Jester v. State, 239 S.W.3d 484 (Ark. 2006)

Cases | Jester v. State, 239 S.W.3d 484 (Ark. 2006) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of first-degree criminal mischief and sentenced to, among other things, pay $180,000 in restitution. On appeal, the defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that the victim was entitled to $180,000 in restitution. The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed, concluding that there was substantial evidence to support a restitution award of $180,000. In this case, the defendant was found to have engaged in unauthorized logging on the victim’s property. The Court determined that the amount of restitution should represent the value of the trees as they stood on the property, before they were cut down and transported to the mill. The victim estimated his timber loss to be about $180,000. In addition, the victim’s expert estimated that the remaining property value was worth $150,000, which, when deducted from the victim’s original asking price of $330,000 for the property, equaled $180,000. Finally, the defendant himself offered the victim $180,000 for the property in an effort to settle the dispute. Thus, $180,000 accurately represented the amount of economic loss that the victim suffered as a result of the defendant’s unauthorized logging