People v. Baker

Opinion

WISEMAN, J.

The theft of livestock is a serious economic problem that plagues many rural communities. In fact, it is relatively rare to see successful prosecutions of this type of crime, largely due to the isolation of most crime scenes and the fungible nature of the “goods.” Here, the trust normally accorded to neighboring ranchers was violated when one neighbor failed to return his neighbors’ cattle, keeping them as his own. We address how a trial court should go about calculating restitution for the theft of cattle, including whether it is appropriate to order restitution for calves…