Stoinski v. State
Stoinski v. State
Opinion
[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *Page 1176
The appellant, Marc Lee Stoinski, was convicted of two counts of first-degree theft of property, a violation of §
The evidence adduced at trial established that Lt. Byron Douglas Wade of the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department participated in an investigation involving numerous thefts of tractors, trailers, trucks, and four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles. A tip from an anonymous source led the investigators to a residence in Cottondale. A person at the residence gave them the name of Michael Kimbrough as a person who was involved in the thefts.
Investigators interviewed Kimbrough, who supplied the name of Larry Spencer as someone who might be involved in the thefts. Investigators interviewed Spencer and obtained information that led to the recovery of a four-wheel-drive Kubota brand tractor in Perry County, along with other equipment, which was returned to the owner. Lt. Wade testified that a stolen box blade was recovered from the property of Roger Miller. In an interview with Kristal Barger, Kimbrough's girlfriend, Lt. Wade was given Stoinski's name as an accomplice in the thefts.
Michael Kimbrough testified for the State pursuant to a plea agreement in which he had pleaded guilty to 7 felony charges and received a sentence of 18 years' imprisonment, no probation, the *Page 1177 State agreeing not to oppose his parole. He testified that he and Stoinski stole a Kubota brand tractor from ARC Rental Service in Tuscaloosa County. He stated that he met Stoinski in Stoinski's driveway on the evening of the theft. A short time later, Barger arrived and the three of them drove in Stoinski's truck to ARC Rental Service. Kimbrough testified that Barger was intoxicated from alcohol and methamphetamine at the time, that she had nothing to do with the theft, and that she was just riding with them. Kimbrough testified that Barger did not participate in the thefts and that she received no monetary gain from the sale of the stolen equipment.
Kimbrough testified that he, Barger, and Stoinski arrived at ARC Rental Center around midnight. He and Stoinski then hooked up a Kubota brand tractor to the back of Stoinski's truck and drove the tractor to the property of an individual named Roger Miller in Shelby County. According to Kimbrough, Larry Spencer paid him approximately $2,500 for the tractor the next afternoon. Kimbrough gave Stoinski approximately $750 of that money.
Within a few days, Larry Spencer contacted Kimbrough about stealing another Kubota brand tractor because Roger Miller had wanted one with four-wheel drive rather than the two-wheel drive tractor that they had stolen. Kimbrough drove around until he located such a tractor at a worksite at Townsend Ford, a Ford automobile dealership in Tuscaloosa. Kimbrough wrote down the model number and gave this information to Larry Spencer; Larry Spencer called Kimbrough and confirmed that the tractor Kimbrough had located was the model Roger Miller wanted.
Kimbrough testified that Stoinski came to his apartment around midnight that same night and the two men proceeded to Townsend Ford in Kimbrough's truck to steal the tractor. Stoinski "hot-wired" the tractor, started it, and Kimbrough drove the tractor onto the equipment trailer attached to his truck. Stoinski then held the brake down on the truck to stabilize it while Kimbrough drove the tractor onto the bed of the trailer. The two men then delivered the tractor to Roger Miller's land in Shelby County and left it there.
Kimbrough testified that Larry Spencer paid him $1,500 for the second tractor. He gave $750 of the money to Stoinski. Because Kimbrough was expecting Spencer to pay substantially more money for the second tractor, Kimbrough decided to "repossess" the stolen tractor from Miller's property. Kimbrough and another individual took the second tractor to C S Fabrication in Moundville and sold it to a man who owned a farm in Perry County.
Barger testified that, on the evening of the first tractor theft, a friend dropped her off at Stoinski's house. Barger talked to Kimbrough and Stoinski for awhile and then rode with them in Stoinski's truck to ARC Rental Center. Although she had taken the antidepressant Xanax that night, she remembered Kimbrough and Stoinski attaching an equipment trailer to the truck to transport a tractor and that they then drove to the community of Greenpond. Barger testified that Kimbrough located a hidden key and unlocked the gate to the property; they unloaded the tractor and then drove back to Tuscaloosa. Barger also testified that she was with Kimbrough when he went to check out the tractor on the work site at Townsend Ford. She stated that, at Kimbrough's apartment, she overheard a conversation between Kimbrough and Stoinski regarding stealing some equipment from Townsend Ford and taking it back to Greenpond. At the conclusion *Page 1178 of that conversation, Kimbrough and Stoinski left the apartment.
Barger stated that she gave Stoinski's name to law-enforcement officers as a suspect. She also testified that Larry Spencer was paying Kimbrough for the tractors.
Larry Spencer testified that he was acquainted with Roger Miller. Spencer had provided some four-wheel all-terrain vehicles to Miller in the past. Miller approached Spencer and told him that he was interested in a Kubota brand tractor. Because Spencer knew that Kimbrough was stealing tractors, he offered to introduce Miller to Kimbrough. Spencer stated that he knew Stoinski because they lived near each other, but that he did not know that Stoinski was involved in stealing the tractors. Spencer claimed that he paid Kimbrough between $2,300 and $2,500 for the first tractor, and $2,500 for the second tractor.2
Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Miller testified that he was acquainted with Larry Spencer. Miller had asked Spencer to locate a Kubota brand tractor for him, and Spencer agreed to do so. The first tractor Spencer provided was two-wheel drive and too small for Miller's needs; Miller told Spencer that he wanted a larger, four-wheel drive tractor. Miller testified that both tractors were taken to and left on his property in Shelby County, but that he had instructed Spencer that the two-wheel drive tractor was not the model he wanted. Miller stated that he did not know Stoinski.
Phillip Hudson, owner of Renovations Plus, stated that his tractor was stolen from a job site at Townsend Ford. He described the tractor as a used Kubota brand tractor for which he had paid $15,000. Hudson testified that his insurer paid only $11,000 for his loss claim and that he had had to spend $19,000 to replace the tractor. Rick Price, owner of ARC Rental Center, testified that the following items were stolen from his place of business: a two-wheel drive Kubota brand tractor, a box blade, a post-hole digger, a Bush Hog brand mowing machine, and a 16-foot equipment trailer. Price estimated the value of the tractor was approximately $11,000 to $12,000 and the value of the remaining items was approximately $1,500.
At the close of all of the evidence, the jury returned a verdict finding Stoinski guilty of two counts of first-degree theft of property and two counts of first-degree receiving stolen property. However, the trial court subsequently set aside one of the convictions for first-degree receiving stolen property on the ground that the conviction was based on uncorroborated accomplice testimony.
Stoinski argues that the trial court erred when it allowed both convictions to stand. Stoinski further argues that it was improper for the trial court to submit both charges to the jury. *Page 1179
With regard to the offense of receiving stolen property, §
"A person commits the crime of receiving stolen property if he intentionally receives, retains or disposes of stolen property knowing that it has been stolen or having reasonable grounds to believe it has been stolen, unless the property is received, retained or disposed of with intent to restore it to the owner."
Generally, under Alabama law a person may not be convicted of receiving stolen property and theft of property as to the same property. As the Alabama Supreme Court held in Ex parteHoward,
"Alabama has a firmly established rule of law recognizing that a person cannot be convicted of buying and receiving stolen property if that person actually stole the property in question. Ex parte Thomas,
445 So.2d 939 (Ala. 1983); Scott v. State,374 So.2d 316 (Ala. 1979); Wasp v. State,647 So.2d 81 ,83 (Ala.Crim.App. 1994); Dixon v. State,536 So.2d 959 ,961 (Ala.Crim.App. 1988); Ogle v. State,386 So.2d 493 (Ala.Crim.App. 1980); Nicholson v. State,369 So.2d 304 (Ala.Crim.App. 1979). Where it is undisputed that a person stole property, that person may not be convicted of receiving or concealing the same property. See Poole v. State,651 So.2d 1081 ,1083-84 (Ala.Crim.App. 1994); George v. State,410 So.2d 476 (Ala.Crim.App. 1982); Ex parte Wilcox,401 So.2d 794 ,795 (Ala. 1981). Thus, if it is established, as a matter of factual adjudication, that a person is guilty of receiving stolen property, then it is a `logical impossibility' that the defendant also stole the property in question. See Ogle v. State, supra, at 494."
This case, however, is factually distinguishable from Exparte Howard. In Ex parte Howard, the defendant had been convicted of stealing and retaining the same property. By contrast, Stoinski was convicted of stealing anddisposing of the same property. Thus, this case is more akin to the facts of Smith v. State,
In Smith, the defendant was convicted of theft of property in Georgia after stealing a leaf blower in Georgia; the defendant was subsequently convicted of receiving stolen property in Alabama because he pawned the leaf blower at an Alabama pawnshop. On appeal, Smith argued that he could not be convicted of receiving stolen property because he had already been convicted of stealing that same property in Georgia. Therefore, he argued, he could not be convicted of both stealing and receiving the same property. Rejecting Smith's argument, this Court stated:
*Page 1180"We have found no Alabama case in which the precise issue now before us has been addressed. However, applying the rules of statutory construction and considering the purposes of the Criminal Code as well as the plain language of §
13A-8-16 , Ala. Code 1975, we hold that, even when the evidence shows that the defendant stole the property he or she is subsequently charged with `receiving,' a conviction for `receiving' that stolen property is not prohibited if the evidence shows that the defendant disposed of the property, as opposed to merely receiving or retaining it. By setting forth the types of proscribed conduct in the alternative with the word `or,' a reasonable interpretation of
§
"The cases have stated that it is a `logical impossibility' for a person who stole property to also receive that same property, because a person cannot receive property from himself. SeeEx parte Howard,
"Therefore, we hold that a person who steals property may be convicted of receiving that same stolen property, under §
Smith v. State,"We use the term `receiving' here to mean the general offense proscribed by §
13A-8-16 (a) and not one of the three prohibited courses of conduct set out in that statute."
Here, the evidence established that Stoinski and Kimbrough stole the property in question from ARC Rental Center, then took the property and left it on Roger Miller's property. Thereafter, Larry Spencer paid Kimbrough $2,500 for the property; Kimbrough gave Stoinski approximately $750 of that money. Accordingly, unlike the convictions in Ex parteHoward, Stoinski's convictions were not based on the fact that he stole and retained ARC's property. Rather, the convictions were based on the fact that he stole ARC's property and subsequently disposed of the property. Based on this Court's holding in Smith v. State, Stoinski was properly convicted of both first-degree theft of property and first-degree receiving stolen property with regard to the property stolen from ARC. Because Stoinski could be convicted of both charges, Stoinski's claim that the State should have been required to elect which charge to submit to the jury is without merit. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in submitting both charges to the jury for its determination.
Ingram v. State,"`"In determining the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a conviction, a reviewing court must accept as true all evidence introduced by the State, accord the State all legitimate inferences therefrom, and consider all evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution."' Ballenger v. State,
720 So.2d 1033 ,1034 (Ala.Crim.App. 1998), quoting Faircloth v. State,471 So.2d 485 ,488 *Page 1181 (Ala.Crim.App. 1984), aff'd,471 So.2d 493 (Ala. 1985). "`The test used in determining the sufficiency of evidence to sustain a conviction is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational finder of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.'" Nunn v. State,697 So.2d 497 ,498 (Ala.Crim.App. 1997), quoting O'Neal v. State,602 So.2d 462 ,464 (Ala.Crim.App. 1992). `"When there is legal evidence from which the jury could, by fair inference, find the defendant guilty, the trial court should submit [the case] to the jury, and, in such a case, this court will not disturb the trial court's decision."' Farrior v. State,728 So.2d 691 ,696 (Ala.Crim.App. 1998), quoting Ward v. State,557 So.2d 848 ,850 (Ala.Crim.App. 1990). `The role of appellate courts is not to say what the facts are. Our role . . . is to judge whether the evidence is legally sufficient to allow submission of an issue for decision [by] the jury.' Ex parte Bankston,358 So.2d 1040 ,1042 (Ala. 1978)."`When reviewing a trial court's denial of a motion for a judgment of acquittal, this court must determine "whether there existed legal evidence before the jury, at the time the motion was made, from which the jury by fair inference could have found the appellant guilty."' McCart v. State,
765 So.2d 21 ,27 (Ala.Crim.App. 1999), quoting Breckenridge v. State,628 So.2d 1012 ,1018 (Ala.Crim.App. 1993). See also Ex parte Fitkin,781 So.2d 182 ,183 (Ala. 2000) (`The trial court's denial of a motion for a judgment of acquittal must be reviewed by determining whether there was legal evidence before the court at the time the motion was made from which, by fair inference, the defendant could be found guilty.')."
Section
At trial, the State offered the testimony of Larry Spencer and Roger Miller. Both men testified that Miller approached Spencer about obtaining a Kubota brand tractor. Spencer knew that Kimbrough stole tractors; he arranged for Miller to meet Kimbrough, and a tractor was procured. However, because the first tractor was too small, Miller requested a second tractor with four-wheel drive. Miller paid *Page 1182 Spencer $2,000 to $2,500 for the first tractor and $2,500 for the second tractor.3
Kimbrough testified that he and Stoinski stole the tractors from ARC Rental Center and the work site at Townsend Ford. Kimbrough testified that after stealing the tractors, the pair transported the tractors to Miller's property in Shelby County. Kimbrough stated that he paid Stoinski a total of $1,500 from the money Spencer paid him for the tractors.
Through the testimony of Rick Price, the State proved that the Kubota brand tractor stolen from ARC Rental Center had been purchased for $11,000 to $12,000 and that the remainder of equipment stolen from the business was worth approximately $1,500. Through the testimony of Phillip Hudson, the State proved that the Kubota brand tractor stolen from the Townsend Ford job site was purchased for $15,000. Hudson was reimbursed only $11,000 by the insurance company, and Hudson's total replacement cost was $19,000. Because there was ample evidence indicating that the property Stoinski stole included two tractors that were worth in excess of $2,500, the State presented sufficient evidence to support two counts of first-degree theft of property.
Regarding Stoinski's claim that the accomplice testimony was not corroborated, his contention is without merit. The witnesses connecting Stoinski to the thefts were Michael Kimbrough and Kristal Barger. The State conceded that Kimbrough and two other men were accomplices/coconspirators. However, the evidence does not support Stoinski's claim that Barger was also an accomplice as a matter of law. Barger denied any involvement in the theft, and she received no money from the thefts. Kimbrough's testimony confirmed that Barger, who was intoxicated the night the first tractor was stolen from ARC Rental, was "just along for the ride" and took no part in the thefts. Thus, the question of Barger's complicity was properly left for the jury's determination. See Gavin v. State,
Patterson v. State,"`"The test for determining whether there is sufficient corroboration of the testimony of an accomplice consists of eliminating the testimony given by the accomplice and examining the remaining evidence to determine if there is sufficient incriminating evidence tending to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense." Tarver v. State,
500 So.2d 1232 (Ala.Cr.App. 1986), affirmed,500 So.2d 1256 (Ala. 1986), cert. denied, 482 U.S. 920,107 S.Ct. 3197 ,96 L.Ed.2d 685 (1987), citing, Miller v. State,290 Ala. 248 ,275 So.2d 675 (1973) (emphasis supplied).' Garrison v. State,520 So.2d 219 (Ala.Cr.App. 1987) (wherein accomplice testimony was sufficiently corroborated by a witness who testified that, prior to the incident, he overheard a conversation in which the appellant discussed plans for a burglary)."
"Corroboration need only be slight to suffice." Ingle v.State,
Based on the foregoing, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
McMILLAN, P.J., and COBB, BASCHAB, SHAW, and WISE, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Marc Lee Stoinski v. State of Alabama.
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published