Unlawful purchase, disposal, sale or transfer of motor vehicle or parts with defaced, destroyed or altered identification number or mark; applicability; penalty.
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 and 4, a person who knowingly:
(a) Buys with the intent to resell;
(b) Disposes of;
(c) Sells; or
(d) Transfers,
Ê more than one motor vehicle or parts from more than one motor vehicle that have an identification number or mark that is defaced, destroyed or altered to misrepresent the identity or to prevent the identification of the motor vehicles or parts of the motor vehicles, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 10 years, and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $60,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 and 4, a person who knowingly possesses with the intent to sell, transfer, import or export more than one motor vehicle or parts from more than one motor vehicle that have an identification number or mark that is defaced, destroyed or altered to misrepresent the identity or prevent the identification of the motor vehicles or parts of the motor vehicles, is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130, and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $30,000.
3. The provisions of this section do not apply to a licensed automobile wrecker or salvage pool that in the normal, legal course of business and in good faith, processes a motor vehicle or part of a motor vehicle by crushing, compacting or using other similar methods to process the motor vehicle or part if:
(a) The identification number or mark of the motor vehicle or part of the motor vehicle was not defaced, destroyed or altered before the processing; or
(b) The motor vehicle or part of the motor vehicle was obtained from a person described in subsection 4.
4. The provisions of this section do not apply to an owner of or person authorized to possess a motor vehicle or part of a motor vehicle:
(a) If the motor vehicle or part of the motor vehicle was recovered by a law enforcement agency after having been stolen; or
(b) If the condition of the identification number or mark of the motor vehicle or part of the motor vehicle is known to, or has been reported to, a law enforcement agency.
5. For the purposes of this section:
(a) “Automobile wrecker” means a person who obtains a license pursuant to NRS 487.050 to dismantle, scrap, process or wreck a vehicle.
(b) “Salvage pool” has the meaning ascribed to it in subsection 2 of NRS 487.400.
Last modified: February 25, 2006