State v. Parsons

403 P.3d 497, 287 Or. App. 351, 2017 WL 3611574, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 991
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedAugust 23, 2017
DocketC150336CR; A159849
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 403 P.3d 497 (State v. Parsons) 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. Parsons, 403 P.3d 497, 287 Or. App. 351, 2017 WL 3611574, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 991 (Or. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

DeVORE, P. J.

Defendant was convicted upon his guilty plea to attempting to elude a police officer, ORS 811.540, and second-degree criminal mischief, ORS 164.354. He appeals from a supplemental judgment that ordered him to pay restitution to a clothing store, the City of Tigard, and the city’s insurer. He raises a number of issues in his challenge to the restitution decisions. We address only two issues. First, defendant argues that the trial court erred in imposing $166 in restitution payable to the clothing store for two pairs of pants that were missing, rather than damaged, contending that he did not admit nor was he convicted of theft. Second, defendant contends that the court erred in ordering $500 in restitution to the city for damage to a police car, because the damage was not a reasonably foreseeable result of his criminal activity.1

We conclude that the trial court erred as a matter of law in ordering $166 in restitution for the two missing pairs of pants, vacate the supplemental judgment, and remand to the trial court for it to determine whether damage to the city’s police car was reasonably foreseeable in light of State v. Ramos, 358 Or 581, 368 P3d 446 (2016).

On review, we state the evidence supporting the trial court’s restitution order in the light most favorable to the state. State v. Kirkland, 268 Or App 420, 421, 342 P3d 163 (2015). We review the trial court’s legal conclusions for errors of law. State v. Jordan, 249 Or App 93, 96, 274 P3d 289, rev den, 353 Or 103 (2012).

[354]*354Defendant was initially charged by indictment with attempting to elude a police officer and with criminal mischief in the first degree. The indictment charged, among other things, that “on or about February 4, 2015,” defendant intentionally damaged or destroyed clothing and merchandise belonging to Abercrombie & Fitch (Á&F). Defendant pleaded guilty to attempting to elude an officer, ORS 811.540,2 and to second-degree criminal mischief, ORS 164.354.3 Defendant’s plea stated that he “intentionally damaged property belonging to [A&F] and [that he] intentionally fled or attempted to elude police officers on February 4,2015.” The trial court entered convictions on that plea.

At the restitution hearing, the parties disputed the appropriate restitution sums. An employee of the clothing store testified that, in late January and into February of 2015, the store began experiencing unusual damage to its inventory. The employee described the damage as a deliberate shredding or cutting, likely with a knife. The rending was inconsistent with normal damage the store had experienced previously. Nine pairs of pants were damaged in that [355]*355way in January 2015. She testified that, on February 4,2015, defendant entered the store and took five pairs of pants into a dressing room. Standing outside the dressing room, the employee heard ripping sounds emanating from defendant’s dressing room. The employee saw defendant leave the dressing room and replace three of the five pairs of pants back. Two of the three pairs “were shredded” in the same manner as the nine pairs damaged in January. The two other pairs were never found. She followed defendant out of the store and reported his license plate number to police as he drove away. She also testified as to the store’s losses, reporting that the two shredded pairs of pants cost $78 each, the missing pairs of pants cost $78 and $88 respectively, and the nine pairs damaged in January 2015 cost a total of $752. A&F’s total loss was $1,074.

Officer Johnson of the Tigard Police Department testified that he responded to the incident. He recalled that dispatch had informed him that defendant was likely armed with a knife and that he might have a concealed handgun license. Johnson pursued defendant in a marked police car. He activated his overhead lights and sirens to pull defendant over. Defendant stopped only momentarily, but then continued on. As Johnson pursued defendant, other vehicles pulled to the side of the road. Defendant continued through two intersections with “plenty of opportunity to stop.” As defendant was about to enter a residential neighborhood, Johnson drove his patrol car into the rear corner of defendant’s truck, in a “pursuit intervention technique” (PIT), in order to force defendant’s truck to a stop. Forty three seconds elapsed between the time Johnson activated his lights and sirens and the time he executed the emergency maneuver. Johnson testified that, as a result, the patrol car suffered $3,046.89 worth of damage. The City of Tigard’s insurer, City County Insurance Services (CCIS), paid $2,546.89 to repair the patrol car, and the city paid a $500 deductible for the repairs.

Based on that evidence, the state urged the trial court to require defendant to make restitution in the following sums:

[356]*356[[Image here]]

Defendant raised several objections, two of which are relevant to our discussion. First, defendant argued that, because he was charged with intentionally damaging property, not theft, he should not be responsible for the two pairs of pants that were simply missing after the February incident. Also, defendant argued that the damages incurred by the police department for the damage to the patrol car were “not incurred as a result of the offense.” To further that point, defendant contended that Johnson was acting outside the scope of the police department’s internal policies by executing the PIT maneuver. Despite the objections, the trial court ordered defendant to pay a total of $4,120.89 in restitution to the clothing store, the City of Tigard, and CCIS, albeit without explanation for the ruling.

On appeal, defendant concedes restitution was appropriate for $156 for the value of the two pairs of pants that he shredded on February 4, 2015, but disputes all other components of the restitution judgment. As to two matters, we agree with defendant.

To review, ORS 137.106 authorizes a trial court to order restitution when a person is convicted of a crime that has resulted in economic damages.4 Under that statute, [357]*357the state must provide sufficient evidence of (1) criminal activities, (2) economic damages, and (3) a causal relationship between the two. Kirkland, 268 Or App at 424. Additionally, the “record must support a nonspeculative inference that there is a causal relationship between the defendant’s criminal activities and the victim’s economic damages.” State v. Akerman, 278 Or App 486, 490, 380 P3d 309 (2016). The requirement of a causal relationship means that the defendant’s criminal activities must be a “but for” cause of the victim’s damages and that the damages must have been a reasonably foreseeable result of the defendant’s criminal activities. Ramos, 358 Or at 603. “Criminal activities” are defined as “any offense with respect to which the defendant is convicted or any other criminal conduct

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
403 P.3d 497, 287 Or. App. 351, 2017 WL 3611574, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 991, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-parsons-orctapp-2017.