Case Name: Stephen ROBINSON v. STATE of Mississippi
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 1982-02-10
Citations: 418 So. 2d 749
Docket Number: No. 53257
Parties: Stephen ROBINSON v. STATE of Mississippi.
Judges: Before PATTERSON, C. J., and BROOM and DAN M. LEE, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 418
Pages: 749–764

Head Matter:
Stephen ROBINSON v. STATE of Mississippi.
No. 53257.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
Feb. 10, 1982.
Rehearing Denied July 28, 1982.
Brewer, Deaton, Evans & Bowman, Billy B. Bowman, Greenwood, for appellant.
Bill Allain, Atty. Gen. by Carolyn B. Mills Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.
Before PATTERSON, C. J., and BROOM and DAN M. LEE, JJ.

Opinion:
DAN M. LEE, Justice, for the Court:
This is an appeal from the Circuit Court of Leflore County wherein Stephen Robinson, defendant/appellant, was indicted, tried and convicted for the September 16, 1980, burglary of Goldberg's Store located in Greenwood, Mississippi. Upon conviction, Robinson was sentenced to serve five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved of his conviction, Robinson has appealed to this Court and assigns four errors in the trial below.
1. The verdict of the jury was contrary to the overwhelming weight of testimony and the law.
2. The court erred in not entering a directed verdict for the appellant.
3. The court erred in denying the appellant's motion to suppress, thus allowing the state to introduce into evidence the three pairs of shoes taken from the display window of Goldberg's Shoe Store.
4. The court erred in giving, over the appellant's objections, the state's requested Instruction No. 2.
Goldberg's Shoe Store, located in Greenwood, Mississippi, was burglarized sometime between 11:05 p. m. and 12:39 a. m. on September 15 and 16,1980. A large display window was broken out, apparently with a piece of concrete, and eight pairs of shoes removed therefrom. The owner reported the shoes taken from the store were manufactured by Pierre Cardin and Florsheim.
Thomas G. Futral, detective sergeant of the Greenwood Police Department, discovered the burglary at 12:39 a. m. He was unable to obtain fingerprints from the window itself or the item used to break the glass. Futral remained on the scene for twenty or twenty-five minutes at which time he was called to investigate an automobile accident at Mabeline and Third Avenue. When Futral arrived on the scene of the accident at approximately 1:00 a. m., appellant, who stated he was driving the 1973 Monte Carlo which struck the rear of a parked pickup truck, was boisterous and smelled of alcohol. Officers investigating the accident arrested appellant for public drunkenness and summoned a wrecker to remove the Monte Carlo which was rendered inoperable by the collision. Futral, who was taking pictures of the accident, began to inventory the contents of the automobile, which was standard procedure used by the police department to avoid lawsuits. When the trunk was opened, three new pairs of shoes were discovered therein, corresponding to the brands that had been reportedly taken in the Goldberg burglary. Appellant was then advised he was also being arrested for burglary. Subsequent investigations revealed the shoes were the same as those taken in the Goldberg burglary-
Appellant denied any participation in or knowledge of the burglary. According to him, he borrowed his brother's automobile after getting off work around 6:00 or 7:00 p. m. He began drinking and riding around. Around 10:00 p. m., he picked up Milton Johnson, a cousin, rode around about forty-five minutes and then went to the Soul Train Lounge where he stayed for one and half or two hours. Around 1:00 a. m. defendant left the lounge to take Sylvester Hodges home and then returned to the lounge and left with Milton Johnson, who was injured in the accident. Johnson asserted it was around 11:00 p. m. when defendant took Hodges home and he was gone for about ten minutes. Hodges stated it was about 12:30 a. m. Both Johnson, a co-indictee, and Hodges denied any knowledge of or participation in the burglary.
The jury found appellant guilty as charged, whereupon he was sentenced to a term of five years in the penitentiary.
I. Did the trial court err in overruling defendant's motion for a directed verdict at the close of the state's case and was the verdict of the jury contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence?
Although appellant complains of the overruling of his motion for a directed verdict, he waived any error thereof by adducing evidence in his own behalf. In Tubbs v. State, 402 So.2d 830 (Miss.1981), this Court stated:
At the conclusion of the State's case, Tubbs moved to exclude the evidence and direct a verdict of acquittal as to the underlying charge of robbery, and assigns as error the action of the trial judge in overruling his motion. After the motion was overruled Tubbs presented evidence in an attempt to establish an alibi defense and is thereby precluded from raising any issue on appeal with regard to the denial of his motion for a directed verdict. Lucas v. State, 381 So.2d 140 (Miss.1980); Watts v. State, 317 So.2d 715 (Miss.1975); Hankins v. State, 288 So.2d 866 (Miss.1975). (402 So.2d at 835)
As to appellant's contention concerning the sufficiency of the evidence, he avers that the jury completely ignored the overwhelming testimony of his witnesses concerning his presence except for a brief period and therefore convicted him solely on the inference arising from possession of recently-stolen property. Evidently, appellant overlooks the fact that it was the jury's prerogative to accept the testimony it deemed to be more trustworthy and reject that it deemed was not. In Tubbs, supra, this Court said:
Tubbs' defense was an alibi and it is well established that a jury is not under a duty to accept an alibi defense, but must consider all of the testimony in determining the guilt or innocence of an accused. An alibi defense presents a question of fact to be resolved by the jury. In Spikes v. State, 302 So.2d 250 (Miss.1974), we stated:
"The jury was not required to accept this alibi. Its duty was to evaluate the testimony of the witnesses for the State and defendant, and to determine whether the evidence showed beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was guilty. The State's evidence was contradictory of that of appellant concerning an alibi. It was a jury issue. Newton v. State, 1956, 229 Miss. 267, 90 So.2d 375. (Kelly v. State, 239 Miss. 683, 690, 124 So.2d 840, 842 (1960). (302 So.2d at 251)"
Accord, Johnson v. State, 359 So.2d 1371 (Miss.1978).
(402 So.2d at 834-35)
In the case at bar it is evident that the jury rejected the testimony of appellant's two witnesses. Milton Johnson, who was on parole at the time of the incident, was certainly questionable, being related to the defendant, and also charged with the same crime. Sylvester Hodges, with whom appellant left the Soul Train Lounge for a short period of time, was evidently the only other person who could have participated in the crime that night and he certainly wasn't going to implicate himself. Furthermore, appellant never asserted anyone else had control over the automobile besides himself from the time he borrowed the same until the shoes were subsequently discovered therein.
In Gray v. State, 387 So.2d 101 (Miss.1980), this Court stated:
In Carroll v. State, 196 So.2d 878 (Miss.1967), this Court said:
"In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict, this Court must accept as having been established all that was proved by the evidence, as well as all that such evidence reasonably tended to prove, together with all reasonáble inferences to be drawn therefrom, favorable to the theory of the prosecution.
"The jury's verdict had the effect of resolving all conflicts in the evidence against appellant, and the findings of the jury, as the trier of facts, are conclusive upon this Court. (196 So.2d at 883)."
(387 So.2d at 103)
Accepting all that was proved by the state's evidence, as well as that such evidence reasonably tended to prove, together with all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, this Court finds the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict of the jury.
II. Did the trial court err in failing to suppress the shoes taken from the trunk of the automobile appellant was driving?
At the hearing on the motion to suppress, it was established that the Greenwood Police Department generally adhered to an unwritten policy of inventorying the contents of automobiles where the driver of the same was arrested. The inventory was a method whereby the police department sought to avoid lawsuits involving items which were subsequently alleged missing from automobiles taken into custody by the police department. Moreover, the importance of the inventory was escalated by the fact that the cars were towed to private lots due to the fact that the city did not have a garage or lot to house impounded cars.
The inventory of property lawfully seized falls into a different category from that of an automobile search incident to a lawful arrest or based on probable cause that the vehicle is being used to transport contraband. Jackson v. State, 261 So.2d 126 (Miss.1972). Here it was undisputed that the defendant was not suspected of any crime before the inventory was conducted and the articles discovered therein. In Jackson v. State, 243 So.2d 396 (Miss.1970), this Court discussed inventory searches:
Although not necessary to this opinion, the question will doubtless be raised on retrial that probable cause did not exist for the search of the appellant's car. After consideration, we think the trial court correctly held that the boxes and their contents should not be excluded from evidence as the result of the search. We are of the opinion the car was inventoried in accord with lawful police practices. In Wright v. State, 236 So.2d 408, 412 (Miss.1970), we held:
" However, we do not here pass upon whether or not it is ordinarily the official duty of an officer to preserve the property of a person arrested — see Toliver v. State, 133 Miss. 789, 98 So. 342 (1923) — although it may be said that the trend of authorities is moving in that direction — see 32 A.L.R. 685 (1924). It is, nevertheless, the practice of police officers to inventory the personal belongings taken from a prisoner and to put them in a place for safekeeping. This is usually done in the presence of the prisoner and a witness so that the prisoner may not later contend that his money and other belongings were confiscated by the officers.
"The duty of the officers to search the person of the defendant in the instant case and the right of the officers to inventory and keep the personal effects of the prisoner was proper under the facts here shown."
See also Gordon v. State, 222 So.2d 141, 144 (Miss.1969), where we stated:
" Since it was the duty of the officers to hold the automobile as evidence until the participants could be indicted and tried, it would be unreasonable to hold that for their own protection the officers did not have the duty to search the automobile. They were responsible for all the contents of the car and in order to properly account for such contents they had to inventory and preserve them. Appellant urges that the officers could have procured a search warrant and searched the car after it was moved to the patrol headquarters, however, that is not the test. The test is whether the search was reasonable. As a means of precaution it is always better for the officers to procure a search warrant for the search after the arrest has been effected and the vehicle moved from the scene of the arrest, but under the facts and circumstances of this case a search without a search warrant was reasonable. "
See also Godbee v. State, 224 So.2d 441 (Fla.App.1969), a well-reasoned opinion from which we quote with approval the following:
" The reasonableness of any search without a warrant is measured from the standpoint of the conduct of the searchers. If their conduct is in some way reprehensible; or if they precipitate a search and are motivated therein solely by a desire to "hunt" for incriminating evidence; or if they do so without any plausible explanation or justification; the invasion is an unreasonable one. Here the tests have been met, and there is no evidence in this record from which it can be said that the officers did not act in good faith and in the prudent discharge of their official duties. There [was] ample justification for taking the car into custody in the first place, and reasonable cause to inventory it. The trial court was correct in denying the motion to suppress. (224 So.2d at 443.)"
Accord Cooper v. California, 386 U.S. 58, 87 S.Ct. 788, 17 L.Ed.2d 730 (1967). We conclude that the inventory of the appellant's automobile was reasonable in its inception, a proper police practice, and that there was probable cause for the ensuing search subsequent to the discovery of the substance charged to be marijuana.
(243 So.2d at 398-99) (emphasis added.)
Officer Futral conducted an inventory search of the appellant's borrowed automobile shortly after his arrest by another officer for public drunkenness while the vehicle was still located at the scene of the accident. Officer Futral referred to it as an inventory search contemporaneous with allowing the wrecker service to remove the damaged automobile to a parking lot operated by the wrecker service. Officer Futral inventoried the interior of the automobile and found nothing except two or three eight-track tapes and then opened the trunk and found two pairs of new shoes lying in the trunk in plain view, which were later identified to be the shoes taken from Goldberg's store in a burglary that was committed no more than an hour and thirty-four minutes prior thereto. Officer Futral was called to the scene of the accident directly from the investigation of the Goldberg burglary, primarily because he had possession of the camera that was used by the Greenwood Police Department for taking pictures in accidents and for other purposes. Futral had no idea there was any connection between the 1973 Monte Carlo involved in the accident and the Goldberg burglary. The inventory conducted by Futral and other officers was a routine procedure followed by the Greenwood Police Department since 1968 and no wise carried out to circumvent any search requirements of the Fourth Amendment. This was established by Officer Futral and Chief of Police James Stevens of Greenville, Mississippi. In ruling upon the motion to suppress, the trial judge stated:
The Court is of the opinion that the police acted properly in this case; that had they done anything other than what they did, that is, open the car to try to find if any valuables were there, they would have been neglecting their duty.
What impresses the Court most about this is the fact that there was absolutely no apprehension on the part of the police that these two people who were in this wreck had anything to do with any crime, and that the reason for the opening of the trunk was non-crime related in any way to the incident for which they are now charged or for any other crime, to the Court's knowledge, and certainly not from what I've heard of the testimony.
Appellant contends that opening the trunk without a warrant was a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. The appel-lee relies upon the rule announced in South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364, 96 S.Ct. 3092, 49 L.Ed.2d 1000 (1976), and contends that the police officers here were making a routine inventory of the contents of the vehicle, a reasonable procedure not a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The accused's automobile in Opperman had been impounded for multiple parking violations and the police, following standard procedure, inventoried the contents of the car. In so doing, they discovered marijuana in the glove compartment. Opperman was subsequently arrested and convicted for possession of the contraband. His motion to suppress the evidence from the warrant-less inventory was denied. The State Supreme Court reversed on the ground that the evidence had been obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In reversing that decision, the United States Supreme Court held that the police procedures followed there did not involve an unreasonable search in violation of the Fourth Amendment, that the expectation of privacy in one's automobile is significantly less than that in one's own home or office. The Court further held that when vehicles are impounded, police routinely follow caretak-ing procedures by securing an inventory of the car's contents, and such procedures are reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. The United States Supreme Court in Opperman, supra, said:
When vehicles are impounded, local police departments generally follow a routine practice of securing and inventorying the automobiles' contents. These procedures developed in- response to three distinct needs: the protection of the owner's property while it remains in police custody. United States v. Mitchell, 458 F.2d 960, 961 (CA9 1972); the protection of the police against claims or disputes over lost or stolen property, United States v. Kelehar, 470 F.2d 176, 178 (CA5 1972); and the protection of the police from potential danger, Cooper v. California, supra [386 U.S.] at 61-62, 87 S.Ct. 788 [at 790-791] 17 L.Ed.2d 730. The practice has been viewed as essential to respond to incidents of theft or vandalism. See Cabbler v. Commonwealth, 212 Va. 520, 522, 184 S.E.2d 781, 782 (1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 1073, 92 S.Ct. 1501, 31 L.Ed.2d 807 (1972); Warrix v. State, 50 Wis.2d 368, 376, 184 N.W.2d 189, m194 (1971). In addition, police frequently attempt to determine whether a vehicle has been stolen and thereafter abandoned.
These caretaking procedures have almost uniformly been upheld by the state courts, which by virtue of the localized nature of traffic regulation have had considerable occasion to deal with the issue. Applying the Fourth Amendment standard of "reasonableness," the state courts have overwhelmingly concluded that, even if an inventory is characterized as a "search," the intrusion is constitutionally permissible. See, e.g., City of St. Paul v. Myles, 298 Minn. 298, 300-301, 218 N.W.2d 697, 699 (1974); State v. Tully, 166 Conn. 126, 136, 348 A.2d 603, 609 (1974); People v. Trusty, 183 Colo. 291, 296-297, 516 P.2d 423, 425-426 (1973); People v. Sullivan, 29 N.Y.2d 69, 73 [323 N.Y.S.2d 945, 947-49] 272 N.E.2d 464, 466 (1971); Cabbler v. Commonwealth, supra, Warrix v. State, supra, State v. Wallen, 185 Neb. 44, 173 N.W.2d 372, cert. denied, 399 U.S. 912, 90 S.Ct. 2211, 26 L.Ed.2d 568 (1970); State v. Criscola, 21 Utah 2d 272, 444 P.2d 517 (1968); State v. Montague, 73 Wash.2d 381, 438 P.2d 571 (1968); People v. Clark, 32 Ill.App.3d 898, 336 N.E.2d 892 (1975); State v. Achter, 512 S.W.2d 894 (Mo.App.1974); Bennett v. State, 507 P.2d 1252 (Okl.Cr.App.1973); People v. Willis, 46 Mich.App. 436, 208 N.W.2d 204 (1973); State v. All, 17 N.C.App. 284, 193 S.E.2d 770, cert. denied, 414 U.S. 866, 94 S.Ct. 51, 38 L.Ed.2d 85 (1973); Godbee v. State, 224 So.2d 441 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1969). Even the seminal state decision relied on by the South Dakota Supreme Court in reaching the contrary result, Mozzetti v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.3d 699 [94 Cal.Rptr. 412], 484 P.2d 84 (1971), expressly approved police caretaking activities resulting in the securing of property within the officer's plain view.
(428 U.S. at 369-371, 96 S.Ct. at 3097-3098, 49 L.Ed.2d at 1005-06)
In a later case, United States v. Edwards, 577 F.2d 883 (5th Cir. 1978), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, citing Opperman, supra, stated:
Our reading of Opperman, however, has led us to conclude that an inventory search may not be unlimited in scope. Once again, we are guided by the standard of reasonableness. Only so long as the scope of the search is reasonable, taking into consideration the three interests to be protected by the inventory, will it be held to be a constitutionally permissible intrusion. The complete dismantling of an automobile, or parts thereof, for example, would not withstand constitutional scrutiny because such action would not reasonably serve to promote or further the interests which justify an inventory search. Rather, the three interests set forth in Opperman can be adequately protected if the inventory search is limited in scope to those places within the interior or trunk of an automobile where, under the particular circumstances of the case, property of the owner or occupant can reasonably be expected to be found. The standard we advocate is necessarily flexible and is to be applied on a case by case basis, but it nevertheless adheres to the constitutional mandate that only unreasonable searches and seizures are prohibited.
The potential abuse inherent in the in-ventorial process, and the concomitant need to limit its scope, was recognized in this Circuit prior to sanction of the inventory search by our highest court in Opperman. We made the following observations in United States v. Gravitt, 484 F.2d 375, 380-81 (5th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1135, 94 S.Ct. 879, 38 L.Ed.2d 761 (1974):
"We are conscious, too, of the possibility that the police, in some circumstances warranting some limited form of inventory search, may often conduct searches which range beyond what is required by any legitimate police need . . But we are confident that here, as in other contexts, reviewing courts will be fully capable of assuring that the scope of the intrusions will be tailored to the specific public interests which lie at the root of the finding that the intrusions are reasonable."
We now turn to the facts of this case to determine whether the inventory search was reasonable. There can be no doubt that the search was thorough. The record reveals that the officers searched the glove compartment, the trunk, under the seats, and even the crevices between the seats. However, we refuse to necessarily equate thoroughness with unreasonableness. The reasonableness of the search of the automobile floor, under a loose "carpet flap" in particular, is the issue with which we are confronted today.
The starting point of our analysis is that the police in conducting an inventory search, may ordinarily inspect the glove compartment, the trunk, on top of the seats as well as under the front seats, and the floor of the automobile. An inspection of these areas is reasonable because these are common locations in or on which it is reasonably to be expected that the owner or occupant of an automobile may place items of personalty. The intrusion, although serious, is justified by the need to protect the police from claims. This is to say no more than in the typical case it is not unreasonable for the police to search such places while conducting an inventory, (emphasis added.) (577 F.2d at 893-94)
Opperman has been further construed and applied by the Supreme Court of Iowa in State v. Roth, 305 N.W.2d 501 (Iowa 1981), where the Court held that a warrant-less inventory of an automobile may extend into the vehicle's locked trunk, and even into a closed paper bag inside the trunk. In Roth, supra, the Court stated:
Differing from the probable cause and personal luggage cases, the impounded motor vehicle situation presents a practical problem for law officers. As in this case, officers must frequently remove occupants from vehicles at night on criminal charges. The vehicles can hardly be left unattended; they may be broken into or stripped. If the officers call third parties to tow in the vehicles, they run the risk that contents of the passenger and trunk compartments may disappear in the process, or even after the vehicles are stored. They also run the risk of claims that they themselves stole items from the compartments. The officers thus have the problem of how to protect themselves and their governmental units from civil liability. The former days are no more when the officers and their governmental units could interpose an absolute defense simply from the performance of a governmental function. See Franks v. Kohl, 286 N.W.2d 663, 666-71 (Iowa 1979) (liability of public officers); chs. 25A, 613A, The Code (governmental tort liability).
The United States Supreme Court took a practical approach to this problem in Cady v. Dombrowski, 413 U.S. 433, 93 S.Ct. 2523, 37 L.Ed.2d 706 (1973), and South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364, 96 S.Ct. 3092, 49 L.Ed.2d 1000 (1976). In both cases the Court brought out the practical problems we have described and found the particular searches to be reasonable under the circumstances. Dombrowski involved a variation of the situation; the officer believed the vehicle might contain a handgun which some third person might obtain and use. Opperman involved an inventory of the contents of a car which was twice ticketed for overparking within a single period. An officer observed a watch and other articles in the car. He thereupon had the car unlocked, and he inventoried its contents. In so doing, the officer came across marijuana in the unlocked glove compartment. The language used by the Court is quite broad, at least for the case in which officers follow standard procedures in taking inventory of the contents of impounded vehicles. Thus see id. at 373, 96 S.Ct. at 3099, 49 L.Ed.2d at 1007: "In applying the reasonableness standard adopted by the Framers, this Court has consistently sustained police intrusions into automobiles impounded or otherwise in lawful police custody where the process is aimed at securing or protecting the car and its contents."
Justice Powell was one of the five-justice majority in Opperman. He filed a concurring opinion. We do not understand, however, that he questioned the Court's opinion. Rather, he gave additional reasons for the result. His introductory statement was this: "While I join the opinion of the Court, I add this opinion to express additional views as to why the search conducted in this case is valid under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments." Id. at 376, 96 S.Ct. at 3101, 49 L.Ed.2d at 1009. We thus have an opinion joined in by five justices upholding an inventory search of an impounded motor vehicle.
(305 N.W.2d at 504-505)
This Court used the rationale of Opper-man in affirming a thirty-year sentence for armed robbery in the very recent decision of Florence v. State, 397 So.2d 1105 (Miss.1981).
In view of the facts and circumstances in the present case, the Court finds the trial judge properly denied the motion to suppress the shoes recovered from the automobile defendant was driving because it was the officer's duty to protect any valuables within the automobile at the time it was under the control of the Greenwood Police Department.
The remaining question is, did the trial court err in granting the state's Instruction No. 2, which is set out in full as follows:
The Court instructs the jury that the possession of property recently stolen is a circumstance which may be considered by the jury and from which, in the absence of a reasonable explanation, the jury may infer guilt.
The language that was contained in this instruction is the same that was interpreted and spelled out in Hall v. State, infra, and Fletcher v. State, infra, and was discussed by this Court when it condemned a much more lengthy instruction than was approved in Hall and Fletcher. We quote from Harper v. State, 355 So.2d 314 (Miss.1978), wherein this Court stated:
This instruction as written was objectionable for several reasons. It certainly is not in keeping with the approved instructions set out in Hall v. State, 279 So.2d 915 (Miss.1973) where we stated:
"An instruction which correctly states the principles of law applicable to cases involving possession of recently stolen property is set forth in Fletcher v. State, 168 Miss. 361, 151 So. 477 (1933), the instruction being as follows:
"... 'The Court instructs the jury that the possession of property recently stolen is a circumstance which may be considered by the jury and from which, in the absence of a reasonable explanation, the jury may infer guilt of larceny. (168 Miss. at 365, 151 So. at 478.'
"In proper cases the instruction may be given as approved in Fletcher, but no attempt should be made to enlarge the scope of the instruction or to experiment with a change in language. (279 So.2d at 916)."
The purpose of setting out the foregoing form of instruction was for the guidance of the trial judges and those prosecuting for the state. While Hall was a larceny case, the same type of instruction applies to a crime involving a charge of burglary which is based upon possession of recently stolen property taken in the burglary. The instruction must be amended to encompass the charge of burglary instead of larceny. The whole purpose of the Hall admonition was to inform the trial judges and district attorneys that the instruction should inform the jury that the possession of property recently stolen is only a circumstance to be considered by the jury and in the absence of reasonable explanation the jury may infer guilt of burglary. Under the circumstances of this case the giving of the instruction complained of was reversible error.
(355 So.2d at 316) (emphasis added.)
Defendant argues the instruction was improper because it allowed the jury to infer guilt of the burglary while mere possession of recently stolen property raises no inference of a burglarious breaking and entering, which is an essential element of the crime. One fallacy in defendant's argument is that it overlooks the well-settled proposition that instructions must be read together and considered as a whole. Cowan v. State, 399 So.2d 1346 (Miss.1981). Appellant would have us overlook the fact that the appellant sought and obtained Instructions Nos. D-11 and D-13. Instruction D-11 is as follows:
The defendant, Stephen Robinson, has been charged by an indictment with the crime of burglary by breaking and entering Goldberg's Department Store, 501 Howard Street, Greenwood, Mississippi, in which goods and merchandise were kept for sale, with the intent to steal said goods and merchandise.
If you find from the evidence in this case beyond a reasonable doubt and to the exclusion of every other reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence that: (1) Goldberg's Department Store, 501 Howard Street, Greenwood, Mississippi, was the property of Ervin Goldberg, and (2) defendant broke and entered the department store by throwing a brick through a plate glass window, and (3) shoes were kept there for sale and use, and (4) defendant intended to steal or carry away the shoes, which is a felony under the laws of Mississippi, then you shall find the defendant guilty of burglary-
If the State has failed to prove any one or more of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt and to the exclusion of every other reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence, then you shall find the defendant not guilty of burglary, (emphasis added.)
Instruction D-13 goes further and states the following:
The Court instructs the Jury that you cannot convict this defendant unless you believe beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty that Stephen Robinson actually broke and entered, with the intent to steal, a certain building commonly known, called and being Goldberg's Department Store, the property of Ervin Goldberg at 501 Howard Street, Greenwood, Mississippi, or that he planned or assisted in or abetted the breaking thereof, and under no other state of facts can you convict this defendant of burglary. (emphasis added.)
These instructions, when considered as a whole, would seem to cure the problem of which appellant complains as to what the jury must find regarding the intent of breaking and entering to commit the crime of burglary which was the charge in this case.
It is further noted that Instruction S-l, as given by the court, deals with the question also and is quoted in full as follows:
The Court instructs the jury that if you believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt and to the exclusion of every reasonable hypothesis consistent (sic) that the Defendant, Stephen Robinson, did unlawfully, feloniously, wilfully and burglariously break and enter Gold berg's Shoe Store, owned by Ervin Goldberg, in which building goods, wares, chattels, merchandise and other things of value, the property of Ervin Goldberg, were kept for use or sale, with the felonious intent to take, steal and carry away said goods, wares, chattels, merchandise or other things of value kept in said building, then it is your sworn duty to find the Defendant, Stephen Robinson, guilty as charged, (emphasis added.)
In disposing of a similar question before this Court in 1981, Cowan v. State, supra, this Court said:
Although appellants shoot with a scatter-barrel gun under this assignment of error and do not draw a bead on any particular instruction, the gist of their argument seems to be that nowhere in the instructions was there a statement that the culpable negligence of the appellants, if any, must be the proximate cause of the fatal collision.
If this be the appellants' criticism of the instructions, the answer is that instructions S-1 (as to Fader), and S-3 (as to Cowan) and appellants' own instructions (D-10 as to Cowan) and (D-29 as to Fader), inform the jury in very clear and positive terms that the evidence must show beyond a reasonable doubt that the fatal collision was the direct result of the culpable negligence of the defendants before a verdict of guilty could be returned against them, and that their culpable negligence must have been the proximate cause of the death of Partee DePriest.
This Court has repeatedly held that instructions must be read and considered as a whole and that when the jury is properly instructed considering all the instructions there is no error. Hutchinson v. State, 391 So.2d 637 (Miss.1980).
(399 So.2d at 1350)
Instruction No. 2, when read together with Instructions Nos. D-11, D-13 and S-1 correctly stated the applicable law and this assignment of error is without merit.
For the reasons stated, the conviction and sentence of Stephen Robinson are affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
PATTERSON, C. J., SMITH and SUGG, P. JJ., and WALKER, BROOM, ROY NOBLE LEE, BOWLING and HAWKINS, JJ., concur.