LAKE COUNTY – An appeals court has upheld the sentencing of a man convicted in late 2006 of trying to shoplift doughnuts from a local grocery story.

The First Appellate District Court on Feb. 21 upheld Steven Michael Stone's October 2006 conviction and his sentencing, which took place the following month.

Stone was convicted of a November 2005 attempt to shoplift a bag of doughnuts from Bruno's, according to court records.

The trial court found Stone guilty of felony theft by larceny. The appeal documents report that Stone was denied probation and that Judge Steve Hedstrom sentenced him to the lower term of two years, eight months for the charge.

Stone received a total of two more years in prison because the court found it true that he had a previous strike and two prior prison terms on his record, according to court documents.

Saying that his defense counsel was ineffective, Stone appealed the sentence.

He asserted that the trial counsel failed to renew a motion suggesting use of a photo lineup which featured Stone wearing a jail jumpsuit was unduly suggestive; that she didn't call an expert witness on perception and memory; and she raised no objection to the testimony of Lakeport Police Officer Norm Taylor regarding his opinion of the reliability of a witness.

The appeal also claimed that the trial court erroneously instructed the jury on the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof.

The appellate justices, however, found that Stone's arguments didn't hold up in relation to his claims against his defense attorney or the trial court's instructions. Their 27-page decision upheld Hedstrom's ruling.

As a result of the decision, Stone will continue to serve his sentence at San Quentin State Prison.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

{mos_sb_discuss:2}