Coleman v. State, 115 P.3d 411 (Wyo. 2005)

Cases | Coleman v. State, 115 P.3d 411 (Wyo. 2005) | 2018

The defendant was convicted by a jury of felony larceny after being caught by a security camera stealing a digital camera and a video camera from his workplace. The defendant later confessed to his employer that he had stolen CDs and DVDs in the past; this admission was redacted from the record. The district court ordered the defendant to pay $280 in restitution for the stolen CDs and DVDs. On appeal, the defendant alleged that the district court erred by ordering restitution for CDs and DVDs that he was neither charged with stealing nor had admitted to stealing in the course of the criminal proceedings at issue. The supreme court held that restitution “is only appropriate for crimes for which there is a plea of guilty, nolo contendere, or a guilty verdict.” In this case, the criminal charges against the defendant focused only on the cameras and not the CDs and DVDs, and the defendant’s redacted confession concerning the CDs and DVDs was not made in the presence of neither law enforcement nor the court. The restitution order was reversed.