State v. Clifton

Under ORS 164.015, “A person commits theft when, with intent to deprive another of property or to appropriate property to the person or to a third person, the person: (1) Takes, appropriates, obtains or withholds such property from an owner thereof[.]"

Defendant appealed a conviction of first-degree theft and given a sentence of 22 months under Oregon’s repeat property offender statute, ORS 137.717.  Defendant assigned error to the trial court denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal and argued the State's evidence was not sufficient to prove the elements for theft.  Further, the defendant challenged the court's treatment of second-degree burglary in Washington as a prior conviction that adds additional time under ORS 137.717.  Under ORS 164.015, “A person commits theft when, with intent to deprive another of property or to appropriate property to the person or to a third person, the person: (1) Takes, appropriates, obtains or withholds such property from an owner thereof[.]" The Court held that the evidence is sufficient as it supports that Defendant had “intent to deprive” the owner of the property and he continued to “withhold” them from the owner even after learning the property was reported stolen.  The State contends evidence of defendant’s intent to “withhold” the tools from the owner. Further, Court concluded that Washington conviction qualified under ORS 137.717 as it was a “comparable offense” to the charge in Oregon.  Affirmed.