Seidel v. State
Seidel v. State
Opinion of the Court
John Sheldon Seidel was sentenced to three years imprisonment, probated, fined $500, and ordered to pay restitution of $1,250 upon his conviction for theft of property of a value of at least $200 but less than $10,000. Among four grounds of error presented to us for review, appellant contends that the evidence was insufficient to prove that the value of the property stolen was at least $200.00. We agree, and accordingly we reverse and order appellant acquitted.
The complaining witness was a builder who had been losing shrubbery from the yards of two of his vacant houses. He
Reversed and the appellant is ordered acquitted.
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
I concur with the majority holding that the conviction must be reversed, but believe that it should be understood that the order of acquittal was without prejudice to any lesser included offense raised by the evidence.
The appellant testified that he stole some shrubs from Beckham on April 26,1980, and the six identifiable shrubs were later found in appellant’s garage. Thus, although the evidence is insufficient to sustain the conviction for felony theft, the defendant may be retried for the lesser included offense of theft of property valued under $200. See Flanagan v. State, No. 60,580,-S.W.2d-(Tex.Cr.App. December 22, 1982) (attempted murder, may be retried for any lesser included offense of attempted of murder); Black v. State, 637 S.W.2d 923 (Tex.Cr.App. 1982) (aggravated robbery, may be retried for robbery); Ex parte Harris, 600 S.W.2d 791 (Tex.Cr.App. 1980) (en banc) (on rehearing) (aggravated robbery, may be retried for robbery). Rogers v. State, 575 S.W.2d 555 (Tex.Cr.App. 1979) (aggravated rape, may be retried for rape); Moss v. State, 574 S.W.2d 542 (Tex.Cr.App. 1978) (burglary of a habitation, may be retried for burglary of a building). Cruz v. State, 629 S.W.2d 852 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi, 1982) (capital murder, may be retried for murder).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- John Sheldon SEIDEL, Appellant, v. the STATE of Texas, Appellee
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published