44 So. 56 | Ala. | 1907
The indictment upon which the conviction was had contained two counts. The first charged the offense of larceny, and the second the offense of buying, receiving, concealing, or aiding in concealing stolen property, etc.-, in violation of section 5054 of the Criminal. Code. of 1896. On the first trial there was a verdict of guilty by the jury on the second count, which was set aside on motion of defendant before judgment was pronounced upon it by the court. The legal effect of the verdict was to operate as an acquittal of the de
It is undoubtedly true that, in order to sustain a conviction for receiving stolen property, the defendant must be shown to have had a control over the property. But our statute is broader than the common-law offense, and makes the person who conceals or aids the thief in the concealment of the property stolen equally guilty with him who receives such property. Under-the testimony it Avas open to the jury to find that a portion of the property described in the indictment was stolen; that it Avas received by defendant after being stolen, and concealed in the woods; or that he aided in so concealing it, knowing that it was stolen. Of course, if he did not aid in concealing or did not receive it after it was stolen, he should be acquitted. In- other words, if his only act with respect to the property was to accompany Jones to the place in the woods where it Avas deposited and left by the thief for the purpose of carrying it away, or if he committed the larceny and placed the property where foun,d in order to carry it away at a subsequent time, he should be acquitted.
There was no proof of the value of the property. Under the statute the offender must be punished as if he
Reversed and remanded.