Bobby Franklin Divine admitted in court Wednesday he operated a vehicle without permission from its lawful owner, but his lawyer says what he did doesn’t meet the legal definition of stealing.

“Legally, I don’t think he committed this crime,” defense attorney Raissa Carpenter told Judge Stacy Louser.

Divine, 21, of Bismarck, is charged with Class C felony theft of property and could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

According to court documents, Divine took a work vehicle belonging to his child’s grandfather, Darin Widmayer, who was out of the country at the time. He claims his child’s mother, Sarah Widmayer, gave him the keys and also gave him permission to take the truck. Carpenter also said that’s what Sarah Widmayer told her. Carpenter said she has tried to interview Darin Widmayer, but the state’s attorney’s office has refused to turn over contact information for the man, citing the new Marsy’s Law that enshrined constitutional protections for victims in the state constitution. Based on statements made in court Wednesday, Divine left the vehicle in a parking lot near the Domestic Violence Crisis Center in Minot. Sarah Widmayer picked him up. He didn’t want to turn himself into police right away because he wanted to see his children.

Ward County Assistant State’s Attorney Ashlei Neufeld said Sarah Widmayer gave a different account to police and claimed the vehicle had been taken without her permission. According to the probable cause affidavit filed with the court, Darin Widmayer told police that no one should have possession of his vehicle and no one else was authorized to use it.

Meanwhile, Divine said he has been sitting in the county jail for months. He said he wanted to plead guilty “to get this whole situation taken care of” and over with, so he can get back to running his company and taking care of his three children.

“In good faith, I cannot accept this plea,” said Louser, who set the case for trial on June 26.

In a separate case, Divine pleaded guilty last month to breaking another inmate’s nose during a fight at the Ward County Jail on Jan. 28. Court records show that Divine was sentenced to three years, with a requirement that he first serve 18 months, and two years of probation. He must also pay court costs and restitution to be determined. The sentence is concurrent with drug possession and drug paraphernalia charges in other cases.