§47-1505.

§47-1505.
   
   A. The following are subject to forfeiture unless obtained by theft,
   fraud or conspiracy to defraud and the rightful owner is known or can
   be identified and located:
   
   1. Any tool;
   
   2. Any implement; or
   
   3. Any instrumentality, including but not limited to, real estate, any
   motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, whether owned or unowned by the
   person from whose possession or control it was seized, which is used
   or possessed either in violation of Section 1503 of this title or to
   promote or facilitate a violation of Section 1503 of this title.
   
   B. Any motor vehicle, other conveyance, or motor vehicle part used by
   any person as a common carrier is subject to forfeiture under this
   section where the owner or other person in charge of the motor
   vehicle, other conveyance, or motor vehicle part is a consenting party
   to a violation of Section 1503 of this title.
   
   C. Any motor vehicle, motor vehicle part, other conveyance, tool,
   implement, or instrumentality is not subject to forfeiture under this
   section by reason of any act or omission which the owner proves to
   have been committed or omitted without the owner's knowledge or
   consent.
   
   D. 1. Seizing agencies will utilize their best efforts to identify any
   seized motor vehicle or motor vehicle part to determine ownership or
   the identity of any other person having a right or interest in a
   seized motor vehicle or motor vehicle part. In its reasonable
   identification and owner location attempts, the seizing agency will
   cause the stolen motor vehicle files of the state police to be
   searched for stolen or wanted information on motor vehicles similar to
   the seized motor vehicle or consistent with the seized motor vehicle
   part.
   
   2. Where a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part has an apparent value
   in excess of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00),
   
   a. the seizing agency shall consult with an expert of the type
   specified in paragraph 4 of Section 1502 of this title,
   
   b. the seizing agency shall also request searches of the on-line and
   off-line files of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the
   National Automobile Theft Bureau (NATB) when the state police files
   have been searched with negative results.
   
   E. A forfeiture of a motor vehicle, motor vehicle part, or other
   conveyance encumbered by a bona fide security interest is subject to
   the interest of the secured party where the secured party neither had
   knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission forming the ground
   for the forfeiture.
   
   F. Property, described in subsection A of this section, seized and
   held for forfeiture, shall not be subject to replevin and is subject
   only to the order and judgments of a court of competent jurisdiction
   hearing the forfeiture proceedings.
   
   G. 1. The district attorney in the county where the seizure occurs, or
   the attorney for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) in
   cases investigated by the OSBI, or the attorney for the Department of
   Public Safety in cases investigated by the Department shall bring an
   action for forfeiture in a court of competent jurisdiction. The
   forfeiture action shall be brought within sixty (60) days from the
   date of seizure except where the attorney prosecuting the forfeiture
   in the sound exercise of discretion determines that no forfeiture
   action should be brought because of the rights of property owners,
   lienholders, or secured creditors, or because of exculpatory,
   exonerating, or mitigating facts and circumstances.
   
   2. The attorney prosecuting the forfeiture shall give notice of the
   forfeiture proceeding by mailing a copy of the complaint in the
   forfeiture proceeding to each person whose right, title, or interest
   is of record in the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the Department of Public
   Safety, the Federal Aviation Agency, or any other department of the
   state, or any other state or territory of the United States, or of the
   federal government if such property is required to be registered in
   any such department.
   
   3. Notice of the proceeding shall be given to any such other person as
   may appear, from the facts and circumstances, to have any right,
   title, or interest in or to the property.
   
   4. The owner of the property, or any person having, or claiming,
   right, title, or interest in the property may within sixty (60) days
   after the mailing of such notice file a verified answer to the
   complaint and may appear at the hearing on the action for forfeiture.
   
   5. The attorney prosecuting the forfeiture shall show at a forfeiture
   hearing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that such property was
   used in the commission of a violation of Section 1503 of this title,
   or was used or possessed to facilitate such violation.
   
   6. The owner of property may show by a preponderance of the evidence
   that the owner did not know, and did not have reason to know, that the
   property was to be used or possessed in the commission of any
   violation or that any of the exceptions to forfeiture are applicable.
   
   7. Unless the attorney prosecuting the forfeiture shall make the
   showing required of it, the court shall order the property released to
   the owner. Where the attorney prosecuting the forfeiture has made such
   a showing, the court may order:
   
   a. the property be destroyed by the agency which seized it or some
   other agency designated by the court,
   
   b. the property be delivered and retained for use by the agency which
   seized it or some other agency designated by the court, or
   
   c. the property be sold at public sale.
   
   H. A copy of a forfeiture order shall be filed with the sheriff of the
   county in which the forfeiture occurs and with each federal or state
   department with which such property is required to be registered. Such
   order, when filed, constitutes authority for the issuance to the
   agency to whom the property is delivered and retained for use or to
   any purchaser of the property of a title certificate, registration
   certificate, or other special certificate as may be required by law
   considering the condition of the property.
   
   I. Proceeds from sale at public auction, after payment of all
   reasonable charges and expenses incurred by the agency designated by
   the court to conduct the sale in storing and selling the property,
   shall be paid to the general fund of the county of seizure, the
   special agency account of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation,
   or treasury of the governmental unit employing the seizing agency.
   
   J. No motor vehicle, either seized under Section 1504 of this title or
   forfeited under this section, shall be released by the seizing agency
   or used or sold by an agency designated by the court unless any
   altered, counterfeited, defaced, destroyed, disguised, falsified,
   forged, obliterated, or removed vehicle identification number is
   corrected by the issuance and affixing of either an assigned or
   replacement vehicle identification number plate as may be appropriate
   under laws or regulations of this state.
   
   K. No motor vehicle part having any altered, counterfeited, defaced,
   destroyed, disguised, falsified, forged, obliterated, or removed
   vehicle identification number shall be disposed of upon forfeiture
   except by destruction thereof, except that this provision shall not
   apply to any such motor vehicle part which is assembled with and
   constitutes part of a motor vehicle.
   
   L. No motor vehicle or motor vehicle part shall be forfeited under
   this section solely on the basis that it is unidentifiable. Instead of
   forfeiture, any seized motor vehicle or motor vehicle part which is
   unidentifiable shall be the subject of a written report sent by the
   seizing agency to the Department of Public Safety which report shall
   include a description of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, its
   color, if any, the date, time and place of its seizure, the name of
   the person from whose possession or control it was seized, the grounds
   for its seizure, and the location where the same is held or stored.
   
   M. When a seized unidentifiable motor vehicle or motor vehicle part
   has been held for sixty (60) days or more after the notice to the
   Department of Public Safety specified in subsection L of this section,
   has been given, the seizing agency, or its agent, shall cause the
   motor vehicle or motor vehicle part to be sold at public sale to the
   highest bidder. Notice of the time and place of sale shall be posted
   in a conspicuous place for at least thirty (30) days prior to the sale
   on the premises where the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part has been
   stored.
   
   N. When a seized unidentifiable motor vehicle or motor vehicle part
   has an apparent value of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or less, the
   seizing agency shall authorize the disposal of the motor vehicle or
   motor vehicle part, provided that no such disposition shall be made
   less then sixty (60) days after the date of seizure.
   
   O. The proceeds of the public sale of an unidentifiable motor vehicle
   or motor vehicle part shall be deposited in the special agency account
   of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, or treasury of the
   governmental unit employing the seizing agency after deduction of any
   reasonable and necessary towing and storage charges.
   
   P. Seizing agencies will utilize their best efforts to arrange for the
   towing and storing of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts in the
   most economical manner possible. In no event shall the owner of a
   motor vehicle or a motor vehicle part be required to pay more than the
   minimum reasonable costs of towing and storage.
   
   Q. A seized motor vehicle or motor vehicle part that is neither
   forfeited nor unidentifiable shall be held subject to the order of the
   court in which the criminal action is pending or, if a request for its
   release from such custody is made until the district attorney has
   notified the defendant or the defendant's attorney of such request and
   both the prosecution and defense have been afforded a reasonable
   opportunity for an examination of the property to determine its true
   value and to produce or reproduce, by photographs or other identifying
   techniques, legally sufficient evidence for introduction at trial or
   other criminal proceedings. Upon expiration of a reasonable time for
   the completion of the examination which in no event shall exceed
   fourteen (14) days from the date of service upon the defense of the
   notice of request for return of property as provided herein, the
   property shall be released to the person making such request after
   satisfactory proof of such person's entitlement to the possession
   thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon application by either
   party with notice to the other, the court may order retention of the
   property if it determines that retention is necessary in the
   furtherance of justice.
   
   R. When a seized vehicle is forfeited, restored to its owner, or
   disposed of as unidentifiable, the seizing agency shall retain a
   report of the transaction for a period of at least one (1) year from
   the date of the transaction.
   
   S. When an applicant for a certificate of title or salvage certificate
   presents to the Oklahoma Tax Commission proof that the applicant
   purchased or acquired a motor vehicle at a public sale conducted
   pursuant to this section and such fact is attested to by the seizing
   agency, the Oklahoma Tax Commission shall issue a certificate of
   title, salvage certificate for the motor vehicle upon receipt of the
   statutory fee, properly executed application for a certificate of
   title, or other certificate of ownership, and the affidavit of the
   seizing agency that a state-assigned number was applied for and
   affixed to the motor vehicle prior to the time that the motor vehicle
   was released by the seizing agency to the purchaser.