In Re Andrew A.

58 P.3d 527, 203 Ariz. 585, 388 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 20, 2002 Ariz. App. LEXIS 187
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedDecember 10, 2002
Docket1 CA-JV 01-0073
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 58 P.3d 527 (In Re Andrew A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Andrew A., 58 P.3d 527, 203 Ariz. 585, 388 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 20, 2002 Ariz. App. LEXIS 187 (Ark. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

THOMPSON, Judge.

¶ 1 Andrew A. (juvenile) appeals from the juvenile court’s order that he pay restitution in the amount of $2,061.08. Juvenile asserts the trial court improperly ordered him to pay restitution for personal property which he maintains he did not steal but which was missing when the vehicle was recovered. Finding no error, we affirm.

*586 BACKGROUND

¶ 2 The victim’s red Jeep Cherokee was stolen from Cactus High School while he was at school. Shortly after midnight police stopped the Jeep for traffic violations and noticed a screwdriver on the floorboard and wires hanging from the dashboard where a stereo should have been; juvenile was driving. Juvenile admitted that the vehicle, containing personal property belonging to victim, had been stolen while parked at Cactus High School and stated that a friend had hired him to drive the vehicle from one location to another for $200.00. When the police contacted the victim, they were advised that the stereo, some compact discs and a speaker box were missing from the Jeep. The missing personal property was mentioned in the subsequent police report.

¶ 3 The state filed a petition charging one count of control of a means of transportation, a class five felony, and one count of minor in possession of tobacco. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, juvenile -admitted to one count of theft, a class six felony. As the factual basis for the delinquency finding, juvenile admitted that he “went down to where the car was located, picked it up, and got pulled over at 61st and Bell.” Juvenile denied either damaging the Jeep or stealing the victim’s personal property yet pursuant to the plea agreement, juvenile agreed to pay restitution “in an amount not to exceed $5,000.” Prior to the hearing, the victim’s mother filed a verified statement of financial loss indicating the loss at $795.00 plus the “repair cost to vehicle.” Several months later, after a hearing wherein the exact damages were detailed by victim, the trial court awarded $2,061.08 in restitution for damage to the Jeep and the loss of victim’s personal property in the vehicle.

DISCUSSION

¶4 On appeal, juvenile asserts that the restitution award should be reduced to $471.09 for the cost of the physical damage to the Jeep. Juvenile argues that there was no evidence to support a causal connection between the conduct that constituted his offense and the trial court’s order of restitution for the victim’s personal property. He further contends that he failed to receive notice that he would be ordered to pay restitution for the victim’s personal property.

¶ 5 We will not disturb a juvenile court’s disposition absent an abuse of discretion, Maricopa County Juv. Action No. JV-128676, 177 Ariz. 352, 353, 868 P.2d 365, 366 (App.1994), and we view the facts in the light most favorable to affirming the court’s findings. Maricopa County Juv. Action No. JS-8490, 179 Ariz. 102, 106, 876 P.2d 1137, 1141 (1994).

The Causal Connection

¶ 6 Juvenile first argues that the record contains no evidence that his admitted conduct was the “but for” cause of the loss of the victim’s personal property. Juvenile admits he took possession of the vehicle knowing that it was stolen, but he claims the interior was damaged and the property stolen prior to his possession. Juvenile asserts that the trial court, therefore, “had no basis to believe” that he “caused the victim’s additional loss [of] approximately 100 CDs, a CD holder, and a backpack” and that it abused its discretion in awarding restitution for those items, representing $1,589.99 of the total $2,062.08 in restitution.

¶ 7 In Arizona, the purpose of restitution is rehabilitation of the offender and reparation to the victim of the crime. State v. Iniguez, 169 Ariz. 533, 536, 821 P.2d 194, 197 (App.1991). Restitution is proper if evidence “reasonably leads to the inference that juvenile’s criminal conduct was related to victim’s damages.” Maricopa County Juv. Action No. JV-132905, 186 Ariz. 607, 609, 925 P.2d 748, 750 (App.1996); State v. Lindsley, 191 Ariz. 195, 198, 953 P.2d 1248, 1251 (App. 1997) (“Recoverable economic losses are those that flow directly from or are a direct result of the crime committed.”). Juvenile can be ordered to pay restitution for losses directly caused by his criminal conduct even where the conduct which caused such losses was not an element for which he was adjudicated delinquent. State v. Wilkinson, 202 Ariz. 27, 30, ¶¶ 14-15, 39 P.3d 1131, 1134 (2002); Lindsley, 191 Ariz. at 197, 953 P.2d at 1250 (although defendant was not charged *587 with theft “[t]he trial court could reasonably infer from the evidence that the damage to the wallet was the direct result of defendant’s unlawful possession of it”). This court upholds restitution awards if they bear “a reasonable relationship to the victim’s loss.” Id.

¶ 8 In a similar case, JV-132905, the juvenile admitted to theft of a car and acknowledged responsibility for restitution pursuant to a plea agreement. 186 Ariz. at 608, 925 P.2d at 749. When the victim submitted evidence of damages, that juvenile asserted the ear had sustained the damages prior to his possession of it. Id. The court awarded restitution for the victim’s claimed damages even though no direct evidence was submitted to controvert the juvenile’s assertion. Id. at 608-09, 925 P.2d at 749-50. On appeal, we affirmed that trial court’s restitution award “because the loss suffered by [the] victim could have been inferred to have been caused by juvenile’s admitted criminal conduct, because no credible evidence was submitted by juvenile to refute this inference, and because juvenile agreed to pay restitution for losses relative to his criminal conduct.” Id. at 609, 925 P.2d at 750.

¶ 9 Likewise, juvenile here pleaded responsible to “[c]ontrol[ling] property of another knowing ... that the property was stolen” and agreed to pay up to $5,000.00 restitution. While juvenile denied that he stole the vehicle from the high school and denied stealing the victim’s personal property, the trial court could have nonetheless properly inferred otherwise. The trial court is in the best position to measure the credibility of witnesses. Id. We will not reweigh evidence, but look only to determine if there is sufficient evidence to sustain the juvenile court’s ruling. Id. (citing Pima County Juvenile Action B-10489, 151 Ariz. 335, 338, 727 P.2d 830, 833 (App.1986)).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 P.3d 527, 203 Ariz. 585, 388 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 20, 2002 Ariz. App. LEXIS 187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-andrew-a-arizctapp-2002.