State v. Ennis

• Decision Date: 17 May 1982
• Docket Number: No. 81-KA-2042,81-KA-2042
• Citation: 414 So.2d 661
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Russell L. ENNIS.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 661

414 So.2d 661

STATE of Louisiana v. Russell L. ENNIS.

No. 81-KA-2042.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

May 17, 1982.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., John Mamoulides, Dist. Atty., Abbott J. Reeves, Stephen Wimberly, William Credo, III, Asst. Dist. Attys., for plaintiff-appellee.

C. Joseph Murray, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.

DENNIS, Justice. ^*

Defendant, Russell Ennis, was convicted by a judge of receiving stolen things, La.R.S. 14:69, and sentenced to two years at hard labor. We reverse his conviction and sentence because the evidence does not warrant a finding beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew or had good reason to believe the thing, a 1976 Camaro automobile, was stolen when he received it.

La.R.S. 14:69 provides, in pertinent part:

"Receiving stolen things is the intentional procuring, receiving, or concealing of anything of value which has been the subject of any robbery or theft, under circumstances which indicate that the offender knew or had good reason to believe that the thing was the subject of one of the offenses."

Defendant concedes that the state proved he was in possession of an automobile, that the automobile had value and was the subject of a theft. He contends, however, that there was no evidence to show that he knew or had good reason to believe that the automobile had been stolen.

The state called two witnesses at defendant's trial. The first was a deputy of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, who testified that on January 6, 1981 he observed a silver Camaro westbound on Interstate 10 with no tail lights. The car drove off the exit ramp onto Causeway Boulevard where it was stopped by the deputy. Ennis, the driver of the automobile, could not produce registration papers for the car. The Deputy could not remember whether the defendant told him that the papers were at his house or that the man who sold him the car was going to take care of the paper work. A computer check revealed the car had been stolen from Jimmy Mumphrey. The deputy advised defendant of his rights and placed him under arrest.

The state's second witness was Jimmy Mumphrey, the owner of the stolen vehicle. He testified that he purchased the car in June of 1979 for $2,900 and that it had been stolen in December of 1980. Mumphrey recalled that the registration papers had been in the glove compartment of the car when it was taken.

At the close of the state's case, defense counsel moved for an acquittal based on the contention that the state had failed to show that the defendant knew or had good reason to believe the car was stolen. The motion was denied.

One witness was called for the defense. Barbara Teston, the defendant's fiancee, testified that she had been at Ennis's house on the 29th or 30th of December, 1980 when a man who had identified himself as Jimmy Mumphrey was also there. He was driving a silver Camaro and took Ms. Teston and the defendant for a ride in the car. She testified that the Jimmy Mumphrey who had testified for the state was not the Jimmy Mumphrey she had met at her fiance's house.

Ms. Teston further testified that on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1980 or New Year's Day, January 1, 1981, Ennis and the person she knew as Mumphrey discussed the sale of the Camaro while at a bar where Ms. Teston worked. According to her testimony, Ennis gave Mumphrey $1,000 cash for the car. She did not see any papers transferred, but understood when the two men left that they were going to take care of the paper work. She saw her fiance later that night but he had not received any papers as of that time.

In State v. Walker, 350 So.2d 176 (La.1977), this court held that " * * * R.S. 14:69 does not create any presumptions and the State must prove that the accused actually knew or had good reason to believe that the property had been stolen before a conviction under La., R.S. 14:69 can be obtained." We have also held that mere possession of stolen property does not create a presumption that the person in possession of the property received it with knowledge that it was stolen by someone else. State v. Nguyen, 367 So.2d 342 (La.1979); State v. Walker, supra, at 178.

The state argues that a person who purchases a car for $1,000 without receiving ownership papers has good reason to believe the car to be stolen. The state established that the owner of the 1976 Camaro purchased it in 1979 for $2,900. The owner testified that the fiberglass in the front of the car had a crack in it when he bought it. When it was returned to him after the theft both front fenders were dented and the back of the car had been damaged. He testified that this additional damage was not present at the time it was stolen. There was no testimony regarding the condition of the car at the time of the alleged sale to the defendant. The state did not establish the value of the car at the time of the arrest of the defendant. Therefore, we are unable to conclude that the price paid by defendant was so unusually low as to give the defendant good reason to believe the car to be stolen.

A person who purchases a car without receiving ownership papers may have reason to suspect that the car was the subject of a theft. However, in order to obtain a conviction of receiving stolen things, the state must prove that the defendant knew or had good reason to believe the thing to be stolen. Mere suspicion, not rising to the level of certainty required to form a belief, is not enough. See, W. LaFave and A. Scott, Criminal Law, § 93, at 685, 686 (1972).

It is the defense position that R.S. 15:438 and Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), require a reversal of the conviction. Under the Jackson standard, the appropriate question is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could conclude that the state proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Guillot, 389 So.2d 68 (La.1980).

Regarding circumstantial evidence, R.S. 15:438 sets forth the rule that, in order to convict, the evidence must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Under Jackson, the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution and from the viewpoint of a rational trier of fact. Therefore, when we review a conviction based upon circumstantial evidence we must determine that, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a reasonable trier of fact could have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that every reasonable hypothesis of innocence had been excluded. State v. Austin, 399 So.2d 158, 160 (La.1981).

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we think that a rational trier of fact would have failed to conclude that beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant knew or had good reason to believe the vehicle had been stolen when he acquired it. Defendant's fiancee testified she saw him purchase the car for $1,000. Considering that the vehicle was about five years old and damaged, this price does not necessarily indicate that the auto had been the subject of a theft. The state proved that the defendant did not have a title certificate with him when he was arrested, but the evidence fails to establish that defendant acquired the vehicle without obtaining a title certificate or a bill of sale. Even if the defendant did not obtain a title certificate at the time of sale, this in itself did not furnish good reason for him to believe the car had been stolen. The defendant purchased the car on New Year's Day, only five days before his arrest. To experience a short delay in obtaining title papers to a car does not necessarily give a person good reason to believe the vehicle has been stolen. Without additional circumstantial evidence concerning the defendant's acquisition of the automobile, we conclude that the state's proof of the crime is not constitutionally sufficient in this case.

Accordingly, the defendant's conviction and sentence are reversed.

REVERSED.

LEMMON, J., concurs.

LANIER, J. Pro Tem., dissents with reasons.

WALTER I. LANIER, Jr., Justice Pro Tem. (dissenting).

I dissent from the result reached in this case and agree with the per curiam of the trial judge that the possession of the stolen automobile by the defendant under the facts and circumstances of this case created a reasonable inference that the defendant had good reason to believe that the vehicle was stolen.

Louisiana law requires all sellers of automobiles to deliver the certificate of title endorsed and signed to the buyer of the vehicle at the time of the sale. La.R.S. 32:705; State v. Skinner, 358 So.2d 280 (La.1978). The purchaser of the automobile does not acquire a marketable title until he has obtained a certificate of title to the vehicle. La.R.S. 32:706. The purchaser of the automobile must apply for the certificate of title within five (5) days after the delivery of the vehicle. La.R.S. 32:707. Motor vehicle registration certificates or copies thereof are required to be kept in a motor vehicle at all times when it is operated upon a public highway of this State. La.R.S. 47:506(A).

When the defendant was stopped by the deputy sheriff and asked to produce his driver's license and vehicle registration certificate, he was unable to do so, nor did he produce a certificate of title. The owner of the vehicle testified that he purchased it in June of 1979 for $2,900.00. The defense witness, Teston, testified that she observed the defendant purchase the vehicle in a bar for $1,000.00 cash on or about January 1, 1981, and that she did not observe any exchange of documents at that time. These facts and circumstances created a reasonable inference that the defendant had good reason to believe that the vehicle was stolen. The evidence presented by the State and the defense at the trial did not satisfactorily explain the defendant's receipt and possession of the...