People v. Ditto

Defendant appeals his plea-based conviction of larceny in a building, MCL 750.360; MSA 28.592.

Initially, defendant contends that the prosecutor abused his discretion by charging him under the statute prohibiting larceny in a building, a felony, rather than for simple larceny, MCL 750.356; MSA 28.588, which is a misdemeanor.

The argument lacks merit. Michigan’s appellate courts have regularly held that where an alleged defendant could have been charged under two different statutes for the same offense, it is not an abuse of discretion to charge the violation under the more harsh of the two…