State v. Stauff, 84-124

• Decision Date: 01 March 1985
• Docket Number: No. 84-124,84-124
• Citation: 489 A.2d 140,126 N.H. 186
• Parties: The STATE of New Hampshire v. Robert STAUFF.
• Court: New Hampshire Supreme Court

Page 140

489 A.2d 140

126 N.H. 186

The STATE of New Hampshire v. Robert STAUFF.

No. 84-124.

Supreme Court of New Hampshire.

March 1, 1985.

Peter W. Mosseau, Acting Atty. Gen. (T. David Plourde, Asst. Atty. Gen., on brief and orally), for the State.

Joanne S. Green, Asst. Appellate Defender, Concord, by brief and orally, for defendant.

DOUGLAS, Justice.

On appeal from his conviction in Superior Court (Dalianis, J.) for receiving stolen property, RSA 637:7, the defendant, Robert Stauff, raises two issues: (1) whether the trial court properly denied his motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence upon which to find that the defendant possessed stolen property and that he believed it to be stolen; and (2) whether certain evidence admitted over the defendant's objection was relevant to the charge against him. We hold that the trial court did not err in denying the defendant's motions and accordingly affirm his conviction.

The record reveals the following facts. At approximately 3:00 a.m. on May 15, 1982, Officer James Briggs of the Nashua Police Department responded to a burglar alarm at the Manor IV, a restaurant and lounge on the Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua. When he arrived at the scene, Officer Briggs observed a Ford LTD pulling out of the parking lot of the Manor IV, which was closed at that time. There were three males inside the car. Although the officer honked his horn for them to stop, the car pulled out of the parking lot and sped north up the Daniel Webster Highway. A high speed chase ensued in which other Nashua police cruisers attempted to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was eventually cornered in the Sprague Electric Company parking lot in Nashua.

When the LTD stopped, all three occupants jumped out. The driver, who was wearing gloves when he exited the car, was identified as one Vincent Portalla. The defendant was identified as being the front passenger and Robert Paleo occupied the rear seat behind the driver. The three occupants were arrested.

A registration check of the car revealed that it was owned by Karen Quinn and that it had been stolen in Revere, Massachusetts sometime between 8:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. that night. The rear window had been broken and the ignition had been popped. While searching the car, Detective James Brackett found a can of mace, a stocking hat, a glove, and a screwdriver in the front of the car, and in the back a briefcase containing five rounds of .45 caliber ammunition that fit into a clip. Quinn denied both knowledge of and possession of these items in her car.

Having found ammunition but no guns, the officers retraced the chase route. They found a .44 magnum carbine rifle, the stock of which was broken into nine pieces and scattered over a forty foot area. They also found a loaded Ithaca .45 caliber automatic pistol and a Smith & Wesson .44 caliber pistol loaded with six rounds of hollow point ammunition. All three weapons were found on the right-hand side of the road within a short distance of the Manor IV. There was no evidence that any of the weapons had been along the highway for any length of time. The serial numbers on the guns were later found to match those of weapons previously reported stolen.

Analysis of the three weapons revealed no fingerprints on the two pistols. Two prints were lifted from the rifle, however, and were identified to be those of the back seat passenger, Robert Paleo. The defendant was convicted by a jury on three counts of receiving stolen property in connection with the firearms.

In order for the State to convict on the charge of receiving stolen property, it must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the property was stolen, that the defendant possessed the property, that he believed the property was stolen, and that he intended to deprive the owners of the property. RSA 637:7, I, III. The defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence to prove the essential elements of possession and guilty knowledge. We note that the possession need not be exclusive but that constructive possession, whereby a defendant participates with another in possession of stolen goods, is sufficient for conviction of receiving stolen property. State v. Cote, 113 N.H. 647, 649, 312 A.2d 687, 689 (1973).

The standard of review where the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction is whether or not any rational trier of fact, while viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Hopps, 123 N.H. 541, 544, 465 A.2d 1206, 1208 (1983). "[C]ircumstantial evidence may be sufficient to support a finding of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." State v. Palumbo, 113 N.H. 329, 330, 306 A.2d 793, 795 (1973). Further, "the trier may draw reasonable inferences from facts proved and also inferences from facts found as a result of other inferences, provided that they can be reasonably drawn therefrom." Id. The State need not prove each evidentiary fact beyond a reasonable doubt, but, rather, "[t]he decisive issue is whether on all the evidence, guilt has been established beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. (emphasis added).

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