Attempted Unlawful Use of Means of Transportation: Jail? 13-1001

Attempted Unlawful Use of Means of Transportation: Can You Go to Jail?

Yes, but the exposure is a full step below the completed crime, and for one version of the charge it is a misdemeanor. Arizona grades every attempt by the offense attempted. Under A.R.S. § 13-1001(C), an attempt to commit a class 5 felony is a class 6 felony, and an attempt to commit a class 6 felony is a class 1 misdemeanor. Unlawful use of means of transportation under A.R.S. § 13-1803 has both: taking a vehicle is a class 5 felony, and knowingly riding in one that is unlawfully possessed is a class 6 felony.

So the answer depends on which paragraph the State says you tried to violate. An attempted taking is still a felony, though the lowest one Arizona has, and it is eligible to be left undesignated. An attempted passenger offense is a class 1 misdemeanor, with no prison exposure at all. The complete charge, its penalties and its defenses are covered on our unlawful use of means of transportation lawyer page. This article covers only what changes when the word “attempted” appears on the complaint.

What Counts as an Attempt to Unlawfully Use a Vehicle?

An attempt requires intent plus a step toward the crime. Under A.R.S. § 13-1001(A), a person commits attempt when, acting with the mental state the underlying offense requires, they intentionally do anything that is a step in a course of conduct planned to end in the offense, or engage in conduct that would be the offense if the facts were as they believed them to be. The statute also treats as an attempt conduct intended to help someone else commit the crime, even if that person never goes through with it.

In vehicle cases, defense attorneys commonly see three fact patterns charged as attempt:

• Caught at the door. Someone is found pulling on handles in a parking lot, inside a car with the ignition disturbed, or walking away from a vehicle that would not start. No one drove anywhere, so there was never “control” of the car under A.R.S. § 13-1801, but the State argues the steps toward taking it are enough.
• The impossible take. The car was already disabled, had a kill switch, or belonged to someone who actually had permission to lend it. Under § 13-1001(B), impossibility is not a defense if the person believed the facts to be otherwise.
• The passenger who never rode. Someone gets into, or is about to get into, a car they know is being used unlawfully, and police intervene before it moves. This is the version that becomes a class 1 misdemeanor.

Why Do Prosecutors Charge the Attempt Instead of the Crime?

Usually because the evidence of control is thin. Maricopa County prosecutors file the completed § 13-1803 charge when someone was seen driving or sitting behind the wheel of a running car. When the person was interrupted earlier, or when the only evidence is presence near the vehicle and a tool in hand, attempt is the charge the facts support. It also appears as a plea offer: a completed class 5 unlawful use charge negotiated down to an attempt becomes a class 6 felony, which can be left undesignated and later entered as a misdemeanor under A.R.S. § 13-604.

That second use matters. An attempt plea is one of the standard ways a first-time vehicle case ends without a permanent felony. If your case started as theft of means of transportation under A.R.S. § 13-1814, a class 3 felony, the path from there to attempted unlawful use is three full classes down. When the evidence of intent or control is weak enough, the better outcome is no conviction at all; see how unlawful use cases get dismissed.

What Is the Sentence for Attempted Unlawful Use of Means of Transportation?

Felony ranges come from A.R.S. § 13-702(D) for a first felony that is not dangerous or repetitive. The misdemeanor maximum is set by A.R.S. § 13-707(A). Probation terms come from A.R.S. § 13-902(A), which allows up to three years for a class 5 or 6 felony and for a class 1 misdemeanor. Prior felony convictions raise the felony ranges under A.R.S. § 13-703; a class 6 felony with two historical priors carries a presumptive 3.75 years.

When Is Attempted Unlawful Use Only a Misdemeanor?

When the attempt is aimed at the passenger paragraph. Riding in a vehicle you know or have reason to know is unlawfully possessed is a class 6 felony under § 13-1803(A)(2), so an attempt to do that is a class 1 misdemeanor under § 13-1001(C)(6). It is the only version of this charge that is not a felony from the start.

A misdemeanor changes almost everything downstream. There is no prison, only county jail up to six months. A conviction does not make you a prohibited possessor under A.R.S. § 13-3101, which turns on a felony conviction. It is not a historical prior that raises a future felony range. And the waiting period to seal the record under A.R.S. § 13-911(E) is three years for a class 1 misdemeanor instead of five for a class 5 or 6 felony. If a case can honestly be framed as an attempted passenger offense, that framing is worth more than almost any sentencing argument.

What Are the Defenses to an Attempted Unlawful Use Charge?

• No intent to take control. Attempt requires the mental state of the completed crime. Standing near a car, leaning on it, or checking whether it is yours in a dark lot is not a step toward taking it unless the State can prove you meant to take it.
• Preparation, not a step. Arizona requires a step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in the offense. Thinking about it, talking about it, or walking through a parking lot with no act toward a specific vehicle is preparation. Where the line sits is a jury question, and it is often the whole case.
• Permission existed. If the person who gave you the keys or told you to move the car had authority to do so, there is no underlying crime to attempt. Impossibility is not a defense under § 13-1001(B), but genuine authorization is, because it defeats the “unauthorized” element itself.
• Wrong paragraph. If the evidence shows at most that you were about to get into a car someone else was driving, the charge should be the misdemeanor attempt, not the felony.
• Identification and suppression. Many attempt cases rest on a brief sighting, a parking-lot camera and a stop made minutes later. If the stop lacked reasonable suspicion or the identification is weak, the case does not survive.

How Tamou Law Group Defends Attempted Unlawful Use Cases

Pre-charge advocacy. Attempt cases often sit with a detective before a complaint is filed. We use that window to document permission, present the footage in context, and argue that the conduct was preparation or innocent presence, so the charge is declined or filed as the misdemeanor attempt rather than the felony.

Disclosure strategy. We demand the full camera footage, the body-worn video of the stop and any identification, and the owner’s first statement to police. Attempt cases are built on seconds of conduct, and the unedited footage frequently shows less than the report describes.

Plea and collateral analysis. When resolution makes sense, we negotiate for the class and the designation, not just the sentence. The gap between a class 6 attempt left undesignated and a class 1 misdemeanor attempt decides firearm rights, future sentencing and how soon the record can be sealed. For the full charge, see our unlawful use of means of transportation page and our Arizona theft crimes defense page.