Conviction on Count 4 reversed · Decided 2021-06-16
459
Submitted May 7; conviction on Count 4 reversed, remanded for resentencing,
otherwise affirmed June 16, 2021
STATE OF OREGON,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
BRANDON JOHANN KAASTAD,
Defendant-Appellant.
Washington County Circuit Court
19CR52940; A172868
Ricardo J. Menchaca, Judge.
Ernest G. Lannet, Chief Defender, Criminal Appellate
Section, and Kali Montague, Deputy Public Defender, Office
of Public Defense Services, filed the brief for appellant.
Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, Benjamin Gutman,
Solicitor General, and Weston Koyama, Assistant Attorney
General, filed the brief for respondent.
Before Armstrong, Presiding Judge, and Tookey, Judge,
and Aoyagi, Judge.
PER CURIAM
Conviction on Count 4 reversed; remanded for resentencing; otherwise affirmed.
460 State v. Kaastad
PER CURIAM
Defendant was convicted of second-degree theft,
ORS 164.045 (Count 4), in addition to several drug-related
offenses. He argues on appeal that the trial court erred in
denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on the theft
count. He raises no issues on appeal concerning the remaining convictions. The state concedes the error. As explained
below, we agree and accept that concession.
An extended discussion of the facts would not benefit the bench, the bar, or the public. Defendant was in his car
with his dog outside a store while two friends were inside
the store. One of the friends shoplifted items then returned
to defendant’s car, where he was immediately apprehended
by police. The state theorized that defendant aided and
abetted in the planning and commission of the theft. As the
state now concedes, it adduced insufficient evidence to support that theory.
Conviction on Count 4 reversed; remanded for resentencing; otherwise affirmed.
