Q: Can an unauthorized use of motor vehicle Charge be dropped To A misdemeanor.??
A:
Yes. Per Virginia Code § 18.2-102 - the case can be charged as either a Felony or Misdemeanor. If you are charged with a felony, the case can be reduced to a misdemeanor if (a) there is not enough evidence to support a felony (i.e., the value is less than $200) OR (b) the Commonwealth's Attorney (prosecutor) agrees to reduce the charge with some type of plea agreement.
Here is the text of the code:
Unauthorized use of animal, aircraft, vehicle or boat; consent; accessories or accomplices
Any person who shall take, drive or use any animal, aircraft, vehicle, boat or vessel, not his own, without the consent of the owner thereof and in the absence of the owner, and with intent temporarily to deprive the owner thereof of his possession thereof, without intent to steal the same, shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony; provided, however, that if the value of such animal, aircraft, vehicle, boat or vessel shall be less than $ 200, such person shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The consent of the owner of an animal, aircraft, vehicle, boat or vessel to its taking, driving or using shall not in any case be presumed or implied because of such owner’s consent on a previous occasion to the taking, driving or using of such animal, aircraft, vehicle, boat or vessel by the same or a different person. Any person who assists in, or is a party or accessory to, or an accomplice in, any such unauthorized taking, driving or using shall be subject to the same punishment as if he were the principal offender.
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