State v. Casto

480 S.E.2d 525, 198 W. Va. 316, 1996 W. Va. LEXIS 174
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 18, 1996
DocketNo. 23285
StatusPublished

This text of 480 S.E.2d 525 (State v. Casto) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Casto, 480 S.E.2d 525, 198 W. Va. 316, 1996 W. Va. LEXIS 174 (W. Va. 1996).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This case is before this Court1 upon an appeal from the final order of the Circuit Court of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, entered on May 22, 1995. The appellant, John William Casto, was convicted by a jury of the felony offense of grand larceny. Pursuant to the final order, the appellant was sentenced to an indeterminate term in the penitentiary of not less than one nor more than ten years.2

This Court has before it the petition for appeal, all matters of record and the briefs and argument of counsel. The appellant contends that the circuit court committed error in giving State’s Amended Instruction No. 1 to the jury, which included the offense of receiving stolen property within the definition of grand larceny. For the reasons stated below, this Court agrees that the giving of that instruction was error. Accordingly, we reverse the final order and remand this case to the circuit court for a new trial.

I

In February 1994, the apartment of Harvey E. Galford in Marlinton, Pocahontas County, West Virginia, was burglarized while Mr. Galford was vacationing in the State of Alabama. A total of $10,000 to $12,000 in property was stolen from the apartment, and the items taken included antique weapons, a coin collection, pieces of jewelry, cash and several checks. The appellant, a resident of an apartment adjoining Mr. Galford’s apartment, was implicated in the crime when he was later seen attempting to negotiate the missing checks and when some of the missing items were discovered in the home of the appellant’s father, who notified the police.

[318]*318The appellant was indicted by a Pocahontas County Grand Jury in June 1994. Count 1 of the indictment charged the appellant with the burglary of Mr. Galford’s apartment, W. Va.Code, 61-3-11 [1993], and count 2 of the indictment charged the appellant with grand larceny concerning the items taken. W. Va.Code, 61-3-13(a) [1977].3 A jury trial was conducted upon the indictment in April 1995, and the State’s witnesses included two police officers and Mr. Galford. The appellant did not testify or call any witnesses. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty with regard to the burglary charge. The jury, however, found the appellant guilty of grand larceny.

Following a post-trial hearing conducted on May 15, 1995, the final order of May 22, 1995, was entered. Pursuant to that order the appellant’s motion for a new trial was denied, and the penitentiary sentence of not less than one nor more than ten years was imposed. This appeal followed.

II

As stated above, the appellant contends that the circuit court committed error in giving State’s Amended Instruction No. 1 to the jury, which included the offense of receiving stolen property within the definition of grand larceny. The appellant objected to the instruction at trial and raised the matter again in his motion for a new trial, which was denied by the circuit court. The instruction stated:

The Court instructs the jury that grand larceny is the larceny of goods or chattels of another of a value of $200 or greater or more with the intention to deprive the owner permanently of those goods and chattels or to receive goods and chattels or transport them or conceal them or transfer stolen property to someone else, which he knows or has reason to believe the property to have been stolen.

In particular, the appellant asserts that, because of the latter part of the instruction, it was “impossible to tell whether the jury found the [appellant] guilty of the offense of grand larceny because they believed that he took the property himself, or because they believed that he had received the goods as stolen property.” In response, the State, although admitting that the instruction is unclear, asserts that the instruction did not affect the fairness of the trial, especially in view of W. Va.Code, 61-3-18 [1931], which provides:

If any person buy or receive from another person, or aid in concealing, or transfer to a person other than the owner thereof, any stolen goods or other thing of value, which he knows or has reason to believe has been stolen, he shall be deemed guilty of the larceny thereof, and may be prosecuted although the principal offender be not convicted.

(emphasis added). Specifically, the State suggests that grand larceny and receiving stolen property are related, as shown by the language of W. Va.Code, 61-3-18 [1931], and that, accordingly, State’s Amended Instruction No. 1, in describing both violations of law, did not affect the appellant’s right to a fair trial.

As this Court has recognized, however, larceny and receiving stolen property are separate offenses. Whereas larceny in[319]*319volves the taking and carrying away of the personal property of the owner, against the owner’s will, and with the intent to permanently deprive him or her thereof, syl. pt. 1, State v. Houdeyshell, 174 W.Va. 688, 329 S.E.2d 53 (1985), syl. pt. 3, State v. Louk, 169 W.Va. 24, 285 S.E.2d 432 (1981), the essential elements of an offense under W. Va.Code, 61-3-18 [1931], which includes receiving stolen property, are: (1) The property must have been previously stolen by some person other than the accused; (2) the accused must have bought or received the property from another person or must have aided in concealing it; (3) the accused must have known, or had reason to believe, when he or she bought or received or aided in concealing the property, that it had been stolen; and (4) the accused must have bought or received or aided in concealing the property with a dishonest purpose. State v. McGraw, 140 W.Va. 547, 550, 85 S.E.2d 849, 852 (1955). As the McGraw opinion states: “The crime of larceny and the crime of buying or receiving or aiding in concealing stolen goods ... are separate and distinct offenses.” 140 W.Va. at 551, 85 S.E.2d at 852. Moreover, as this Court subsequently observed in syllabus point 5 of State v. Basham, 159 W.Va. 404, 223 S.E.2d 53 (1976): “While Code, 61-3-18 provides that one who unlawfully buys or receives stolen goods shall be deemed guilty of the larceny thereof, the traditional offense of larceny and the offense created by the statute are separate and distinct offenses.” Cf. State v. West, 157 W.Va. 209, 200 S.E.2d 859 (1973), indicating that the State may seek a conviction upon an indictment for larceny by proving that the defendant knowingly received stolen goods.

In this case, the indictment charged the appellant with burglary and grand larceny. It did not charge receiving stolen property. Nor did the indictment contain tany language concerning W. Va.Code, 61-3-18 [1931]. It is obvious, therefore, that State’s Amended Instruction No. 1, in referring to the separate offense of receiving stolen property, was at variance with the indictment upon which the trial was conducted. In addition, the instruction was contradictory of the following admonishment given to the jury during the State’s case-in-chief:

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Related

State v. Houdeyshell
329 S.E.2d 53 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1985)
State v. Hanson
382 S.E.2d 547 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1989)
State v. West
200 S.E.2d 859 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1973)
State v. McGraw
85 S.E.2d 849 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1955)
State v. Louk
285 S.E.2d 432 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1981)
State v. Simmons
309 S.E.2d 89 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1983)
State v. Basham
223 S.E.2d 53 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1976)
State v. Starr
216 S.E.2d 242 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1975)

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Bluebook (online)
480 S.E.2d 525, 198 W. Va. 316, 1996 W. Va. LEXIS 174, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-casto-wva-1996.