State v. Denbo
State v. Denbo
Opinion of the Court
Defendant was charged with the crime of breaking and entering a store building with intent to steal property of value. He entered a plea of guilty thereto. The trial court granted probation. The defendant was subsequently charged with violating the terms of his probation and. found guilty. The defendant was sentenced to serve from 2 to 4 years in the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex. Defendant has appealed.
There is no bill of exceptions. The facts found in the
The only error assigned is the excessiveness of the sentence. The defendant was 19 years of age and married. He pleaded guilty to robbing a hardware store and causing a loss to the owner in the amount of $344.85 as determined by the trial court in fixing the amount of restitution in the probationary order. The violation of the terms of probation in the manner shown is not denied on this appeal.
The trial court in granting probation undoubtedly considered the age of the defendant, the fact of his marriage, and his previous conduct. The defendant, however, chose to disregard the terms of his probation and continued in unlawful pursuits. He has imposed upon the leniency of the court and flaunted his opportunity to become a law-abiding citizen. He has, of course, forfeited any claim to further leniency.
Defendant contends that the indeterminate sentence of 2 to 4 years is legally a sentence for 4 years. This is, of course, true. Draper v. Sigler, 177 Neb. 726, 131 N. W. 2d 131; Studley v. Studley, 129 Neb. 784, 263 N. W. 139. An indeterminate sentence of 2 to 4 years is, however, more advantageous to the defendant than a
The sentence of 2 to 4 years is well within the maximum penalty provided by statute. The trial court heard the case and saw the defendant, and was in a better position than this court to evaluate the situation. In State v. Agostine, 184 Neb. 158, 165 N. W. 2d 353, the defendant, 19 years of age and never previously convicted of a felony, entered a plea of guilty to a charge of breaking and entering, and was sentenced to a term of 2 to 10 years in the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex. In affirming the sentence this court said: “The sentence imposed is not a particularly severe one and appears to have been well within the discretion vested in the district court. We have held on numerous occasions that: ‘Where the punishment of an offense created by statute is left to the discretion of the trial court within prescribed limits, a sentence imposed within those limits will not be disturbed on appeal unless there appears to be an abuse of discretion.’ ” Other cases to the same effect are: State v. Lenz, 183 Neb. 496, 161 N. W. 2d 710; State v. Stroh, 181 Neb. 24, 146 N. W. 2d 756; State v. Burnside, 181 Neb. 20, 146 N. W. 2d 754.
The record does not indicate an abuse of discretion on the párt of the triál court. The judgment of the trial court is therefore affirmed.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.