State v. Roche, Inc.

511 N.W.2d 195, 2 Neb. Ct. App. 445, 1994 Neb. App. LEXIS 6
CourtNebraska Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 4, 1994
DocketA-92-1039
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 511 N.W.2d 195 (State v. Roche, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Roche, Inc., 511 N.W.2d 195, 2 Neb. Ct. App. 445, 1994 Neb. App. LEXIS 6 (Neb. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinions

Miller-Lerman, Judge.

Appellant, Roche, Inc., doing business as The Copy Center, a Nebraska corporation, was convicted in a bench trial before the district court for Lancaster County of two counts of theft by deception. The case generally involved allegations that Roche had sold two copy machines on which the meters had been rolled back, thereby deceiving the purchasers with respect to the actual number of copies which had been run on the machines. The trial court found beyond a reasonable doubt that Roche was guilty of theft by deception with regard to property valued at $300 or more but less than $1,000, placing a value of $405 on [448]*448count I, in connection with the sale of a used Mita 4055 copy machine to Naber’s Consulting & Tax Services, Inc. (Naber’s). The court also found Roche guilty of theft by deception on count II with regard to property valued at more than $100 but less than $300, placing a value of $180, in connection with the sale of an allegedly new Mita 2555 copy machine to the Nebraska Pharmacists Association, Inc. (NPA). Both convictions are based on violations of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-512(1) (Reissue 1989) and graded as theft offenses pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-518 (Reissue 1989). Count I was a Class IV felony, and count II was a Class I misdemeanor pursuant to § 28-518. After a presentence report was prepared, the court ordered Roche to pay restitution of $405 to Naber’s and $180 to the NPA. For the reasons recited below, we affirm the judgment in part, vacate the sentences, and remand the cause with directions.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Roche claims on appeal that the trial court erred because (1) a corporation cannot be liable for theft by deception because a corporation cannot possess the requisite intent and (2) there is insufficient evidence to support the convictions of theft by deception because the testimony is not persuasive and there is no evidence that the victims suffered pecuniary loss.

SCOPE OF REVIEW AND RELEVANT STATUTES

With respect to a question of law, “an appellate court has an obligation to reach an independent, correct conclusion irrespective of the determination made by the trial court.” VanDeWalle v. Albion Nat. Bank, 243 Neb. 496, 499, 500 N.W.2d 566, 569-70 (1993).

The Nebraska Supreme Court has held:

In determining whether evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction in a bench trial, an appellate court does not resolve conflicts in evidence, pass on credibility of witnesses, evaluate explanations, or reweigh evidence presented, which are within a fact finder’s province for disposition. A conviction in a bench trial of a criminal case is sustained if the evidence, viewed and construed in the light most favorable to the State, is sufficient to support [449]*449that conviction. The trial court’s findings have the effect of a verdict and will not be set aside unless clearly erroneous.

State v. Reichert, 242 Neb. 33, 35, 492 N.W.2d 874, 876 (1992).

Under Nebraska statutes, theft by deception is defined as follows:

A person commits theft if he obtains property of another by deception. A person deceives if he intentionally:
(1) Creates or reinforces a false impression, including false impressions as to law, value, intention, or other state of mind; but deception as to a person’s intention to perform a promise shall not be inferred from the fact alone that he did not subsequently perform the promise...[.]
The word deceive does not include falsity as to matters having no pecuniary significance, or statements unlikely to deceive ordinary persons in the group addressed.

§ 28-512.

The word “person” is defined in the Criminal Code as “any natural person and where relevant a corporation or an unincorporated association.” Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-109(16) (Reissue 1989).

The grading of theft offenses is controlled by § 28-518, which provides in relevant part:

(1) Theft constitutes a Class III felony when the value of the thing involved is over one thousand dollars.
(2) Theft constitutes a Class IV felony when the value of the thing involved is three hundred dollars or more, but not over one thousand dollars. ,
(3) Theft constitutes a Class I misdemeanor when the value of the thing involved is more than one hundred dollars, but less than three hundred dollars.
(4) Theft constitutes a Class II misdemeanor when the value of the thing involved is one hundred dollars or less.

Restitution is controlled by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2280 et seq. (Reissue 1989). The pertinent portion of those statutes regarding this case states:

[450]*450A sentencing court may order the defendant to make restitution for the actual physical injury or property damage or loss sustained by the victim as a direct result of the offense for which the defendant has been convicted. Whenever the court believes that restitution may be a proper sentence or the victim of any offense or the prosecuting attorney requests, the court shall order that the presentence investigation report include documentation regarding the nature and amount of the actual damages sustained by the victim.

(Emphasis supplied.) § 29-2280.

FACTS

Gerald (Jerry) Rock and Sandra Rock are co-owners of Roche, Inc., doing business as The Copy Center. The evidence regarding both counts of theft by deception involved the acts of employees of The Copy Center’s Lincoln, Nebraska, branch office.

According to the evidence, on April 4, 1989, a Mita 4055 copier, serial No. 36002506, had a beginning meter reading of 847,752 when it was delivered to Cooper Nuclear Station. On June 21, 1989, that same copier left Cooper Nuclear Station with a meter reading of 870,308. On January 30, 1990, this copier was sold to Naber’s. The meter read 375,254. The meter reading appeared on a Copy Center invoice and was prepared and initialed by a Copy Center salesperson, Matt Mueller.

Calvin Krohn, a former service manager at The Copy Center in Lincoln, testified that he rolled back the meter on the machine sold to Naber’s. Krohn rolled the meter back from approximately 890,000 to under 400,000, pursuant to directions from T. J. Goltl. Goltl was the location manager at the Lincoln store.

Naber’s paid $1,595 for the used Mita 4055 copier. Keith Naber testified that he knew he was purchasing a used machine and that he had been told to expect the machine to have a useful life of 1,000,000 copies. He testified that he was not told that the meter had been rolled back. Naber testified that had he been told the meter had been rolled back, he would have paid less for the machine.

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Related

State v. Holecek
621 N.W.2d 100 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 2000)
State v. Roche, Inc.
520 N.W.2d 539 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1994)
State v. Roche, Inc.
511 N.W.2d 195 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
511 N.W.2d 195, 2 Neb. Ct. App. 445, 1994 Neb. App. LEXIS 6, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-roche-inc-nebctapp-1994.