A 25-year-old man who was given probation for a felony theft case where he was ordered to spend 45-days of a six month sentence in the county jail for theft of beer has won part of an appeal.

Austin Behrendt appealed part of that decision made by now retired Judge Richard Rome over the amount of restitution ordered. Judge Rome had ordered the amount to be paid back at 7-thousand, 870-dollars. But, Berendt says the court erred when they relied on the retail value of the beer, instead of the wholesale value. The appeals court agreed because they stole the beer while being employed at City Beverage, which is a wholesaler of Budweiser.

City Beverage of course owned and operated by City Councilman Bob Bush with the thefts occurring during a period between January 1, and March 9, 2009.

He along with another employee were night warehouse workers and would steal the merchandise which included not just beer, but t-shirts caps and other items. They then would sell the beer to individuals at a reduced price.

The investigation led to search warrants being served on the homes and in one, they found a mini-warehouse.

Behrendt entered a plea to the theft charge while another charge of selling liquor without a license was dropped.

He also argued that the court erred when the 45-days in jail was ordered by Judge Rome as part of the probation. The Appeals Court ruled that Judge Rome was within his discretion, and that ruling by Judge Rome was upheld.

The case will be sent back to District Court to reconsider the wholesale cost of the beer.