California v. Sharpe
Annotate this CaseDefendant Joseph Sharpe, with several other men, went to someone else’s marijuana garden in the night to steal some plants. Confronted by the owner, the men knocked the owner down and fled. The owner pursued until one of the men brandished a gun. A few minutes later, defendant and the other men rammed the owner’s truck. Defendant was convicted of robbery and sentenced to state prison for six years. On appeal, defendant made several arguments as to why his convictions should have been reversed, but the Court of Appeal found they lacked merit. Defendant also argued the trial court abused its discretion in making the restitution award because it awarded the victim both (1) the decrease in fair market value of the truck resulting from the damage caused by the ramming and (2) the cost to repair the truck. The Court of Appeal concluded that the trial court could not apply both methods because it resulted in a windfall to the victim. The Court also concluded that the trial court improperly calculated restitution by awarding the victim the salvage value of the truck retained by the victim. The Court modified the judgment by reducing the restitution award, and as modified, the Court affirmed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.