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§ 30-17-5 NMSA 1978

Arson and negligent arson

Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case United States v. Velasquez-Reyes (2005)

Most recently applied in United States v. Aragon (August 2024)

1953 Comp., § 40A-17-5, enacted by Laws 1970, ch. 39, § 1; 2006, ch. 29, § 16.

How often courts cite this section

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citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

A. Arson consists of a person maliciously or willfully starting a fire or causing an explosion with the purpose of destroying or damaging:

(1) a building, occupied structure or property of another person;

(2) a bridge, utility line, fence or sign; or

(3) any property, whether the person's own property or the property of another person, to collect insurance for the loss.

B. Whoever commits arson when the damage is two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or less is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.

C. Whoever commits arson when the damage is over two hundred fifty dollars ($250) but not more than five hundred dollars ($500) is guilty of a misdemeanor.

D. Whoever commits arson when the damage is over five hundred dollars ($500) but not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) is guilty of a fourth degree felony.

E. Whoever commits arson when the damage is over two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) but not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) is guilty of a third degree felony.

F. Whoever commits arson when the damage is over twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) is guilty of a second degree felony.

G. Negligent arson consists of a person recklessly starting a fire or causing an explosion, whether on the person's property or the property of another person, and thereby directly:

(1) causing the death or bodily injury of another person; or

(2) damaging or destroying a building or occupied structure of another person.

H. Whoever commits negligent arson is guilty of a fourth degree felony.

I. As used in this section, "occupied structure" includes a boat, trailer, car, airplane, structure or place adapted for the transportation or storage of property, for overnight accommodations of persons or for carrying on business therein, whether or not a person is actually present.

Official source: NMOneSource (New Mexico Compilation Commission). Reproduced from public-domain New Mexico statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.