by peter e. bortner
A Pottsville man must remain behind bars after a three-judge state Superior Court panel upheld his conviction and state prison sentence for stealing food in July 2012 from a Shenandoah supermarket.
In a five-page opinion field Tuesday in Pottsville, the panel ruled Randy J. Ratliff, 42, was lawfully charged by prosecutors and sentenced by the county court as a three-time thief.
"The Criminal Complaint states that Ratliff was charged with one count of retail theft, graded as an 'F3,' " Judge Christine L. Donohue wrote in the panel's opinion.
As a result, Ratliff must serve the sentence of seven to 24 months in a state correctional institution that county Judge John E. Domalakes imposed on him on May 1, 2013. Ratliff is serving his prison term at State Correctional Institution/Camp Hill in Cumberland County.
Domalakes, who also sentenced Ratliff to pay costs, $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and $15.51 restitution, made the prison term consecutive to one Ratliff already was serving in an unrelated case.
A jury convicted Ratliff on April 10, 2013, of retail theft in a one-day trial over which Domalakes presided.
Shenandoah police charged Ratliff with stealing a block of cheese and other items on July 20, 2012, from Redner's Warehouse Market, Gold Star Plaza. Under state law, a third or subsequent crime of retail theft is graded as a third-degree felony regardless of the value of the property stolen.
In her opinion, Donohue wrote that the criminal information, which is the official document containing the charge, and the criminal complaint each indicated that the charge was a third-degree felony.
"This provided Ratliff with sufficient notice," Donohue wrote.
Neither the information nor the complaint needs to contain specific allegations about the prior offenses that make the new crime a felony, according to Donohue.
Judge Jacqueline O. Shogan and Senior Judge John L. Musmanno, the other members of the panel, joined in Donohue's opinion.