People v. Weisenberger

73 A.D. 428, 17 N.Y. Crim. 1, 77 N.Y.S. 71
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJuly 1, 1902
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 73 A.D. 428 (People v. Weisenberger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Weisenberger, 73 A.D. 428, 17 N.Y. Crim. 1, 77 N.Y.S. 71 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1902).

Opinion

Laughlin, J.:

The defendant was indicted under section 550 of the Penal Code for having received stolen property on the 14th day of March, 1900, knowing the same to have been stolen. The property described in the indictment was two pairs of trousers, two coats, one feather boa and one finger ring. It was shown by competent evidence that the property was owned by one Alfred O’Connor whose house one Harry Hess burglarized about three o’clock in the afternoon on the 14th day of March, 1900, taking the property in question which was found in the possession of the defendant, a licensed pawnbroker, by the police, on the 27th day of April, 1900, in searching his pawn shop under a search warrant. This, however, was not sufficient to warrant the conviction of the defendant. The People were also required to show the criminal intent on the part of the defendant in receiving the chattels with knowledge that they were stolen. (People v. Ray, 36 App. Div. 389 ; People v. Schooley, 149 N. Y. 99.)

Hess, who had committed the burglary, testified on behalf of the People, and his evidence, if sufficiently corroborated under section 399 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, satisfactorily shows this remaining essential fact; and, although it was controverted by the testimony of the defendant, the facts and circumstances are such as to amply support the verdict of the jury. The testimony of Hess is to the effect that in the month of November, 1899, when he started “to do business” with defendant, after having been in defendant’s pawn shop two or three times, he said to defendant, “ I often get this here stuff,” and asked if defendant would “stand” for it, to which he says defendant replied, “Tes, I will stand for anything that comes along no matter what it is; ” that from that time to the fifth of April thereafter he had a series of transactions with the defendant by which he sold to the defendant property which he had stolen consisting of jewelry, silverware and clothing, [430]*430receiving in the aggregate about eight hundred dollars in money therefor; that immediately after burglarizing O’Connor’s house he took the property to defendant’s pawn shop, which was only about a block away, and threw it on the counter, saying: “ Here is some more of the same old graft, Wesy; ” that the defendant gave him fifteen dollars for the clothes and about twelve dollars for the riñe:; that he and the defendant had an understanding that if at any time when he came there was anybody in the pawn shop that “looked suspicious,” he should say, “ these are the clothes from the cleaners, let me have one dollar and a half;” that in the month of January, 1900, when he entered the defendant’s shop with some stolen property, Officer Day came in and the defendant nodded his head “ as much as to go out,” and he went out but saw the detective grab for something; that he came back after the officer left and the defendant told him that the officer wanted to get the “ stuff ” but that lie did not succeed. In this last transaction Hess is substantially corroborated by Officer Day.

Substantially all of the property to which Hess’ testimony relates was found in the defendant’s possession at the time the officer executed the search warrant and identified by the owners who were then present, and it has been shown by their testimony that it was stolen. The defendant’s books did not show the full names and addresses of the pawners or the rate of interest charged as required by law. In testifying in his own behalf the defendant attempted to explain that this omission was to avoid his being imposed upon by people claiming to have lost their pawn tickets. The coats were entered in the defendant’s pawn book as having been pawned by “ Williams” on March fourteenth with other property identified as O’Connor’s but not included in the indictment; and the trousers were entered as pawned on the same day by “ Rogers.” The pawn book also showed a cape and bag which were stolen from O’Connor as pledged on March fifteenth under the name of “O’Neil.” The boa was found in a box in which was a muff with a ticket showing a pawn number and marked “ Potter,” and the pawn book showed that pawn number as property pledged on the nineteenth of April. The pawn book was in defendant’s handwriting and he gave no explanation of the manner in which or from whom he obtained the property, except that he denied ever having seen or had any trans[431]*431actions with Hess. He testified that he was familiar with the law requiring pawnbrokers to keep the names and addresses of the pledgors together with the amount of the loan and rate of interest, and that it was unlawful for a pawnbroker to purchase second-hand property offered to him as a pledge or pawn, orto engage in secondhand business; and knew that it was the practice to give the pawner a pawn ticket and to attach a coupon with the address of the pawner to the pledge, and in case of stolen property where the thief was not found or convicted he knew it was the practice of pawnbrokers to retain the pledged property unless repaid what he advanced thereon.

The ring was found in a tray wfitli thirty other rings in the show window where rings were placed for sale, and no tag showing the selling price or pawn ticket was attached to it, nor was any record thereof found on the defendant’s books. Prior to the fourteenth of March a ring and some silver which had been stolen from Mrs. Holzwaser, and which Hess testified that he stole and sold to the defendant, were discovered in defendant’s show window and he refused to let the owner see them, and subsequently claimed that he had bought them from a dealer, but, after an unsuccessful attempt to get the owner to pay what he gave for them, he surrendered them without pay. Some property stolen from Mrs. Stryker on January 8, 1900, and entered on the defendant’s books as pawned on the same day under the name of “ Sullivan,” was discovered four days later and identified by the owner who also identified Hess as the burglar, and Hess testified that he had stolen and sold it to the defendant. The defendant claimed that this property had been pledged for twenty-five dollars, which he demanded as a condition of giving it up, but upon being taken before a magistrate, he surrendered • it all prior to the fourteenth of March, except a watch which had disappeared after being discovered in his possession ; but before surrendering it, and while refusing to surrender because the thief was not captured, when told by an officer that the thief would be found and convicted, the defendant said, “You will never get him,” and upon the officer asking, “Do you know him?” the defendant replied, “ Yes.” Hess’ father testified that in an inter, view which he had with the defendant subsequent to the arrest of Hess, he asked the defendant, “ Do you know that you have put a [432]*432boy in trouble % ” and the defendant said, “ He knows of that fact,” and the witness asked him to give up the property which he had bought from the school teacher, to which the defendant replied that he did not buy it from the school teacher, but of Hess, and that he was not “ going to give u]3 any more; that he did give up all he ■could ; ” and when asked if he would do something toward getting ■a lawyer for Hess the defendant said he had done all he could do; that he “ has given up some stuff already before.” There is no ■other evidence tending to show the defendant’s guilty knowledge, ■and there is much in his own testimony inconsistent with the testimony of the People’s witnesses upon other points indicating a con■•sciousness of guilty knowledge.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
73 A.D. 428, 17 N.Y. Crim. 1, 77 N.Y.S. 71, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-weisenberger-nyappdiv-1902.