Restitution upheld in vandalism case

The Daily Sentinel
By CHARLES ASHBY Charles.Ashby@gjsentinel.com   
 

Robert Brannon, 46, was first seen by police in December 2020 throwing rocks as a business’ window in an effort to punch it out, kicking the window of another business next door and destroying an ATM machine nearby.

And when he was apprehended by police, he bit one of them.

Afterwards, he was convicted on four counts of criminal mischief and second-degree assault. Although those charges came with a 15-year sentence, he was given only six years in prison because some were to run consecutively.

At the time of sentencing, Brannon also was ordered to pay $66,000 in restitution, but prosecutors asked for more time to add additional restitution.

On appeal, Brannon’s court-appointed attorney didn’t contest that initial restitution order, but an additional one tacked on later for $2,558.

That defense attorney tried to argue that the additional restitution was based on information prosecutors already had during his hearing to determine restitution, that it was not supported by law and that it came after the court’s 91-day-deadline, a deadline that had been extended at the defense’s request.

“We need not decide whether the information the prosecution needed to support its request for the restitution was ‘available’ at the time of the hearing because, as part of the plea agreement, Brannon waived any challenge to the timeliness of the prosecution’s statutory obligation,” Judge Neeti Pawar wrote in the ruling, which was joined by Judges Karl Schock and Alex Martinez.

Brannon currently is serving his sentence at the Fremont Correctional Facility. His first parole hearing is in September.