Appeals court hears challenge to theft-of-rental-vehicle conviction and use of police body‑cam testimony

The Utah Court of Appeals heard oral argument on Tuesday in State v. Bell, an appeal by Randy Lou Bell challenging a conviction for theft of a rental vehicle. Wendy Brown argued for the appellant; Tanner Haven argued for the state. Judge Ryan Tenney presided with Judges Michelle Christiansen Forrester and John Luthy on the panel.

Bell’s counsel argued three principal points at oral argument. First, counsel said a separate subsection of the rental-vehicle theft statute operates as a required predicate — effectively an element — before the second-degree‑felony theft offense can be proven. Defense counsel relied on a published Arizona Court of Appeals decision (Chapin) and the statute’s structure, contending that a rental company must take the specified notice step in order to convert an otherwise civil breach into a criminal offense under the rental‑vehicle theft provision. Counsel argued trial…