State v. Pettitt

Lowell Thomas Pettitt was sentenced to life imprisonment for taking a motor vehicle without the owner's permission and for being a habitual criminal. He contends that the State lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him *691because he stole the vehicle in Oregon, not Washington, and he protests the length of his sentence as being cruel and unusual punishment. We affirm the conviction and sentence.

The facts are not in dispute. Pettitt, an Oregon resident with four prior felony convictions,1 stole a van and drove it to Lewis County, Washington, where he was arrested and convicted for taking a motor…