(1) Any person who abandons any motor vehicle upon a street, highway, right-of-way, or any other public property, or upon any private property without the express consent of the owner or person in lawful charge of that private property commits abandonment of a motor vehicle.
(2) To abandon means to leave a thing with the intention not to retain
possession of or assert ownership over it. The intent need not coincide with the act
of leaving.
(3) It is prima facie evidence of the necessary intent that:
(a) The motor vehicle has been left for more than seven days unattended and
unmoved; or
(b) License plates or other identifying marks have been removed from the
motor vehicle; or
(c) The motor vehicle has been damaged or is deteriorated so extensively
that it has value only for junk or salvage; or
(d) The owner has been notified by a law enforcement agency to remove the
motor vehicle, and it has not been removed within three days after notification.
(4) Abandonment of a motor vehicle is a petty offense.
L. 71: R&RE, p. 432, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 40-4-512. L. 2021: (4) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3180, § 219, effective March 1, 2022.
For the towing and storage of abandoned and illegally parked motor vehicles, see part 18 of article 4 of title 42.
