The State of Washington, Respondent v. Rodney G. Delmarter, Petitioner

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court, en banc, affirmed the Court of Appeals' affirmance of Rodney Delmarter's conviction for attempted theft in the first degree. The court rejected his contention that the State had to prove he knew the property he sought to take exceeded $1,500 in value, holding that knowledge of value is not an element of the offense and that he had confused knowledge with intent. Adopting the United States Supreme Court's Jackson v. Virginia formulation, the court held that, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the circumstances of Delmarter's unauthorized presence deep inside the pharmacy and crouching before a camouflaged cash drawer permitted any rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt his specific intent to steal the drawer's contents.