Name:	Capt M Brooks -	Reply
Subject:	Found/Missing/Damaged/Sunken Boats
Date:	5/4/2011 1:54:46 PM

I would refer you to Title 35, Chapter 13, Sections 1-10 of the Code of Alabama which spells out specifically the process for claiming salvage property.

However, under these circumstances and until we hear otherwise from the Attorney General's office, we are considering the property "lost property" under Title 13A of the Code of Alabama:

Section 13A-8-6

Theft of lost property - Definition.

A person commits the crime of theft of lost property if he actively obtains or exerts control over the property of another which he knows to have been lost or mislaid, or to have been delivered under a mistake as to the identity of the recipient or as to the nature or the amount of the property, and with intent to deprive the owner permanently of it, he fails to take reasonable measures to discover and notify the owner.

(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §3205.)

Section 13A-8-7

Theft of lost property in the first degree.

(a) The theft of lost property which exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the first degree.

(b) Theft of lost property in the first degree is a Class B felony.

(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §3206; Act 2003-355, p. 962, §1.)

Section 13A-8-8

Theft of lost property in the second degree.

(a) The theft of lost property which exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) in value but does not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the second degree.

(b) Theft of lost property in the second degree is a Class C felony.

(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §3207; Acts 1978, No. 770, p. 1110; Act 2003-355, p. 962, §1.)

Section 13A-8-9

Theft of lost property in the third degree.

(a) The theft of lost property which does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the third degree.

Name:	Kizma Anuice -	Reply
Subject:	Found/Missing/Damaged/Sunken Boats
Date:	5/4/2011 2:27:19 PM

but

Section 35-12-1

When finder becomes depositary.

One who finds a thing lost is not bound to take charge of it; but if he does so he is thenceforward a depositary for the owner, with the rights and obligations of a depositary for hire.

Section 13A-8-12

Defenses to prosecutions for theft and unauthorized use of vehicle.

(a) It is a defense to a prosecution under Sections 13A-8-2 through 13A-8-11 (theft of property, theft of lost property, theft of services and unauthorized use of vehicle) that the actor honestly believed that he had a claim to the property or services involved which he was entitled to assert in the manner which forms the basis for the charge against him.

Why would the finder of lost property not be able to defend against your charge by claiming the rights of a depositary?