CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court denied the appeal of a man sentenced to prison for breaking into Sonoma Cycle and attempting to steal a dirt bike.  Ryan Larue, 27, argued in the appeal there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction, and the lengthy prison sentence he received was cruel and unusual considering the facts of the case.  The appeal was filed through his attorney Humboldt County Public Defender Matt Stermitz.

Larue was sentenced to prison on two counts of theft and one count of gross misdemeanor destruction of property -- even though neither the ATV nor the dirt bike he attempted to take made it off the Sonoma Cycle parking lot. 

The charges stem from a November 2008 incident in which Larue climbed the fence at Sonoma Cycle and used an ATV on the property to knock down a gate.  He didn’t intend to take the ATV, he told the jury, but he did intend to take a dirt bike because he needed a ride home after several days of partying.  He said he intended to ditch the bike at BJ’s in Grass Valley where someone would find it and get it back to Sonoma Cycle the next day.

Larue didn’t get either vehicle off the property.  As he was attempting to lift the dirt bike over the gate he knocked down with the ATV, officers from the Winnemucca Police Department arrived.  Larue was found hiding nearby a short time later.

In the appeal filed with the NSC Stermitz argued the prosecution failed to make their case because the defendant never intended to deprive Sonoma Cycle of the property – with special reference to the ATV that was only used to knock down a gate. 

NSC Justices, however, ruled there was sufficient evidence to believe the defendant did indeed intend to deprive the owner of the dirt bike and the ATV.

Presiding over the trial was Judge Michael Montero who sentenced the defendant to 16-48 months in prison on the first count of theft, a category B felony, for intending to take the ATV.  He was further sentenced to a  concurrent 12-36 months in prison on the second count of theft, a category C felony, for intending to take the dirt bike, and a concurrent 12 months in the Humboldt County Detention Center for gross misdemeanor destruction of property for knocking down the gate.

Stermitz argued the sentence was manifestly disproportionate to the crime and represented cruel and unusual punishment.  Probation, he argued, would have been appropriate considering the facts of the case.

In responding, the Justices noted the sentences were within statutory guidelines and were not “so unreasonably disproportionate to the offense as to shock the conscience” – here quoting Blume v. State. 

Lastly, the Justices determined the defendant will have to pay the $877.86 in restitution.  Stermitz argued the actual cost of repairing the gate was only about $280 – the rest of the restitution represents lost billing time for the Sonoma Cycle employees who fixed the gate.  In denying the argument, the Justices noted the defense failed to object at the time of sentencing.