State v. O'Guin

641 S.W.2d 894, 1982 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 393
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedFebruary 24, 1982
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 641 S.W.2d 894 (State v. O'Guin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. O'Guin, 641 S.W.2d 894, 1982 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 393 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinions

OPINION

DWYER, Judge.

Appellant stands convicted of six counts of larceny over the value of $100 by fraudulent appropriation, T.C.A. § 39-4224, with the resulting concurrent punishment of not less than three nor more than five years on each count. His sentence was suspended for all but thirty days confinement in the workhouse. Numerous issues and sub-issues have been presented, one of which challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. This prompts our narration of that evidence as found from our review of the voluminous record.

Appellant Donald O’Guin was the president and chairman of the board of Mutual Insurance Company, hereafter referred to as Mutual. He also presided over First American Holding Company which was the parent company of American Auto Camper and Mobile Home Center. We will refer to the latter as Auto Camper. Auto Camper leased cars to Mutual Insurance Company. It was also stipulated that the appellant owned 85 or 90 percent of the stock in American Holding Company and all the stock of Auto Camper. In short, as advanced by the State, he was Auto Camper.

In the course of business, Mutual acquired. wrecked automobiles from its policy[896]*896holders.1 A Mr. Frank Parham d/b/a Frank’s Auto Parts testified for the State that around April 24, 1975, he purchased eight cars from the appellant for $4,000. The following eight cars became the basis for separate counts in the indictment.2:

A 1973 Ford Econoline, VIN E15GH0325751;
A 1973 white Chevrolet Nova, VIN IX17H3W151870;
A 1973 red Chevrolet Nova, VIN X17H3W109947;
A 1972 blue Chevrolet Nova, VIN IX27F2W342;
A 1968 gold Chevrolet Nova, VIN
II3278W258006;
A Ford Cortina, VIN BA92HA60856;
A 1973 Ford white LTD, VIN 3U685164998;
A 1974 red Chevrolet Corvette, VIN 1Z37J45419620.

At the appellant’s request Mr. Parham made the check payable to Auto Camper.

Earlier in the month Parham had purchased other cars from Mutual. When inquiries were made relative to the above mentioned cars, a Mr. Tant, an employee of Mutual, told Mr. Parham he would have to see the appellant about buying those cars.

A Mr. Smith, an insurance examiner with the Department of Insurance, testified that the indictment vehicles in question had been purchased by Mutual. His examination of the accounting books failed to show that Mutual received the $4,000 which Mr. Parham paid to Auto Camper. In other words, appellant sold the eight cars to Par-ham, had the check made payable to Auto Camper, endorsed this check and deposited it in Auto Camper’s account.

The State also developed proof that the bank account for Auto Camper was overdrawn on April 24, 1975, in the amount of $3,412.46. The $4,000 check which was deposited on April 25, 1975, provided the account with sufficient funds. At the close of the State’s proof, the appellant’s motion for judgment of acquittal as to count 7 was sustained.3

A former member of the board of directors for Mutual, testifying for the defense, related that appellant was authorized as president of Auto Camper to handle salvage for Mutual.

The appellant testified that his initial meeting with Mr. Parham occurred on April 3, 1975, at which time he sold Parham nine cars, five owned by Mutual and four belonging to American Holding Corporation and Auto Camper.

An office memorandum was introduced by the appellant dated April 3, 1975, which reflected that five cars had been sold as salvage and Mutual should be credited with $2,454.98. An invoice numbered 0018 was also introduced which reflected that credit was given Mutual from American Auto Camper for the transaction. This invoice reflected the date of April 7, 1975. The appellant also related that his next encounter with Mr. Parham occurred on April 24, 1975, when the titles were transferred and $4,000 was paid.

When cross examined, the appellant acknowledged that the four automobiles owned by Auto Camper and American Holding were not listed in the seven-count indictment. It was also developed that no other invoices to Mutual from Auto Camper were located by the appellant for 1975.

The State produced a different type invoice numbered 0018 from Auto Camper to a third party which reflected the sale of a mobile home. Appellant attempted to explain this inconsistency by stating that in[897]*897ventory items required stamped invoices whereas invoices for non-inventory items were typewritten.

In rebuttal, the State recalled Mr. Kenneth Smith who testified that unlike the other invoices from Auto Camper to Mutual, number 0018 introduced by the appellant showing $2,820.91 rental due did not reflect the particular cars which were being leased as required by law.

Mr. Parham testified that he never met the appellant until April 24, 1975, and approximately six weeks passed before he received the titles on the cars that were purchased. His first encounter with Mr. Tant, the authorized agent, occurred no more than five working days before April 14, 1975.

We have come a long way to explain thousands of words of testimony. The trial lasted eight days with only seven or eight witnesses testifying. In all candor, from our review, when these witnesses concluded their testimony every bit of knowledge they had of the facts had been fully explored and developed.

In a nutshell, the evidence may thus be summed up. The appellant sold Mr. Par-ham on April 24, 1975, eight cars that were salvage and belonging to Mutual. The appellant sold these ears to Mr. Parham and had the check endorsed to Auto Camper and deposited in that company’s bank account. Any asset of Mutual not going to that company was a loss to the policyholders of that company. The State’s proof showed that the money, through the examination of the books of Mutual and Auto Camper, did not reflect a “set-off” against what Mutual owed Auto Camper for car rentals. The appellant produced an invoice which showed that Mutual was given credit for the sale of the cars. In short, the jury just did not believe the appellant’s proof and accordingly rejected his theory with an accompanying credit of the State’s proof and its theory-

The following well-established principles of law play a pivotal role in the resolution of the evidence issue. The jury by its verdict has reconciled the inconsistencies in the testimony and on appeal the State is entitled to the strongest legitimate view of the trial evidence. State v. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d 832, 835 (Tenn.1978) . The appellant now has the burden to demonstrate that the evidence preponderates against the jury verdict. State v. Grace, 493 S.W.2d 474, 476 (Tenn.1973).

The appellant, with reliance on Brown v. State, 162 Tenn. 639, 39 S.W.2d 746

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Bluebook (online)
641 S.W.2d 894, 1982 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-oguin-tenncrimapp-1982.