Tallent v. State

OPINION

MANNHEIMER, Judge.

Paul A. Tallent was convicted of second-degree theft under AS 11.46.130(a)(6)(C). This statute provides that a theft of between $50 and $500 — an offense that would normally be third-degree theft — constitutes second-degree theft if the defendant has been convicted of similar thefts twice before in the preceding five years. Tallent’s appeal raises two issues, both involving the question of whether the jury should have been informed of his prior convictions.

The first issue is whether the existence of a defendant’s prior theft convictions is an element of the offense of…