State v. Hazlitt

713 P.2d 617, 77 Or. App. 344, 1986 Ore. App. LEXIS 2452
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJanuary 29, 1986
DocketC83-03-33814; CA A33178
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 713 P.2d 617 (State v. Hazlitt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hazlitt, 713 P.2d 617, 77 Or. App. 344, 1986 Ore. App. LEXIS 2452 (Or. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

*346 RICHARDSON, P. J.

Defendant appeals his conviction for theft in the first degree. ORS 164.055. He contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for acquittal, because the evidence was not sufficient to prove that he knew or had good reason to know that the diamond which he was convicted of selling was stolen. He also contends that it erred in ordering him to pay restitution to the insurer which provided coverage for the diamond’s owner, because the insurer’s loss did not result from his sale of the diamond. We hold that the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction and remand for resentencing with respect to restitution.

Concerning the sufficiency of the evidence, the question on appeal is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the state, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Harris, 288 Or 703, 721, 609 P2d 798 (1980). We resolve conflicts in the evidence in favor of the state after a verdict of guilty. State v. Krummacher, 269 Or 125, 137, 523 P2d 1009 (1974).

On July 20,1982, a diamond ring was stolen during a robbery. Defendant later bought that ring at an illegal gambling establishment. He offered to sell it to Cooper, a secondhand jewelry dealer. He told Cooper that there was possibly a “problem” with the ring. According to the testimony, in the second-hand jewelry business, a “problem” with an item of jewelry means that it is stolen. Cooper did not buy the ring. Defendant then offered to sell it to a man named Ely. Ely initially declined, because he thought that the price was too high. A few days later, defendant offered to sell Ely the setting without the diamond center stone. Ely purchased the setting and gave it to a friend to sell in California. Police officers contacted Ely soon thereafter and informed him that they suspected that the ring had been stolen, and Ely agreed to assist them in recovering the setting. When Ely next saw defendant, he asked him whether he was aware that the ring had been stolen. Defendant acted very nervous and responded that he did not know that it had been stolen.

Ely, with the help of his attorney, obtained immunity from prosecution in return for his efforts in recovering the setting. He later told defendant that “everything was taken *347 care of for me” and that his lawyer would “handle it.” Ely did not mean that the ring was not stolen, nor did he ever tell defendant that the ring was not stolen. The setting was eventually recovered.

During that period, an undercover police officer bought a watch from defendant. He suspected that the watch had been stolen in the robbery, but he was mistaken. The same officer later inquired about purchasing the diamond. Defendant initially said that he had the diamond but, after discovering the officer’s true identity, claimed that he no longer had it. In February, 1983, defendant sold the diamond to Ely, who resold it, and it was never recovered.

Defendant was convicted in a trial to the court on the basis of his sale of the diamond to Ely. He was not convicted of the sale of the setting to Ely. Specifically, defendant was convicted of theft by receiving. ORS 164.095 provides:

“(1) A person commits theft by receiving if the person receives, retains, conceals or disposes of property of another knowing or having good reason to know that the property was the subject of theft.
“(2) ‘Receiving’ means acquiring possession, control or title, or lending on the security of the property.” (Emphasis supplied.)

The evidence is sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant knew or had good reason to know that the diamond was the subject of theft. He told Cooper that there might be a “problem” with the ring, meaning that it had been stolen. After he sold the setting to Ely but before selling him the diamond, Ely asked him whether he was aware that the ring had been stolen. Finally, the undercover officer’s attempted purchase of the diamond should have made defendant aware that the police were interested in the diamond. The jury could have found that, if he did not know already, that attempt would have given him good reason to know that what Ely had asked concerning the ring was accurate. The trial court did not err in denying defendant’s motion for acquittal.

The next issue is whether restitution is appropriate and, if so, in what amount. The insurer which provided coverage for the robbery victim initially paid her $10,000 for *348 the loss of the ring. It valued the diamond center stone at $8,000 and the setting at $2,000. After the setting was recovered and turned over to the insurer, the victim bought it back for $2,000. The insurer sought restitution totalling $8,775, consisting of $8,000 for the diamond and $775 for a reward that it had paid. The trial court ordered defendant to make restitution to the insurer in that amount. It requested defendant to submit a summary of his assets so that a payment schedule could be established. No payment schedule was ever established.

The restitution statutes are ORS 137.103 to 137.109. ORS 137.106(1) provides:

“When a person is convicted of criminal activities which have resulted in pecuniary damages, unless the presentence investigation report contains such a presentation, the district attorney shall investigate and present to the court, prior to or at the time of sentencing, evidence of the nature and amount of such damages. In addition to any other sentence it may impose, the court may order that the defendant make restitution to the victim.”

ORS 137.103 provides:

“As used in ORS 137.101 to 137.109, 137.540, 161.675 and 161.685:
“(1) ‘Criminal activities’ means any offense with respect to which the defendant is convicted or any other criminal conduct admitted by the defendant.
“(2) ‘Pecuniary damages’ means all special damages, but not general damages, which a person could recover against the defendant in a civil action arising out of the facts or events constituting the defendant’s criminal activities and shall include, but not be limited to, the money equivalent of property taken, destroyed, broken or otherwise harmed, and losses such as medical expenses and costs of psychological treatment or counseling.
“ (3) ‘Restitution’ means full, partial or nominal payment of pecuniary damages to a victim.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
713 P.2d 617, 77 Or. App. 344, 1986 Ore. App. LEXIS 2452, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hazlitt-orctapp-1986.