17 Ga. App. 728 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1916
1. Where one is charged with burglary, and it is clearly shown that the burglary was committed, that certain personal property was in the house at the time of the burglary, and that it was then stolen from the house, the recent possession of the property so taken, unexplained, may be sufficient to authorize the conclusion that the possessor committed the burglary. See especially Turner v. State, 114 Ga. 45 (39 S. E. 863); and see also Andrews v. State, 116 Ga. 83 (42 S. E. 476); Lester v. State, 106 Ga. 371 (32 S. E. 335); Grimes v. State, 77 Ga. 762 (4 Am. St. R. 112), and numerous cases cited in Park’s Annotated Code, vol. 6, p. 614, catchword .“Possession.”
(а) Mere possession of stolen property is not a conclusive test of guilt, but only a circumstance from which guilt might be inferred. Seales v. State, 97 Ga. 692 (25 S. E. 388); Jones v. State, 105 Ga. 649 (31 S. E. 574).
(б) As we construe the charge of the court in this case, it is in entire harmony with these well-settled principles, and the exception thereto is without substantial merit.
2 Grounds of the motion for a new trial not insisted upon by counsel for plaintiff in error will not be considered. The evidence authorized the verdict, there was no material error of law, and the judgment refusing a new trial is Affirmed.