Also known as: carry away · carries away · carried away · asportation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Movement of all or part of tangible personal property or of a person, however slightly, from its original position as part of removing it from the owner's or custodian's possession. The movement must occur after the defendant has obtained control and must be done with the intent to deprive the owner permanently or to transport the person into another jurisdiction.
Malik reaches into Jenna's open locker at the data center and grasps her laptop with both hands. He lifts the laptop a few inches off the shelf before Jenna walks in and he drops it. The brief upward movement satisfies the carrying away requirement once control is obtained.
Connor Clark directs employees to park heavy containers in front of Luis's trailer so Luis cannot hook up and drive away. The intentional blocking prevents Luis from accessing his own equipment and thereby supports a defense claim under the cited provision regarding carrying away of property.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Frankie removes five marked power tools from the communal bin and places them inside his zipped backpack. He then carries the backpack thirty feet across the gravel lot before the supervisor stops him. The distance traveled satisfies the carrying away element of larceny.
Dr. Ruiz arranges for Malik to be sedated and flown from Country X into Country Y for an experimental procedure. The air ambulance transports the unconscious patient across the international boundary without consent. The cross-border movement meets the carrying away requirement under traditional common law kidnapping.
Quincy enters the barn after dark and loads multiple crates of premium seed into his truck. He drives the loaded truck from the barn to his home several miles away. The physical relocation of the crates completes the carrying away element.
Shelby removes Connie's hearing aids from the bedside table and places them in her pocket. She keeps the devices in her pocket while attending to other patients for nearly three hours before returning them. The initial placement into the pocket and subsequent retention satisfy the carrying away requirement.
Any movement of the property, however slight, is sufficient once the defendant has obtained control. Lifting an item a few inches or carrying it a short distance across a room meets the element.
Supporting sources
The phrase applies to both. In larceny it describes movement of tangible personal property. In traditional common law kidnapping it describes forcible movement of a person across an international boundary.
Supporting sources
No. The element requires actual movement of the property after obtaining control. Merely blocking access does not satisfy carrying away under the larceny authorities.
Supporting sources
…A. 5th Cir.), to which the dissent below referred at some length. The appellant there was convicted of feloniously taking and carrying away certain personal property of the United States in violation of § 46 of the Criminal Code, 18 U. S. C. (1940 ed.) § 99, and had been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. He argued that…