In re S.F.

2010 MT 244, 244 P.3d 316, 358 Mont. 185, 2010 Mont. LEXIS 404
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 16, 2010
DocketNo. DA 10-0136
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2010 MT 244 (In re S.F.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re S.F., 2010 MT 244, 244 P.3d 316, 358 Mont. 185, 2010 Mont. LEXIS 404 (Mo. 2010).

Opinion

JUSTICE COTTER

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 S.F., Jr., (hereinafter S.F.) was 14 years old on or around May 23, 2009, when he and another youth, G.S., allegedly broke into a home and stole the keys to a van, a laptop computer, and the van parked in the driveway. In August 2009, the Lake County Attorney’s Office filed a four-count petition with the Twentieth Judicial District Court seeking to declare S.F. a delinquent youth and serious juvenile offender. Subsequently, S.F. pled guilty to one felony burglary charge and one misdemeanor unauthorized use of a motor vehicle charge. With respect to the remaining two counts, the court found him guilty of one felony theft charge. He was sentenced to serve time at Pine Hills Correctional Facility and to pay restitution. He appeals the court’s ruling. We affirm.

ISSUES

¶2 A restatement of the issues on appeal is:

¶3 Did the District Court err in denying S.F.’s motion for a directed verdict?

¶4 Did the District Court err in imposing a restitution obligation on S.F.?

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶5 On or around May 23, 2009, 14-year-old S.F. and G.S., 16 years old, had been drinking and walking around Poison, Montana. At some time during that evening, the two boys went to the home of the Elliott family. While the family slept and S.F. purportedly kept watch, G.S. entered the home through a back door and stole a laptop computer and the keys to the family’s van. The boys then took the van and went joyriding. G.S. was the primary driver that night but S.F. drove the [187]*187van for a short while. Ultimately, G.S. fell asleep or passed out while driving and crashed the van into a tree.

¶6 In August 2009, the Lake County Attorney’s Office filed a petition with the Twentieth Judicial District Court seeking to declare S.F. a delinquent youth and serious juvenile offender. The petition alleged S.F. had committed two counts of felony burglary and two counts of felony theft.

¶7 A hearing on the State’s petition was held on December 10, 2009. At the beginning of the hearing, the parties agreed to amend one count of felony theft to misdemeanor unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. The court accepted the change. S.F. then pled guilty to one count of felony burglary and one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. After accepting the plea, the court conducted a hearing and heard witness testimony on the remaining counts of felony burglary and felony theft. At the conclusion of the State’s case, S.F. moved for a directed verdict. The District Court granted S.F.’s motion vis-á-vis the felony burglary charge but denied it vis-á-vis the felony theft charge. Ultimately, the court ruled S.F. was guilty of felony theft. At a subsequent disposition hearing on January 14, 2010, the court declared S.F. to be a delinquent youth and a serious juvenile offender. He was sentenced to Pine Hills Correctional Facility until he was 18 years old, or sooner released, and was ordered to pay restitution for a $30 towing charge and $3,459.31 in damages to the Elliotts’ van. The court indicated S.F. was jointly and severally liable for the vehicle damage with G.S. He filed a timely notice of appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶8 We deem S.F.’s motion for a directed verdict as a motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence. We review such motions de novo. State v. McWilliams, 2008 MT 59, ¶¶ 35-37, 341 Mont. 517, 178 P.3d 121.

¶9 We review whether the sentencing court had statutory authority to impose the sentence, whether the sentence falls within the parameters set by the applicable sentencing statutes, and whether the court adhered to the affirmative mandates of the applicable sentencing statutes for legality. This determination is a question of law and, as such, our review is de novo. State v. Breeding, 2008 MT 162, ¶ 10, 343 Mont. 323, 184 P.3d 313 (internal citations omitted).

DISCUSSION

¶10 Did the District Court err in denying S.F.’s motion for a directed [188]*188verdict?

¶11 As noted above, the District Court found S.F. guilty of theft in violation of §45-6-301(l)(a), MCA (2 007), i.e., the statute in effect at the time the crime was committed. This statute provides that ‘Ta] person commits the offense of theft when the person purposely or knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control over property of the owner and has the purpose of depriving the owner of the property.” Additionally, under the 2007 statute in effect in May 2009, if the value of the stolen property exceeded $1,000, the theft was a felony. Sections 45-6-301(8)(b) and 45-2-101(23), MCA (2007). S.F. argues on appeal that the State did not provide sufficient evidence that he had committed this offense. He asserts that the statute contemplates an “actual taking” rather than mere possession of stolen property. S.F. claims that he did not actually take the vehicle or the laptop computer, nor did he cause damage to the vehicle. He further opines that the State did not prove that he actually obtained or exerted control of the van; therefore, he should not have been convicted of theft.

¶12 In response, the State focuses its argument on S.F.’s guilt of theft by accountability, with little more than passing reference to any legal justification for a theft conviction. However, the State did not charge S.F. with accountability nor was he convicted of accountability. We will therefore disregard all arguments made by the State with respect to S.F.’s guilt of theft by accountability.

¶13 To determine whether the District Court erred in denying S.F.’s motion to dismiss, we must determine whether the court had sufficient evidence to conclude that S.F. purposely or knowingly exerted unauthorized control over the Elliotts’ property with the purpose of depriving the Elliotts of the property. As indicated above, the undisputed evidence presented to the District Court revealed that on or around May 23, S.F .and G.S. went to the Elliotts’ home and left with a laptop computer and the family’s van. They each drove the van but G.S. was the primary driver. G.S. ultimately fell asleep or passed out while driving and drove the van into a tree. While there was some dispute as to whether S.F. entered the Elliotts’ home or merely stood outside the door keeping watch, that distinction is irrelevant to our analysis. The elements of theft simply require that a person “purposely or knowingly” “obtains or exerts unauthorized control” over the property of another with the “purpose of depriving the owner of the property.”These relevant terms are defined in §45-2-101, MCA (2007). ¶14 Section 45-2-101(65), MCA (2007), defines “purposely” as:

a person acts purposely with respect to a result or to conduct [189]*189described by a statute defining an offense if it is the person’s conscious object to engage in that conduct or to cause that result. When a particular purpose is an element of an offense, the element is established although the purpose is conditional, unless the condition negatives the harm or evil sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense. Equivalent terms, such as “purpose” and “with the purpose”, have the same meaning.

‘Knowingly” is defined at §45-2-101(35), MCA (2007), as:

a person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when the person is aware of the person’s own conduct or that the circumstance exists.

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Related

Castro v. Ernie S Auto
2012 MT 305N (Montana Supreme Court, 2012)
In Re Sf, Jr.
2010 MT 244 (Montana Supreme Court, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2010 MT 244, 244 P.3d 316, 358 Mont. 185, 2010 Mont. LEXIS 404, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-sf-mont-2010.