Maguire v. United States, 8435

Decision Date29 March 1966
Docket Number8436.,No. 8435,8435
Citation358 F.2d 442
PartiesRobert Charles MAGUIRE, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. Charles Russel GILES, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

Alan H. Bucholtz, Denver, Colo., for appellants.

John Quinn, U. S. Atty., Albuquerque, N. M., John A. Babington, Asst. U. S. Atty., Albuquerque, N. M., with him on the brief), for appellee.

Before MURRAH, Chief Judge, PICKETT, Circuit Judge, and CHRISTENSEN, District Judge.

PICKETT, Circuit Judge.

Appellants, Maguire and Giles, were tried and convicted by a jury on an indictment charging interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, in violation of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2312. They appeal from the judgment and sentence entered upon the conviction.

The evidence is undisputed that a white, or near-white, 1962 Chevy II automobile, identification No. 20469N187504, as described in the indictment, was obtained by the appellants in Charleston, South Carolina on August 16, 1964, and that they thereupon proceeded to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where, on August 31, they were apprehended and the vehicle impounded. There is a basic dispute, however, as to the manner in which the appellants acquired possession of the automobile.

The government's version, as adduced largely through the testimony of the complaining witness, Hester, was that the appellants, by false pretenses, gained admission to his home in Charleston sometime between 1 A.M. and 2 A.M. on the morning of August 16, 1964, and that they then forced him upstairs, bound him with tape, and took, among other possessions, his automobile. The circumstances surrounding the apprehension of the appellants and the identification and impounding of the automobile in Albuquerque on August 31 were related by two police officers of that city. The government also introduced in evidence the individual written statements of both Maguire and Giles, in which they described their acquisition of Hester's automobile and their subsequent journey to Albuquerque from Charleston. Appellants maintain that they were walking along a street in Charleston and encountered Hester sitting in his automobile in a state of apparent sickness or intoxication; that they undertook to drive him home, whereupon he invited them in for drinks and then proceeded to commit a homosexual act upon Maguire; that when Maguire threatened Hester, a school principal, with exposure, Hester immediately volunteered his automobile, money and clothing in return for their agreement not to expose him; and that at Hester's suggestion, they bound him in order to effect the appearance of an actual robbery. Throughout the trial, the defense's consistent position was that the automobile was not stolen because there was permission and consent granted in exchange for appellants' forebearance from exposing Hester as a homosexual.

Appellants assert that the trial court erred in denying their motions for acquittal made at the conclusion of the government's case-in-chief, and timely renewed thereafter, on the ground that the government had failed to establish by competent evidence each essential element of the offense charged. In considering the motion for acquittal, the trial court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, together with inferences which may fairly be drawn therefrom, and then determine whether there is substantial evidence from which a jury might properly find the accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This standard is applicable to each of the several elements of the offense. Cartwright v. United States, 10 Cir., 335 F.2d 919. To convict under 18 U.S.C. § 2312, the government must prove (1) that the vehicle was stolen, (2) that it was transported in interstate commerce, and (3) that such transportation was with knowledge that the vehicle was stolen. Allison v. United States, 10 Cir., 348 F.2d 152. From an examination of the record, it is apparent that there was sufficient evidence going to each essential ingredient of the offense charged. The testimony of Hester provides an adequate basis for the inference that the vehicle was in fact stolen by the appellants. Their possession of the automobile in Albuquerque and the prior interstate transportation are not disputed. The recent disappearance of the automobile in Charleston, and its subsequent identification in the possession of the appellants in Albuquerque permits an inference that appellants knew it was stolen and that they had transported it in interstate commerce. Garrison v. United States, 10 Cir., 353 F.2d 94; Reese v. United States, 10 Cir., 341 F.2d 90; Grandsinger v. United States, 10 Cir., 332 F.2d 80. The case was therefore properly presented to the jury for ultimate factual determination, and although there was a sharp conflict presented in the testimony, it is apparent that the jury, as is its prerogative, elected to disbelieve the appellants' story and found that appellants stole the automobile. Cf. Reese v. United States, supra; Manning v. United States, 10 Cir., 215 F.2d 945. Our examination of the record reveals that there was sufficient evidence to sustain the verdict.

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