.
The Legislature wants to change that.
A measure introduced by Rep. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, a retired Washington State Patrol trooper, would stiffen penalties for car thieves, as well as make it illegal to possess the tools of the trade – such as slim jims, false master keys and lock pullers. He also wants a program where car owners could put a sticker on their cars giving police permission to stop their vehicle between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
“We have needed to address this issue for a long time,” said Lovick. “We all know that it’s a problem right now, but we haven’t been able to shine a spotlight on the problem yet.”
Auto theft drew public attention in December when a 23-year-old Seattle man admitted to stealing 136 cars in six months. Liam Moynihan was sentenced to a nine-year state prison term.
“The bottom line is that (car thieves) should be in prison,” Lovick said. “They should not be out stealing a car somewhere and terrorizing the neighborhood.”
Under current law, a person who commits auto theft would have to be caught seven times before getting a state prison sentence, said Tom McBride, executive secretary of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.
Under the proposed law, prior auto theft convictions would count in sentencing, so repeat offenders would be sentenced to prison at an earlier stage.
Lovick, who is speaker pro tempore of the House, has been working on the bill since May and has 28 co-sponsors, including Republicans.
A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for Wednesday in the House Committee on Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, has introduced a companion bill in the Senate, and Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, said she would also introduce a bill to strengthen penalties for people who steal vehicles.
“It used to be that if you steal a guy’s horse, you’d hang for it,” Roach said. “Now, the pendulum has swung way the other way and we need to bring that back.”
Lt. Wes Rethwill, of the State Patrol’s auto theft division, said the crime is down slightly in the state this year, but it’s still a big problem. From January to November in 2006, more than 35,000 cars were stolen in the state, he said. In 2005, 41,293 cars were stolen.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Washington was ranked fifth in the nation for the number of auto thefts in 2005, behind California, Texas, Florida and Arizona. That’s up from a ranking of 11th in 2000.
Lovick said his bill would seek to create a Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority, which would be under the purview of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
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