HomeCategorySt Mary's County Archives - The Law Offices of Haskell & Dyer

Maryland treats auto theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle as separate offenses. Theft under Criminal Law § 7-104 requires intent to permanently deprive the owner; unauthorized use under § 7-105 does not. The distinction can drop a felony exposure case to a misdemeanor with substantially less penalty. This guide walks through both statutes, the recovery scene Fourth Amendment defenses, the identification challenges that often arise, the federal Dyer Act exposure for interstate cases, and the defense strategy for protecting both the criminal exposure and the record.

Carjacking under Criminal Law § 3-405 is a thirty year felony in Maryland. Armed carjacking adds weapons enhancements that can stack to even higher exposure. The cases proceed in the Circuit Court for St. Mary's County in Leonardtown. This guide walks through the statute and its elements, the Route 235 and Thomas Johnson Bridge incident patterns, the suppression motions that often collapse the State's investigation, the eyewitness identification challenges that decide many cases, the federal jurisdiction overlay under 18 U.S.C. § 2119, and the defense strategies that protect against decades of incarceration.

Maryland divides burglary into four degrees with very different penalties. First degree under Criminal Law § 6-202 (residential, with theft or violence intent) reaches twenty years. Second degree under § 6-203 (storehouse) reaches twenty years for firearm theft intent. Third degree under § 6-204 (dwelling, any criminal intent) reaches ten years. Fourth degree under § 6-205 (without specific intent or burglar's tools) is a misdemeanor with three years. This guide walks through each degree, the breaking and entering and intent elements, the search warrant defenses including the Franks hearing, the forensic challenges, and the defense strategies that drop a case down the degree ladder.