2005 Missouri Revised Statutes - § 301.401. — Special mobile equipment and tires, defacing serial number prohibited --penalty.

301.401. 1. Any person who removes, covers, alters, or defaces, or causes to be destroyed, removed, covered, altered, or defaced, the manufacturer's serial number, the motor number or other distinguishing number on special mobile equipment or special mobile equipment tires, the property of another, for any reason, shall be deemed guilty of a class D felony. Further, any person who knowingly buys, sells, receives, disposes of, conceals or has in his possession special mobile equipment or special mobile equipment tires from which the manufacturer's serial number, motor number or other distinguishing number has been removed, covered, altered, defaced or destroyed shall be deemed guilty of a class D felony.

2. Every peace officer who has probable cause to believe that and has knowledge of an item of special mobile equipment on which the original manufacturer's distinguishing number has been removed, covered, altered, or defaced shall be authorized to seize immediately and to take possession of said item of special mobile equipment.

3. If at any time while such special mobile equipment remains in the custody of the law enforcement authority having seized it, the true owner thereof shall appear and prove to the satisfaction of such law enforcement authority his ownership of and entitlement to said item of special mobile equipment, it shall be returned to said owner subject to its being made available for use in any criminal prosecution under this section.

4. If, after twelve months, no person has appeared and proved he is the true owner of an item of special mobile equipment seized under this section, the court in which such prosecution was begun may advertise and sell said item of special mobile equipment under such terms as are reasonable. The proceeds of such sale shall be applied, first, to the payment of any expenses incurred in association with such sale; second, to the payment of the fine and costs of prosecution; and the balance, if any, shall be paid over to the county commission of the county in which the prosecution was begun for its application to that county's general revenues.

(L. 1980 H.B. 995 & 1051)

Effective 6-20-80