Effective December 1, 2023, Session Law 2023-151 amended G.S. 14-56 (Breaking or entering into or breaking out of railroad cars, motor vehicles, trailers, aircrafts, boats, or other watercraft) to provide for sentencing enhancements based on the aggregated value of any property taken. In amending the statute, the General Assembly added elements – taking and value – to these enhanced crimes. The General Assembly also amended G.S. 14-86.1 (Seizure and forfeiture of conveyances used in committing larceny and similar crimes) to include violating G.S. 14-56 as a basis for vehicle seizure and forfeiture. This post will review the statutory amendments and new elements, and consider whether a person may also be convicted of and punished for larceny in connection with a violation of G.S. 14-56.
Breaking or Entering (or Exiting) a Motor Vehicle
The two offenses described in G.S. 14-56(a) are: (1) breaking or entering into a motor vehicle (or other conveyance) containing any goods, wares, freights, or other thing of value, with the intent to commit any felony or larceny; and (2) breaking or exiting out of a motor vehicle (or other conveyance) containing any goods, wares, freights, or other thing of value, after having committed any felony or larceny. As described, these are Class I felonies.
The before. Before the amendments, G.S. 14-56 had only one sentencing enhancement for the offenses described in subsection (a). If the charged person knew or reasonably should have known that the vehicle/conveyance was owned or operated by any law enforcement agency, the North Carolina National Guard, or any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, the offense is a Class H felony.
And after. After the changes, there are four new enhancements that can be applied to the offenses described in subsection (a). The felony class increases based on the value of the property taken over a 90-day period:
| Statutory Provision | Amount Taken | Felony Class |
| G.S. 14-56(a2)(1) | $1,501-$20,000 | Class H |
| G.S. 14-56(a2)(2) | $20,001-$50,000 | Class G |
| G.S. 14-56(a2)(3) | $50,001-$100,000 | Class F |
| G.S. 14-56(a2)(4) | $100,001+ | Class C |
If the criteria for two enhancements are met (such as the motor vehicle being owned by law enforcement and more than $20,000 was taken), the higher-level enhancement applies. G.S. 14-56(a2)(1)(c). Acts occurring in more than one county may be aggregated into an enhancement and venue may lie in any county where part of the charged offense occurred. G.S. 14-56(c). However, aggregating the offenses is not necessarily required. Prosecutors retain discretion about whether to charge each violation of G.S. 14-56(a) as a separate offense or to aggregate the offenses to charge an enhanced crime based on the value of the property taken.
New elements. For a violation of G.S. 14-56 to qualify for one of the new enhancements, property must be taken and the amount taken must be within one of the value ranges. Neither element was required prior to the amendment. To charge an enhanced version of the crime, the state should allege the elements supporting the enhancement. Model charging language is set forth in the see the 2024 edition of Arrest Warrant and Indictment Forms, edited by my colleague Joe Hyde.
“Goods, wares, freight, or other thing of value.” G.S. 14-56(a) requires that the vehicle or conveyance contain “goods, wares, freight, or other thing(s) of value” at the time of the breaking or entering. The vehicle itself or effects that are inherently part of a functioning vehicle do not qualify as things of value that satisfy this requirement. For example, where the items allegedly contained in the vehicle were an installed tape player and audio speakers, the Court found they were part of the vehicle. State v. McDowell, 217 N.C. App. 634 (2011). However, the “thing of value” can otherwise be any item, even of trivial value, that belongs to the victim or to anyone else, such as a registration card, a hubcap key, a C.B. radio, papers, cigarettes, or a shoe bag. State v. McLaughlin, 321 N.C. 267 (1987); State v. Jackson, 162 N.C. App. 695 (2004). The legislature used the same language, “goods, wares, freight, or other thing of value,” in describing the property taken in the new enhancement subsections. Accordingly, the cases described above support the conclusion that the vehicle itself or effects that are inherently part of a functioning vehicle would not qualify as property that can be aggregated to meet one of the threshold requirements.
Charging larceny. With the addition of the new elements, some may wonder if the enhanced version of breaking or entering a motor vehicle or other conveyance and larceny are the same offense for purposes of double jeopardy. Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (1932) provides the test: whether each offense requires proof of a fact which the other does not. Violations of G.S. 14-56 require proof of breaking or entering, which larceny does not, and larceny requires proof of the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property taken, which violations of G.S. 14-56 do not. As a result, prosecuting a person for violations of G.S. 14-56 and for larceny based on the same set of facts does not implicate principles of double jeopardy.
Seizure and Forfeiture of Conveyances Used in Larceny and Related Crimes
Before the amendment, G.S. 14-86.1 authorized the seizure and forfeiture of any vehicle, watercraft, aircraft, or other conveyance used in committing the offenses of receiving stolen goods, possessing stolen goods, receiving or transferring stolen vehicles, armed or common law robbery, “chop shop” activities, larceny of any property greater than $2,000, and organized retail theft. S.L. 2023-151 amended G.S. 14-86.1 to add a violation of G.S. 14-56 as a basis for seizure and forfeiture. As a result, whether the crime alleged is a single or aggregated violation of G.S. 14-56, if a person uses a vehicle or other conveyance in furtherance of that crime, that vehicle may be seized by law enforcement and forfeited. This could apply to a motor vehicle used to travel to or from the scene of the crime, or used to travel between multiple scenes that have been aggregated. It could also apply to multiple vehicles used in committing a single or aggregated violation of G.S. 14-56. State v. Bishop, 343 N.C. 518 (1996).
Final Note
Most motor vehicles do not contain distinct personal property that, even aggregated, reaches the $20,000, $50,000, or $100,000 thresholds. But other types of conveyances covered by the statute, specifically railroad cars, trailers, aircraft, and boats, might. Indeed, the short title for the bill enacting these amendments is “Increase Punishment for Cargo Theft,” providing some indication of what may have been the legislature’s primary concern.