DUDE, Where's my boat?

Mar 28, 2013 at 09:16 pm by bryan


It may have been a little cold outside for boating, but apparently the hobby is still popular. A woman in Murfreesboro called the police after the person who was hired to fix her boat never returned it. The victim told officers that Michael Minnis came to her home in the fall of 2012 and picked up her boat in order to make repairs on it. Several months passed and the woman became curious as to why her boat had not been returned. She says she went to the Minnis residence and discovered he was nowhere to be found. The boat was missing too. Her second trip was to his employer. She told officers that she was told he had been terminated.

The search for the 1998 Reinell pleasure boat continued. A little detective work led officers to an address on North Maple Street where the boat was successfully located. Mr. Minnis was also found and taken into custody by police. He was charged with theft over $1,000.

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Of course when the boat was found it was over 15-miles away from the lake, so no word on if it was ever fixed. The boat was towed to a local wrecker lot and the victim was called to pick it up at her convenience.

Source:

Murfreesboro Police Incident Report #13-5267
Tennessee Code Annotated (see below)

39-14-103.  Theft of property. 

  (a) A person commits theft of property if, with intent to deprive the owner of property, the person knowingly obtains or exercises control over the property without the owner's effective consent.

(b)  (1) As a condition of pretrial diversion, judicial diversion, probation or parole for a violation of subsection (a) when the violation occurs as set out in subdivision (b)(2), the person may be required to perform debris removal, clean-up, restoration, or other necessary physical labor at a location within the area affected by the disaster or emergency that is in the county where the offense occurred.

   (2) The condition of pretrial diversion, judicial diversion, probation or parole containing the requirement set out in subdivision (b)(1) may be used if the violation of subsection (a) occurs:

      (A) During or within thirty (30) days following the occurrence of a tornado, flood, fire, or other disaster or emergency, as defined in § 58-2-101;

      (B) Within the area affected by the disaster or emergency; and

      (C) When, as a result of the disaster or emergency, the owner of the property taken, or the person charged with custody of the property, is unable to adequately guard, secure or protect the property from theft.

   (3) Subdivision (b)(2) shall apply regardless of whether a state of emergency has been declared by a county, the governor, or the president of the United States at the time of or subsequent to the theft.

   (4) Any period of physical labor required pursuant to subdivision (b)(1) shall not exceed the maximum sentence authorized pursuant to § 39-14-105.

HISTORY: Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 2011, ch. 322, § 1. 

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