The defendant, while visiting the victim, asked for permission to borrow the victim's car so he could drive to a convenience sto
re to buy cigarettes. In fact, he intended to keep the car and sell it for cash. The victim agreed, and the defendant took the car and drove off. After thinking about it further, the defendant decided that it would be wrong to sell the victim's car, and headed back to the victim's house. On the way back, the car was destroyed in a collision through no fault of the defendant. May the defendant be convicted of larceny?
The first reason why he shouldn't be convicted of larceny is the fact that he took the car with the permission of the owner. Although he thought about selling the car and not bringing it back, but he had a rethink and the accident happened. It was an accident, not deliberate and there is a difference between thinking about something and actually doing it.
