The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Petitioner-Appellee IN the INTEREST OF D.M., Juvenile-Appellant.
As
Modified May 23, 2019
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Boulder County District Court No. 15JD385, Honorable Patrick
D. Butler, Judge
Philip
J. Weiser, Attorney General, Kevin E. McReynolds, Assistant
Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Petitioner-Appellee
The Law
Office of Thomas W. Martin, LLC, Thomas W. Martin, Fort
Collins, Colorado, for Juvenile-Appellant
OPINION
J.
JONES, JUDGE.
[¶
1] Section 18-1.3-603(1), C.R.S. 2018, says that
every order of conviction for a criminal offense (with
certain exceptions) must "include consideration of
restitution." And, unless the sentencing court finds
that no victim suffered a pecuniary loss, the court must
order the defendant to pay restitution to the victim.
Id.
[¶
2] Likewise, a juvenile whom the court has
adjudicated delinquent must pay restitution for a victims
loss of personal property as required by section 18-1.3-603.
§ 19-2-918(1), C.R.S. 2018. But what if the victims
pecuniary loss is the value of marijuana stolen from the
victims marijuana store? Can a defendant be required to pay
restitution for such loss?
[¶
3] D.M., a juvenile who stole marijuana from a
marijuana store, says "no," contending that because
the Federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), 21 U.S.C. § §
801-971 (2018), makes it a federal offense to distribute
marijuana and provides that no one has a property interest in
marijuana, Colorados restitution statutes cant be applied
to his conduct. In short, he contends that the CSA preempts
the restitution statutes in these circumstances. But because
we dont see any positive conflict between the CSA and the
restitution statutes, we reject D.M.s preemption argument
and affirm the order of restitution.
I.
Background
[¶
4] D.M. and two of his friends broke into a licensed
marijuana dispensary in the middle of the night and stole
marijuana plants and products worth $ 178,000. The People
filed a petition for delinquency, charging D.M. with theft
and second degree burglary, both class 3 felonies. D.M.
agreed to plead guilty to burglary of a nondwelling, a class
4 felony, in exchange for dismissal of the original charges.
The district court accepted the plea agreement, adjudicated
D.M. delinquent, and sentenced him to nine months of
probation.
[¶
5] The prosecution filed a motion for an order
requiring D.M. to pay $ 178,000 in restitution for the value
of the stolen marijuana. D.M. didnt dispute the amount of
the loss but argued that the court couldnt order such
restitution because the CSA preempts the restitution
statutes. The district court
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rejected that argument and ordered D.M. to pay the store
owner $ ...