Posted on 05/04/2023 12:55:15 AM PDT by grundle
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man acted so brazenly when he stole a $500 leaf blower from a residence that it wasn’t a burglary, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
With Wednesday's decision, the court also vacated an 8- to 12-year prison sentence that had been given to Bertram. The justices also vacated a 491-day sentence Bertram received for violating his probation in an unrelated case.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Not inclined to click through.
Still interested in the Court’s rationale though.
Would you please summarize?
The thief took the leaf blower from the garage in front of the homeowner. This was not burglary, since there was no stealth involved. Therefore the felony conviction was vacated.
So it should have been prosecuted as a robbery!
Oh—got it.
Still breaking, entering and theft though, no?
There is no requirement of stealth actions.
Duh, armed robbery is not very stealth..
Also one wonders whether the homeowner refrained from preventing the “taking” out of fear of physical harm. In that case there might be the elements necessary for a charge of assault (no battery).
Here’s a typical statute (stealth is one way to rob, but there are other ways obviously):
§ 22-2801. Robbery. | D.C. Law Library
Whoever by force or violence, whether against resistance or by sudden or stealthy seizure or snatching, or by putting in fear, shall take from the person or immediate actual possession of another anything of value, is guilty of robbery, and any person convicted thereof shall suffer imprisonment for not less than 2 years nor more than 15 years.
Here is the meat from another article:
“Supreme Court Analyzed Burglary Law
Justice Donnelly explained that to prove Bertram committed burglary under R.C. 2911.12(A)(2), the Scioto County Prosecutor’s Office had to show there was “a trespass by force, stealth, or deception; into an occupied structure; when another was present or likely present; with the purpose of committing a criminal offense in the structure.“ He wrote that the Supreme Court must determine whether “any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“Force, stealth, or deception” refers to how a trespasser gained entry into the structure, the Court explained. None of the parties suggested that Bertram used force. Betram argued that the record showed he trespassed onto Huff’s property, but the prosecutor provided no evidence that he used stealth or deception.
The Court noted that the definition of “deception” in state law includes “knowingly deceiving another or causing another to be deceived by any false or misleading representation” or by withholding information or by preventing another from acquiring information. Because “stealth” is not defined in state law, the Court used the ordinary meaning of the word and how it has been used in prior cases. The Court adopted the Fourth District’s definition of “stealth” in case law as “any secret, sly, or clandestine act to avoid discovery and to gain entrance into or to remain within a residence of another without permission.”
The prosecutor argued that Bertram’s behavior was deceptive and sly, but the Court found the state’s interpretation of the words to be “contrary” to the definitions in law and the plain meaning of the words. Bertram did not try to avoid his discovery or reduce his chance of being noticed, the Court wrote.
“Nor did Bertram deceive, mislead, lie to, or trick Huff into granting him entry into the garage,” the opinion stated. “Bertram did not commit burglary under Ohio law, because he did not gain access to Huff’s garage by force, stealth, or deception.””
With “friends in low places” it would only cost a case of beer to get restitution and retribution.
Eight to 12 years seems like a lot for a leaf blower. People get less than that for molestation and murder.
The owner never said anything?
It sounds as though there was verbal resistance as the owner told him to stop.
They’re coming after property rights next. Just watch.
Thanks for the info!
I recently committed a very brazen rape - there was absolutely no stealth involved - so maybe I could use the same rationale?
Regards,
How do the learned judges define burglary? Did they look at the statute?
Stupid people voting in even stupider people create the stupidist laws.
democracy in any form is a failed way to choose government.
So, instead of saying “the color was RED,” a person now has to say “I did not see the ‘Hex Code #RRGGBB - #FF0000’ STOP sign”.
Ref.: https://www.rapidtables.com/web/color/red-color.html
(A) No person, with purpose to deprive the owner of property or services, shall knowingly obtain or exert control over either the property or services in any of the following ways:
(1) Without the consent of the owner or person authorized to give consent;
(2) Beyond the scope of the express or implied consent of the owner or person authorized to give consent;
(3) By deception;
(4) By threat;
(5) By intimidation.
The owner was there telling him to stop so that surely met the first requirement.
https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2913.02
Lol...
Every time I think it can’t get any worse, I’m once again astounded...
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