Palmer v. State
| Decision Date | 12 August 1970 |
| Docket Number | No. 458,458 |
| Citation | 10 Md.App. 152,268 A.2d 582 |
| Parties | John Ernest PALMER v. STATE of Maryland. |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Dean A. Shure, Silver Spring, for appellant.
Gilbert Rosenthal, Asst. Atty. Gen., with whom were Francis B. Burch, Atty. Gen., William A. Linthicum, State's Atty., and William A. Cane, Asst. State's Atty., for appellee.
Argued before MURPHY, C. J., and ANDERSON, MORTON, ORTH and THOMPSON, JJ.
Appellant, John Ernest Palmer, was convicted in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County by a jury, Judge John P. Moore presiding, of storehousebreaking with intent to commit a felony, namely, steal goods and chattels over the value of one hundred dollars (first count) and grand larceny (third count). He was sentenced to three years on the first count and three years on the third count; the sentences to run consecutively for a total of six years.
The testimony reveals that on February 16, 1968, at approximately 7:30 a. m., Corporal Paul Smith of the Montgomery County Police responded to a reported breaking and entering at Victory Van Leasing Co., 926 Derwood Circle, Rockville, Maryland. He was met by the manager, Mr. Tolson, found that entry had been gained by breaking the glass in a rear door, and further found that the office had been ransacked. Corporal Smith testified that at 2:40 a. m. on the morning of February 16th he had been patrolling in the area and had noticed a burglar alarm ringing at Loeb Hardware, next door to Victory Van. Corporal Smith checked the rear of the Victory Van warehouse, noticed a broken window but was unable to make a closer examination of the window due to the height of the fence separating Loeb and Victory Van. From this information Smith concluded that the breaking at Victory Van had occurred at approximately 2:40 on the morning of February 16th.
Donald Tolson, the manager of the Victory Van warehouse, testified that upon his arrival at work on February 16th, the office was in a state of disarray with the contents of desk drawers and file cabinets piled in heaps on the floor. He testified that $108.44 was missing from the petty cash box. Tolson further testified that appellant, John Palmer, had been employed by Victory Van from July 29, 1966 to February 1, 1968 and that Palmer did not have permission to enter the warehouse at any time subsequent to February 1, 1968.
Detective Sergeant O. W. Sweat testified that on the morning of February 16, 1968 he made an investigation of the Victory Van warehouse and gathered several pieces of paper from the floor which appeared to bear the impression of a foot. These footprints were subsequently sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Detective Sweat testified that on February 17, 1968 he obtained a search warrant for the appellant's apartment. The search warrant was introduced into evidence over defense objection. Detective Sweat further testified that a search of the appellant's apartment produced a pair of Wellington type boots which were introduced into evidence as State's exhibit #4. The boots were subsequently transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Officer Michael Keller testified that at approximately 2:40 a. m. on the morning of February 16, 1968 he observed the appellant at the scene of an automobile accident near the Colonial Motel in Rockville, approximately two miles from the Victory Van warehouse. At the time the appellant was wearing boots similar to those introduced into evidence as State's exhibit #4.
Thomas Delaney of the Federal Bureau of Investigation testified that the print made by the boots (State's exhibit #4) matched the footprint on a piece of paper found on the floor of the Victory Van warehouse. Mr. Tolson was recalled and testified that the paper upon which the footprint was found was a payroll journal sheet for the period ending February 14, 1968. The sheets were kept in a folder in a file drawer prior to their permanent recordation which normally occurred within forty-eight hours of the close of the pay period. A defense motion for judgment of acquittal was made at the close of the State's case and denied.
On appeal appellant presents three questions, namely:
1) Was there sufficient evidence presented to convict the appellant of storehousebreaking?
2) Did the State prove the requisite felonious intent?
3) Did the State fail to establish that the value of the goods was in excess of $100.00?
Appellant does not challenge the State's proof of the corpus delicti of the crime of storehousebreaking. Appellant challenges as insufficient the quantum of proof of his...
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......State, 239 Md. 521, 529, 212 A.2d 287 (1965); Palmer v. State, 10 Md.App. 152, 268 A.2d 582 (1970). As to the first prong of appellant's argument, the general rule seems to be that expert testimony is not necessary in order to establish this correspondence--that "lay opinion" will suffice. See State v. Walker, 319 N.W.2d 414 ......
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