Congratulations to Tyler Beach on a trial that prevented a prison sentence!

Mr. Beach’s client stole a phone. The prosecutor charged Mr. Beach’s client with Theft 1. Due to sentencing rules for felonies, Mr. Beach’s client was supposed to be sentenced to prison if convicted. The shortest sentence that the prosecutor would agree to was 13 months of prison. So, Mr. Beach took the case to trial. At the trial, Mr. Beach showed that the prosecutor failed to prove that the value of the phone was $1,000 or more. For the theft to qualify as Theft 1, the value of the property stolen must equal or exceed $1,000. Accordingly, the judge had to reduce the criminal charge to Theft 2 - a misdemeanor. Therefore, Mr. Beach turned a prison sentence into a probation sentence by winning the value issue at trial!