CALCRIM No. 1821. Tampering With a Vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10852)

Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2023 edition)

Download PDF
Bg4e3
1821.Tampering With a Vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10852)
The defendant is charged [in Count ] with (damaging/ [or]
tampering with) a vehicle [in violation of Vehicle Code section 10852].
To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must
prove that:
<Alternative 1A - damaged or tampered with>
[1. The defendant willfully (damaged/ [or] tampered with) someone
else’s vehicle [or the contents of that vehicle];]
<Alternative 1B - broke or removed part of>
[1. The defendant willfully (broke/ [or] removed) part of someone
else’s vehicle;]
[AND]
2. The defendant did not have the owner’s consent to do that act(;/.)
<Give element 3 when instructing on “in association with” others.>
[AND
3. The defendant acted in association with one or more other
persons.]
Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on
purpose. It is not required that he or she intend to break the law, hurt
someone else, or gain any advantage.
[A vehicle is a device by which people or things may be moved on a road
or highway. A vehicle does not include a device that is moved only by
human power or used only on stationary rails or tracks.]
[A person acts in association with one or more other people, when he or
she joins with another to accomplish a common unlawful purpose.]
New January 2006
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
The court has a sua sponte duty to give this instruction defining the elements of the
crime.
If the prosecution alleges that the defendant did not personally commit the act of
tampering but acted “in association with” others, give bracketed element 3 and the
paragraph that begins with “A person acts in association . . .” (People v. Farina
1183
Bg4e4
(1963) 220 Cal.App.2d 291, 294 [33 Cal.Rptr. 794].) The court has a sua sponte
duty to also give CALCRIM No. 416, Evidence of Uncharged Conspiracy.
The statute uses the term “injure.” (Veh. Code, § 10852.) The committee has
replaced the word “injure” with the word “damage” because the word “injure”
generally refers to harm to a person rather than to property.
Give the bracketed definition of vehicle on request.
AUTHORITY
• Elements. Veh. Code, § 10852.
• Willfully Defined. Pen. Code, § 7(1); People v. Lara (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 102,
107 [51 Cal.Rptr.2d 402].
• Vehicle Defined. Veh. Code, § 670.
• “In Association With” Means to Conspire With. People v. Farina (1963) 220
Cal.App.2d 291, 294 [33 Cal.Rptr. 794].
• Tamper Defined. People v. Anderson (1975) 15 Cal.3d 806, 810-811 [126
Cal.Rptr. 235, 543 P.2d 603]; People v. Mooney (1983) 145 Cal.App.3d 502, 505
[193 Cal.Rptr. 381].
SECONDARY SOURCES
2 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Crimes Against
Property, § 308.
6 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 143, Crimes
Against Property, § 143.10[1][b], [2][c] (Matthew Bender).
CALCRIM No. 1821 THEFT AND EXTORTION
1184

© Judicial Council of California.