COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio man acted so openly when he stole a $500 leaf blower from a residence that it wasn’t a housebreaking, the state Supreme Court dominated Wednesday.
In their unanimous choice, the justices discovered that as a result of Donald Bertram didn’t use “force, stealth, or deception” to commit the crime, he ought to as a substitute be convicted of the lesser offense of misdemeanor felony trespassing, which may carry him lower than a 12 months in jail.
According to court docket paperwork, a Portsmouth house owner was engaged on his property in September 2020 when he heard the loud muffler of a passing automotive. He went inside the home to get his cellphone and, when he got here again exterior, he made eye contact with Bertram, the driving force of the automotive.
Bertram drove previous the house however then circled and parked on the highway close to the driveway, then began strolling up the driveway to the house’s open storage. The house owner mentioned Bertram was smiling, performing “very cavalier” and had “no sense of urgency” as he walked into the storage, took the leaf blower and walked again to his automotive.
Bertram ignored the house owner’s demand to place down the blower and as a substitute put it on the passenger seat of his automotive and tried to drive off. When the automotive didn’t instantly begin, the house owner took a number of close-up photographs of Bertram earlier than he finally drove away.
Bertram was quickly arrested and was convicted of housebreaking. He appealed the jury’s verdict to the Fourth District Court of Appeals, which affirmed the choice, then appealed the case to the state Supreme Court.
In the choice written by Justice Michael Donnelly, the Supreme Court famous that the decrease courts decided Bertram engaged in stealth and deception as a result of he calmly and silently walked by the house owner, giving no indication that he supposed to steal something.
Donnelly although, wrote that the proof “utterly failed to establish” that Bertram engaged in any “secret, sly, or clandestine conduct,” which should be confirmed to convict somebody of housebreaking.
With Wednesday’s choice, the court docket additionally vacated an 8- to 12-year jail sentence that had been given to Bertram. The justices additionally vacated a 491-day sentence Bertram obtained for violating his probation in an unrelated case. They famous a jail time period for violating probation can solely be imposed for committing a felony, and on this case that matter was vacated.
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