Fields v. State
Fields v. State
Opinion of the Court
In the first count of a Fulton-County indictment, appellant was charged with theft by receiving a diesel engine and a 13-speed truck transmission. The second count of that indictment charged him with
The essence of appellant’s argument is that since there was but one act of receiving (appellant apparently came into possession of both the transmission and the engine in Fulton County and later took the transmission to DeKalb County), there was only one crime. We believe appellant has misunderstood the pertinent provisions of OCGA § 16-8-7: “A person commits the offense of theft by receiving stolen property when he receives, disposes of, or retains stolen property which he knows or should know was stolen. . . .”
Applying that definition to the facts of this case as appellant presents them, it may be seen that there were separate violations in DeKalb and Fulton counties. In DeKalb County, appellant retained property he knew to be stolen, the transmission. In Fulton County, appellant received both the engine and the transmission. Since he has been convicted of theft by receiving in DeKalb County, the trial court in the present case correctly granted the plea of double jeopardy as to the transmission. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the DeKalb County indictment had any reference to the engine or that appellant committed any criminal act involving the engine in DeKalb County. Therefore, appellant was never in jeopardy in DeKalb County for any offense involving the engine, and his present prosecution is not barred by traditional notions of double jeopardy. Georgia’s expanded double jeopardy provisions are likewise not available to appellant: he could not have been prosecuted in DeKalb County for an offense involving the engine, so OCGA §§ 16-1-7 and 16-1-8 are inapplicable.
Appellant’s reliance on Ringer v. State, 121 SW2d 364 (Tex. Crim. App. 1938), is misplaced. There, some 30 sheep were stolen and the appellant was indicted in two different counties in which some of the sheep were found. Without discussing its rationale, the Texas court held that a single transaction was involved and that conviction in one county barred prosecution in the other. Under the circumstances of the present case, we are not persuaded that the same result pertains here. The record shows that appellant retained a stolen truck transmission in DeKalb County and was prosecuted there for that offense. He is now being prosecuted for receiving or retaining a stolen diesel engine in Fulton County. The fact that the engine and transmission may have been connected to each other while in appellant’s possession does not demand the conclusion that there was a single
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.