Leal v. State
Leal v. State
Opinion of the Court
The appellant was convicted for receiving property which had been embezzled, his punishment being fixed at two years’ confinement in the State penitentiary. The indictment charges that one Conception Torres embezzled certain hides; not only the facts constituting embezzlement are averred, but the offense of embezzlement is charged in terms. It then alleges that the defendant received the hides knowing them to have been embezzled.
While it is trac that a majority of this court have held that theft includes embezzlement, they have never held that embezzlement includes theft. To thus hold would make th e lesser include the greater. J3ut, be this as it may,, no person can legally be convicted of receiving stolen goods unless when the acquisition was in such manner as to constitute theft. We are therefore, of the opinion that to receive property which has been embezzled constitutes no offense against the law of this State.
The judgment is reversed and the prosecution dismissed.
Reversed and dismissed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.