State v. Carncross

The .sole question presented by this appeal is whether the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing defendant, Robert Hamilton Carncross, to a term not to exceed five years in the state penitentiary for the crime of larceny of property having a value in excess of $20. That sentence was the maximum under the applicable statute, Code section 709.2. Defendant could have been given a jail sentence, a fine, or both.

The sentence imposed followed defendant’s guilty plea, study of the presentence investigation report and defendant’s presen-tence testimony. He admitted stealing a drinking…