Opinion
No. 3-847 / 03-0063.
Filed December 24, 2003.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Michael R. Mullins, Judge.
Dennis Santee appeals his sentence for third-degree burglary as a habitual offender. AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART.
Linda Del Gallo, State Appellate Defender, and Shellie Knipfer, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Martha Boesen, Assistant Attorney General, Harold Denton, County Attorney, and Sue Nehring, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Hecht and Vaitheswaran, JJ.
The district court sentenced Dennis Lee Santee to prison for the crime of third-degree burglary as a habitual offender and ordered him to pay a $750 fine. See Iowa Code §§ 713.1, 713.6A, 902.8, 902.9 (2001). The court also ordered victim restitution in the amount of $100. On appeal, Santee claims the fine was not authorized and the amount of restitution was not supported by sufficient evidence. The State concedes error with respect to imposition of the fine. Therefore, the fine is vacated and we turn to the restitution issue.
A restitution order is not excessive if it bears a reasonable relationship to the damage caused by the criminal act. State v. Bonstetter, 637 N.W.2d 161, 165 (Iowa 2001). We will affirm an award if it is within a reasonable range of evidence. State v. Watts, 587 N.W.2d 750, 752 (Iowa 1998).
Santee was apprehended outside a Cedar Rapids home with a Canadian $20 bill and an American $20 bill, as well as some change. The victim confirmed that this cash came from her home. There was also evidence that a $100 bill was missing from the victim's home and was reported as missing on the day following the burglary, although the victim was "fairly uncertain" precisely when it disappeared. Despite this uncertainty, we believe the court's award of $100 falls within the reasonable range of evidence.