Thomas v. State
| Decision Date | 26 November 1968 |
| Docket Number | No. 68-34,68-34 |
| Citation | 216 So.2d 25 |
| Parties | Robert Lee THOMAS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert L. Koeppel, Public Defender, and Jeffrey M. Cohen, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.
Earl Faircloth, Atty. Gen., and Melvin Grossman, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Before CHARLES CARROLL, C. J., and PEARSON and SWANN, JJ.
After a non-jury trial in the Criminal Court of Record in and for Dade County, Florida, the appellant was convicted of 'Unlawfully, Buying, Receiving or Aiding in the Concealment of Stolen Property (a Ford Mustang automobile), well knowing the Same to be Stolen' in violation of § 811.16, Fla.Stat., 1 F.S.A.
The question presented on this appeal is whether there was sufficient evidence to prove that the appellant bought, received, or aided in the concealment of stolen property in Dade County, Florida.
Three witnesses testified for the state. A Brooklyn, New York, man testified that on the morning of April 11, 1967, he discovered that his 1965 Mustang bearing a 1967 New York license plate, NM 1336, was missing and reported this to the New York City Police.
A New Jersey State Trooper testified that he saw the appellant on Route One in New Jersey driving a 1965 Mustang bearing New York registration NM 1336 at about 3:45 A.M., April 11, 1967. He issued to the appellant a summons for speeding and a summons for failing to exhibit a valid registration.
A Miami policeman testified that on April 20, 1967, he found the missing Mustang parked on a public street. In the car the officer found a summons issued by a New Jersey State Trooper. It bore the appellant's name, address, and Florida driver's license number. The officer then went to question the appellant, who was in the Dade County Jail for a traffic offense, and asked him why his name, address, and driver's license number would appear on a New Jersey summons found in the Mustang. The appellant answered that he had lent his driver's license to a Walter Reese, who has subsequently returned it to him. The appellant gave the officer permission to use ignition keys which were 'in his personal property in the Dade County Jail.' The officer testified that the appellant told him they were the keys to his Cadillac. The keys were marked 'Ford' they fit the ignition switch and the trunk of the Mustang. The ignition switch in the Mustang was one for a Ford--not a Mustang. It was loosely taped on the dashboard.
After the court denied his motion for a directed verdict, the appellant took the stand and testified that he did not get a ticket in New Jersey; that he knew nothing about the Mustang until the Miami officer...
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...State, 1929, 98 Fla. 457, 124 So. 427; Cf. Adams v. State, Supra; Ketelsen v. State, Fla.App.3rd, 1968, 211 So.2d 853; Thomas v. State, Fla.App.3rd, 1968, 216 So.2d 25. Appellant also contends that there was a fatal variance between the allegation and the proof as to ownership of the stolen......
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S. W. P. v. State, 76-1596
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