State v. Kleist

— The present case concerns the type of evidence sufficient for and relevant to the valuation of stolen goods to establish degree of theft. Defendant Sandra Sue Kleist has admitted that on August 5, 1992, she took seven articles of clothing without paying from The Bon Marché in downtown Spokane, Washington. She now challenges her conviction for second degree theft.

A guilty verdict of second degree theft demands findings of fact both of a taking and of the value of the goods:

A person is guilty of theft in the second degree if he or she commits theft of:(a) Property or services which exceed(s)…