Garrison v. United States, 8219.

• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit
• Writing for the Court: PHILLIPS, BREITENSTEIN and HILL, Circuit
• Citation: Garrison v. United States, 353 F.2d 94 (10th Cir. 1965)
• Decision Date: 03 November 1965
• Docket Number: No. 8219.,8219.
• Parties: James E. GARRISON, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.

353 F.2d 94 (1965)

James E. GARRISON, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.

No. 8219.

United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit.

November 3, 1965.

William P. Waggener, Denver, Colo., for appellant.

Lorin J. Broadbent, Asst. U. S. Atty. (William T. Thurman, U. S. Atty., on the brief), for appellee.

Before PHILLIPS, BREITENSTEIN and HILL, Circuit Judges.

HILL, Circuit Judge.

Appellant, Garrison, was tried and convicted before a jury for the transportation in interstate commerce of a stolen motor vehicle and appeals from that conviction.

Two points are urged on this appeal: (1) That the government's evidence was insufficient, and (2) that the trial court erred in not giving an instruction to the jury to the effect that the information was no evidence of the guilt of the accused.

The evidence was undisputed that the car in question had been stolen in Denver, Colorado, had thereafter been transported in interstate commerce to Tooele, Utah, and was a dark colored Plymouth station wagon bearing Colorado license plates.

Witness Brown, who was manager of the Beehive Lodge in Salt Lake City, testified that during the latter part of February, at about five, six or seven o'clock in the afternoon, the defendant, accompanied by codefendant Anaya, came into his place of business and said he was broke and hungry; Brown then offered to feed both Garrison and Anaya and did so; Garrison again said he was broke and wanted to sell a car tire but Brown did not buy the tire; that after eating, the two men went upstairs in the hotel and, after they caused a disturbance there, he asked them to leave the hotel; as the two men started to leave the hotel Garrison told Anaya to get the car; and as they left he saw them both in a dark colored Plymouth station wagon with the codefendant driving.

Witness Beebe, who runs a motel and cafe at Tooele, Utah, testified: That on a Thursday night, either February 25 or 26, at about 2:00 o'clock a. m. Garrison came to the front door of the motel and said he was cold; Beebe let him come inside to get warm and told him he could not stay there and Garrison walked out of the door and got into a black station wagon with Colorado license plates on it; that the car horn was honked and then someone came to the door again and knocked; Beebe then called the sheriff's office; and that the next morning the car was still parked in front of the motel.

Park, a Deputy Sheriff at Tooele, Utah, testified that during the morning of February 26 he was dispatched to Beebe's Motel because of a disturbance; when he got there he found a black Plymouth station wagon with Colorado plates on it; Garrison was inside the car in the front seat slumped over the steering wheel and the codefendant was lying down in the back seat; both men appeared to be intoxicated and were placed in jail; later that morning, he checked the license plates and serial number on the car and impounded it in a garage.

At the close of the government's evidence counsel for the defendant moved for a dismissal on the ground that the government had failed to prove "that the accused transported, aided, or abetted, or in any way caused the movement of the vehicle from Colorado to Utah, * *." The trial judge denied the motion "in view of the inference of ownership from the offer to sell the tire, * * *." We believe the trial court was correct in its ruling. In addition to this particular bit of evidence pointed out by the trial court in its ruling, we find additional evidence to support the denial of the motion.

At the time Garrison and Anaya were ordered to leave the Beehive Lodge, Brown testified that Garrison directed Anaya to go get the car, Anaya got the car and both then drove off in it with Anaya driving. Brown also described the car as a dark colored Plymouth station wagon. Beebe's testimony reflects that a black station wagon bearing...