Leuch v. State
Supreme Court of Alaska
633 P.2d 1006 (1981)
David Leuch (defendant), previously convicted of unemployment fraud and given a 90-day sentence he never fully paid restitution for, met Michael Darr during that incarceration; after their release, the two stole motorcycles and, needing money to ship them out of state, spent two weeks planning and carrying out a burglary of a local roadhouse, stealing roughly $12,000. Leuch pleaded guilty to two counts of grand larceny. The trial court, citing Leuch's prior petty larceny and unauthorized-entry convictions as evidence of extreme dishonesty but also crediting his admission of guilt and good behavior in custody, sentenced him to concurrent eight-year terms with four years suspended. Leuch appealed the sentence as excessive.
Whether, when an offense is against only property, involves no physical threats or violence, and is the offender's first felony conviction, probation and restitution are the appropriate punishments, unless mitigated by other factors.