State v. Misty M. Ross

CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedMay 9, 2023
Docket2021AP000880-CR
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Misty M. Ross (State v. Misty M. Ross) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Misty M. Ross, (Wis. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS DECISION NOTICE DATED AND FILED This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. May 9, 2023 A party may file with the Supreme Court a Sheila T. Reiff petition to review an adverse decision by the Clerk of Court of Appeals Court of Appeals. See WIS. STAT. § 808.10 and RULE 809.62.

Appeal No. 2021AP880-CR Cir. Ct. No. 2019CF170

STATE OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT III

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT,

V.

MISTY M. ROSS,

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

APPEAL from a judgment and an order of the circuit court for Chippewa County: STEVEN R. CRAY and BENJAMIN J. LANE, Judges. Affirmed.

Before Stark, P.J., Hruz and Gill, JJ.

Per curiam opinions may not be cited in any court of this state as precedent

or authority, except for the limited purposes specified in WIS. STAT. RULE 809.23(3). No. 2021AP880-CR

¶1 PER CURIAM. Misty Ross appeals from a judgment convicting her of theft of movable property and from an order denying her motion for postconviction relief.1 Ross argues that the evidence at her jury trial was insufficient to prove a theft of movable property and to establish venue in Chippewa County. In the alternative, she contends that we should exercise our discretionary-reversal powers and order a judgment of acquittal. We reject Ross’s arguments and affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶2 The State filed a criminal complaint in Chippewa County Circuit Court charging Ross with theft of movable property (with a value greater than $5,000 but less than $10,000). The complaint alleged that on February 22, 2019, Ross withdrew $7,000 from her ex-husband, Myles’s bank account via an internet transfer.2 The complaint further alleged that Myles had received sole ownership of the bank account as part of a 2016 divorce settlement but that Ross’s name had never been removed from the account.

¶3 The circuit court subsequently held a preliminary hearing at which both the investigating officer and Ross testified. Ross admitted that Myles had received sole ownership of the bank account as part of their divorce judgment. She also admitted that she accessed the bank account online and had transferred $7,000 out of the account without contacting Myles or receiving his permission.

1 The Honorable Steven R. Cray presided over this case through sentencing, and the Honorable Benjamin J. Lane presided over Ross’s motion for postconviction relief. 2 We use pseudonyms instead of the victims’ names. See WIS. STAT. RULE 809.86(4) (2021-22). All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2021-22 version unless otherwise noted.

2 No. 2021AP880-CR

Ross explained that she used the money to pay off a car loan and to repay other people who had loaned her money.

¶4 The parties eventually tried the case to a jury. Myles testified at trial that he and his significant other, Kendall, had purchased a new home on February 22, 2019, and that they had received a check for approximately $15,000 from the title company. They then deposited the check into Myles’s savings account at Royal Credit Union (RCU) that same day. A few days later, however, Myles noticed that $7,000 had been withdrawn from the account. Myles immediately contacted RCU and learned that Ross withdrew the money on February 22 and that she had subsequently removed her name from the account. Myles testified that he was surprised Ross had access to the account because he had received the account as part of their divorce judgment and because Ross “really hadn’t … used [the account] … prior to [their] divorce.”

¶5 Myles also testified that he never consented to Ross withdrawing money from the account, nor had Ross offered to return the $7,000. Myles said he attempted to contact Ross multiple times, but she never answered or returned his phone calls. Myles further testified that he and Kendall were living at the same residence in Chippewa County on February 22, 2019—the same day Ross withdrew money from the account.

¶6 The State also called Kendall as a witness, and her testimony corroborated much of Myles’s testimony. As relevant here, Kendall testified that she and Myles were living together in Chippewa County on February 22, 2019, that they had deposited a $15,000 check into Myles’s savings account that day, and that she did not consent to Ross withdrawing any money from Myles’s

3 No. 2021AP880-CR

account. Following Kendall’s testimony, the prosecutor read portions of Ross’s preliminary hearing testimony to the jury, and the State then rested its case.

¶7 Thereafter, Ross testified in her own defense. She again admitted that she had transferred $7,000 from Myles’s bank account—without knowing the source of the money—and that she did so without Myles’s and Kendall’s consent. Ross also acknowledged that she had received a voicemail from Myles after the transfer but did not contact him back because she “knew what position [she] was in” and “could tell … he was upset.” Ross explained that she had transferred the money while she was preparing to move to Florida and was trying to “tie up loose ends.”

¶8 The jury found Ross guilty of theft of movable property. The circuit court withheld sentence and placed Ross on probation for two years. Ross subsequently filed a motion for postconviction relief, arguing that the trial evidence was insufficient to establish a theft of movable property or venue in Chippewa County. The court rejected Ross’s arguments and denied her motion.

¶9 Ross now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary below.

DISCUSSION

I. Sufficiency of the evidence

¶10 Ross renews her challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence. In particular, she contends that the State failed to prove that the money in Myles’s bank account was “movable property,” as defined in WIS. STAT. § 943.20(2)(ag)

4 No. 2021AP880-CR

and (2)(b), and, relatedly, failed to establish the asportation element of theft.3 She also asserts that venue was never established because the evidence was insufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that any element of the offense occurred in Chippewa County.

¶11 Whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain a jury verdict is a question of law that we review de novo. State v. Smith, 2012 WI 91, ¶24, 342 Wis. 2d 710, 817 N.W.2d 410. In doing so, however, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and to the conviction. State v. Poellinger, 153 Wis. 2d 493, 501, 451 N.W.2d 752 (1990). A conviction cannot be reversed unless the evidence “is so insufficient in probative value and force that it can be said as a matter of law that no trier of fact, acting reasonably, could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. “Thus, ‘a defendant challenging the sufficiency of the evidence bears a heavy burden to show the evidence could not reasonably have supported a finding of guilt.’” State v. Coughlin, 2022 WI 43, ¶25, 402 Wis. 2d 107, 975 N.W.2d 179 (citation omitted).

¶12 Ross’s sufficiency of the evidence argument also involves the interpretation and application of WIS. STAT. § 943.20(1)(a), which are questions of law that we review de novo. See State v. Hanson, 2012 WI 4, ¶14, 338 Wis. 2d 243, 808 N.W.2d 390. Our interpretation of a statute begins with the statutory language. State ex rel. Kalal v. Circuit Ct. for Dane Cnty., 2004 WI 58, ¶45, 271

3 Although Ross organizes her arguments in the opposite order, we will address the meaning of “movable property” before ascertaining whether the evidence was sufficient to establish asportation.

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Bluebook (online)
State v. Misty M. Ross, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-misty-m-ross-wisctapp-2023.