Appeals court partially reverses decision on area juvenile's theft case
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The Twelfth District Court of Appeals has affirmed in part and reversed in part the conviction of a Clinton County teen for theft.
A juvenile delinquency complaint was filed in the Clinton County Juvenile Court against 17-year-old Richard Preston Phillips. The complaint alleged Phillips and another boy took a number of items of property including gasoline, vehicles and equipment from various parties in Highland, Clinton and Brown counties over a six-month period. The state requested the case be transferred from the juvenile division to the general division of common pleas so that Phillips could be tried as an adult. After several hearings on the matter, the juvenile court agreed to relinquish jurisdiction over Phillips and transfer the matter to the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas.
Even though there were multiple victims and many items of property taken over the course of several months, the state elected to charge Phillips with a single theft violation. Phillips waived his right to a jury trial. After a three-day bench trial, the court found Phillips guilty of aggravated theft because the value of the property taken was greater than $100,000.
The trial court sentenced Phillips to three years in prison, and ordered him to pay $60,306.69 in restitution.
Phillips appealed to the Twelfth District and argued that the juvenile court erred in transferring his case to the adult court. In addition, Phillips argued there were multiple mistakes in his criminal trial, including evidentiary errors, the order of restitution, his counsel's performance, and that the evidence failed to support his conviction.
Writing for a unanimous court, Judge Robert A. Hendrickson found that the juvenile court did not err in transferring the case to the common pleas court. However, Judge Hendrickson also determined the state did not have the authority to charge Phillips for a single theft offense or aggregate the value of the items taken. Presiding Judge H.J. Bressler and Judge Stephen W. Powell concurred in the opinion.
The decision of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part Phillips' conviction for theft and sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.
The Twelfth District Court of Appeals has affirmed in part and reversed in part the conviction of a Clinton County teen for theft.
A juvenile delinquency complaint was filed in the Clinton County Juvenile Court against 17-year-old Richard Preston Phillips. The complaint alleged Phillips and another boy took a number of items of property including gasoline, vehicles and equipment from various parties in Highland, Clinton and Brown counties over a six-month period. The state requested the case be transferred from the juvenile division to the general division of common pleas so that Phillips could be tried as an adult. After several hearings on the matter, the juvenile court agreed to relinquish jurisdiction over Phillips and transfer the matter to the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas.
Even though there were multiple victims and many items of property taken over the course of several months, the state elected to charge Phillips with a single theft violation. Phillips waived his right to a jury trial. After a three-day bench trial, the court found Phillips guilty of aggravated theft because the value of the property taken was greater than $100,000.
The trial court sentenced Phillips to three years in prison, and ordered him to pay $60,306.69 in restitution.
Phillips appealed to the Twelfth District and argued that the juvenile court erred in transferring his case to the adult court. In addition, Phillips argued there were multiple mistakes in his criminal trial, including evidentiary errors, the order of restitution, his counsel's performance, and that the evidence failed to support his conviction.
Writing for a unanimous court, Judge Robert A. Hendrickson found that the juvenile court did not err in transferring the case to the common pleas court. However, Judge Hendrickson also determined the state did not have the authority to charge Phillips for a single theft offense or aggregate the value of the items taken. Presiding Judge H.J. Bressler and Judge Stephen W. Powell concurred in the opinion.
The decision of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part Phillips' conviction for theft and sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.
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