State v. Getz

830 P.2d 5, 250 Kan. 560, 1992 Kan. LEXIS 86
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedApril 10, 1992
Docket65,252
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 830 P.2d 5 (State v. Getz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Getz, 830 P.2d 5, 250 Kan. 560, 1992 Kan. LEXIS 86 (kan 1992).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Abbott, J.:

This is a direct appeal by the defendant, Vicky Getz, from her conviction of felony theft. Getz was convicted of the theft of two horses valued at over $500. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, and we accepted review.

*561 On Friday, September 23, 1988, between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m., Forrest Paddock found two paint horses on his property. Paddock had never seen these horses before; he assumed they belonged to his neighbor, Vicky Getz, because he knew Getz often boarded horses. The residences of Paddock and Getz were just a few feet apart. After capturing the horses, Paddock walked them over to Getz’ property. Getz was not home so Paddock tied up one horse in the barn and secured the other horse, who was “rather spirited,” in the corral.

Paddock tried calling Getz several times and eventually reached her that evening. At trial, Paddock testified he could not remember their exact telephone conversation. He stated that after the telephone call he still assumed the horses belonged to Getz, but that Getz had not claimed the horses were hers.

Getz testified that when she returned home that evening between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m., she discovered the horses on her property. Getz stated she did not recognize the horses or remember seeing them previously. After discovering the horses, she made a couple of telephone calls in an unsuccessful attempt to discover from where the horses had come. She then received a telephone call from Paddock, who informed her that he was the one who had secured the horses on her property.

Shortly thereafter, Perry Patton, who had been living with Getz for about one month, arrived home. Getz testified that she believed the horses belonged to Patton and that she told Patton to move the horses because they already had caused damage to her property and injuries to other horses. After working to repair some of the damage, Getz went into the house and called Vicki Smith. Getz previously had sold horses to Smith and her husband, who resided in Hutchinson and were in the business of selling and buying horses. Getz testified she was selling the horses for Patton. Smith agreed to buy the two horses. They arranged for the horses to be brought to the sale bam in Hutchinson the next day.

The next morning Getz and Patton hauled the two horses to Hutchinson, where they met Smith at the sale bam. Getz and Smith unloaded the horses. Smith wrote a check in the amount of $810.40 to pay for the horses. Smith testified that she did not write in the name of the payee. Getz testified that Smith wrote *562 in Patton’s name as the payee. Smith gave the check to Getz, who in turn gave the check to Patton.

Getz and Patton then drove to Smith’s bank. The bank refused to cash the check because Smith was not an authorized signatory on the account and had failed to indicate that she signed the check on her husband’s behalf. Getz and Patton drove to Smith’s residence. After destroying the first check, Smith wrote a new check, which she made payable to Perry E. Patton. Smith testified that she wrote in Patton’s name on the second check because his name had been written in on the first check. Getz and Patton returned to the bank, and Patton cashed the check. Getz testified that she never received any of this money.

William and Shirley Griffing own property in the same vicinity as Getz and Paddock. The Griffings own the two paint horses that were sold. The pasture in which they kept the horses was about one-half mile “as the crow flies” from Getz’ property, but about two miles by road. On September 25, 1988, the Griffings noticed their two paint horses were missing. Shirley Griffing notified the Rose Hill Police and the Butler County Sheriff about the missing horses. She drove around the area for two days looking for the horses. Ginger Hampton, the Griffings’ daughter, assisted her mother with the search on the evening of Tuesday, September 27, 1988. They stopped by Getz’ house because Hampton remembered that Getz dealt with horses; however, Getz was not home. Later that evening, Hampton reached Getz by telephone.

Hampton testified that she introduced herself as Ginger Griffing-Hampton and that Getz acted as if she knew Hampton. Hampton told Getz their paint horses were missing and asked if Getz had seen them. According to Hampton, Getz responded that a neighbor had tied them up at her place. When Hampton offered to come get the horses, Hampton testified that Getz told her the horses were gone — they had broken out of the pen. Hampton stated she then asked for the neighbor’s name, and Getz told her she could not remember the name. Hampton testified Getz then said she was sorry, but Hampton was out of luck. Getz concluded their conversation by offering to help in any way she could.

Getz testified that she did not know Hampton and that she was only trying to be friendly. Getz stated that after Hampton *563 described the horses, Hampton said she had talked with someone who had suggested Getz might know something about the horses. According to Getz, she told Hampton that the horses had been tied up at Getz’ place, but had broken out. In the process, the horses had damaged Getz’ property and injured some of her horses. Getz testified that Hampton sounded as if she did not believe her horses were capable of such damage. Getz then stated she informed Hampton that the horses were no longer there. According to Getz, Hampton expressed her thanks and hung up without leaving her name or number. Getz admitted she had not told Hampton the two paint horses had been taken to a sale bam in Hutchinson and sold. When asked why, Getz testified that she did not know who Hampton was and whether the horses really belonged to Hampton, that Hampton also had not believed that her horses were capable of damaging Getz’ property and injuring her other horses, and that Hampton did not ask her.

Hampton was suspicious of Getz’ story, so Hampton and her mother contacted people in the area who either knew Getz or dealt with horses. It was suggested that they check the sale bams, with Hutchinson being the closest one. Hampton’s husband and mother drove to Hutchinson the next morning, September 28, 1988, and located the two paint horses in a pen behind the sale bam. The Griffings regained possession of their horses. They were informed Getz had sold the horses to Smith.

Shirley Griffing testified that Getz had been at the Griffing farm prior to September 1988. Griffing said Getz had been to their place twice with her ex-husband, who had trimmed the two paint horses. Griffing testified Getz also had stopped by the Griffings in August 1987 to see a horse advertised for sale. The horse for sale and the two paints were together in the corral. Griffing stated that Getz asked her if the two paint horses were for sale. When Griffing told her no, Getz left.

Getz testified she never had gone to the Griffings’ farm to help her ex-husband trim horses. She stated she could not recall ever being at the Griffings, but may have accompanied her ex-husband to their farm when he was interested in purchasing a horse. Additionally, Getz said she never had expressed an interest in buying the two paint horses.

*564

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Bluebook (online)
830 P.2d 5, 250 Kan. 560, 1992 Kan. LEXIS 86, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-getz-kan-1992.