State v. AshleyState v. Ashley
Defendant Ermond Ashley was charged by bill of information with receiving stolen goods having a value of over $500 in violation of
ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. 1, 2 AND 3
In each of these assignments defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a new trial because there was no evidence proving the commission of the crime other than the defendant‘s own confession. He in effect contends that he cannot be legally convicted on his own uncorroborated confession without independent proof of his actually having knowingly received stolen property. The facts which preceded defendant‘s arrest follow.
On September 2, 1976, Beverly Meroski and the Warehouse Clothing Store in Shreveport were robbed by two men armed with a pistol. During the robbery, in addition to cash and various other items, two rings belonging to William P. Meroski, Beverly Meroski‘s husband, were stolen. At trial there was testimony from the owner of the ring, William P. Meroski, who had dealt in diamonds at one period for approximately seven years, and from John W. Flournoy, Jr., co-owner of Flournoy Jewelers in Shreveport, qualified as an expert in diamond appraisals, that the two rings had a value well in excess of $500. The state‘s contention at trial was that on the same day or shortly thereafter the defendant came into possession of these rings knowing or having good reason to know that they were stolen. An oral inculpatory statement by the defendant introduced at trial indicated that on the day of the robbery, the defendant gave one Glen Miller a ride from Bossier City to Shreveport; that Miller told the defendant that he had just robbed the Warehouse Clothing Store and turned over two rings and a three piece suit to the defendant, indicating to him that they were items taken in the robbery; and that the defendant then disposed of the rings by selling them to two men in the Moore Town area of Shreveport. There was also testimony from Mrs. Meroski that several weeks
It is of course true that a person cannot legally be convicted on his own uncorroborated confession without proof that a crime has been committed by someone, i.e., without proof of the corpus delicti. State v. Freetime, 334 So.2d 207 (La.1976); State v. Sellers, 292 So.2d 222 (La. 1974); State v. Brown, 236 La. 562, 108 So.2d 233 (1959); State v. Calloway, 196 La. 496, 199 So. 403 (1940); State v. Morgan, 157 La. 962, 103 So. 278 (1925).
Whether the facts in this case fit that jurisprudence as properly applied,1 however, we need not determine here, for the issue is not before us on this appeal.
In criminal matters, the scope of this Court‘s appellate jurisdiction extends only to questions of law.
Should there be merit in defendant‘s contention, concerning the absence of corroborating evidence establishing the corpus delicti, relief may yet be available in the event there is filed an application for habeas corpus. See concurring opinion by this author in State v. Blackstone, 347 So.2d 193 (La.1977).
Decree
For the foregoing reasons the conviction and sentence of defendant Ermond Ashley is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
DIXON, J., concurs with reasons.
I respectfully concur.
While independent evidence tending to prove the “corpus delicti” is necessary, that proof need not encompass all of the elements of the offense. A confession may be used to supplement the proof of the corpus delicti provided independent proof corroborates the confession, thus indicating its trustworthiness. Smith v. U. S., 348 U.S. 147, 75 S.Ct. 194, 99 L.Ed. 192 (1954); Opper v. U. S., 348 U.S. 84, 75 S.Ct. 158, 99 L.Ed. 101 (1954).