State v. Maines
State v. Maines
Opinion of the Court
Defendants argue the court erred in denying their motions to dismiss at the close of the evidence.
The State relied on the doctrine of possession of recently stolen property. Possession .of stolen property shortly after the
The first condition is satisfied by Mrs. Milam’s testimony as to the break-in of her building and her positive identification of the coat described in the indictment. Although Mrs. Milam could not specifically identify the other items listed in the indictment as being her property, the general verdict of guilty which was returned by the j ury will stand as being presumed to relate only to the felonious larceny of the identified coat. State v. Foster, 268 N.C. 480, 151 S.E. 2d 62 (1966).
The requirement of the second condition of the doctrine is met by the testimony which established defendant Maines as the driver of the car containing the stolen property and defendant Dunn as owner of the car and being present in the front passenger seat. As to defendant Maines, one who has the power to control and intent to control the access to and use of a vehicle is presumed to also have possession of the known contents of that vehicle. State v. Eppley, 282 N.C. 249, 192 S.E. 2d 441 (1972). As to defendant Dunn, his possession of the stolen goods is implied by his ownership of the vehicle, his presence in the vehicle, and his exercise of authority over the vehicle in consenting to its search by the police officers. State v. Lewis, 281 N.C. 564, 189 S.E. 2d 216, cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1046, 34 L. Ed. 2d 498, 93 S.Ct. 547 (1972). The above facts which imply possession by the defendants are merely to be considered by the jury along with other evidence but they do justify the denial of defendants’ motions for nonsuit. State v. Earley, 38 N.C. App. 361, 247 S.E. 2d 796 (1978).
As to the final condition, the goods were taken sometime between 9:00 p.m. on 5 July 1979 and the morning of 6 July 1979;
In the defendants’ trial we find
No error.
Concurring in Part
(concurring in part and dissenting in part):
I concur with the majority with respect to the defendant Dunn. However, I respectfully dissent from the majority decision with respect to the defendant Maines. The majority has ignored the salient fact in the Maines case that the owner of the automobile, the defendant Dunn, was a passenger when the defendant Maines was driving the automobile in which the stolen coat was found. While the defendant Dunn as owner/ occupant of the car had constructive possession of the stolen article, State v. Lewis, 281 N.C. 564, 189 S.E. 2d 216, cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1046, 93 S.Ct. 547, 34 L. Ed. 2d 498 (1972), it is my opinion that the driver of a vehicle is not presumed to have constructive possession of the contents of the vehicle when the owner is an occupant, absent some evidence that the driver had knowledge of the stolen character of the contents of the vehicle, or the nature of the property in question is such as to give notice to the driver of its contraband character.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.