Compton v. People, 12871.

• Decision Date: 08 September 1931
• Docket Number: 12871.
• Parties: COMPTON v. PEOPLE.
• Court: Colorado Supreme Court

3 P.2d 418

89 Colo. 407

COMPTON v. PEOPLE.

No. 12871.

Supreme Court of Colorado

September 8, 1931

Rehearing Denied Oct. 5, 1931.

In Department.

Error to District Court, Pueblo County; John H. Voorhees, Judge.

Robert Compton was convicted of larceny as bailee of a check, and he brings error.

Affirmed.

John M Keating and John W. Shireman, both of Denver, for plaintiff in error.

Clarence L. Ireland, Atty. Gen., and Edward J. Plunkett, Asst. Atty Gen., for the People.

BUTLER J.

Robert Compton was convicted of larceny as bailee of a check. He says that the verdict and the judgment are wrong, and seeks a reversal of the latter.

Opal Crum, a resident of Pueblo, was Compton's agent, engaged in the sale of corporate stocks. On October 16, 1930, acting as sales agent, she obtained from George H. Wise an order for eight shares of stock of the Southern Colorado Power Company. At the time he gave his order he delivered to her his check for $836, payable to her order, to be used in the purchase of the stock. She indorsed the check and delivered it to Compton, and received from him and delivered to Wise a so-called 'confirmation of sale,' signed 'Evans Securities Co. By Robert Compton.' Compton personally cashed the check at the bank. Mrs. Crum telephoned to Compton several times, inquiring 'when the stock would be in.' He told her that he had to send it to Denver to be 'blocked out.' At another time he telephoned her from Colorado Springs that he was on the way to Pueblo with the Wise stock, and that when he arrived she could get the certificate and deliver it to Wise. However, instead of going to Pueblo, he left the state about the 25th of October, and some two weeks later he was in jail in Seattle, Wash., under the name of 'Arno L. Hamilton.' He returned to Colorado in custody of a deputy sheriff.

That Compton did not indorse the check to the Evans Securities Company, but cashed it himself at the bank, and that he did not deliver to Wise any stock certificate or the proceeds of the check, was proven by undisputed evidence. There is no evidence that Compton bought any Southern Colorado Power Company stock of the Evans Securities Company, or elsewhere. The jury had a right to conclude, and no doubt did conclude that Compton made the statement to Mrs. Crum concerning his possession of a stock certificate for the purpose of allaying suspicion and delaying investigation until he could make his...