Case Name: STATE of Louisiana v. Russell L. ENNIS
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1982-05-17
Citations: 414 So. 2d 661
Docket Number: No. 81-KA-2042
Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Russell L. ENNIS.
Judges: LEMMON, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 414
Pages: 661–666

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana v. Russell L. ENNIS.
No. 81-KA-2042.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
May 17, 1982.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., John Mamoul-ides, Dist. Atty., Abbott J. Reeves, Stephen Wimberly, William Credo, III, Asst. Dist. Attys., for plaintiff-appellee.
C. Joseph Murray, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.

Opinion:
DENNIS, Justice.
Defendant, Russell Ennis, was convicted by a judge of receiving stolen things, La. R.S. 14:69, and sentenced to two years at hard labor. We reverse his conviction and sentence because the evidence does not warrant a finding beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew or had good reason to believe the thing, a 1976 Camaro automobile, was stolen when he received it.
La.R.S. 14:69 provides, in pertinent part: "Receiving stolen things is the intentional procuring, receiving, or concealing of anything of value which has been the subject of any robbery or theft, under circumstances which indicate that the offender knew or had good reason to believe that the thing was the subject of one of the offenses."
Defendant concedes that the state proved he was in possession of an automobile, that the automobile had value and was the subject of a theft. He contends, however, that there was no evidence to show that he knew or had good reason to believe that the automobile had been stolen.
The state called two witnesses at defendant's trial. The first was a deputy of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, who testified that on January 6, 1981 he observed a silver Camaro westbound on Interstate 10 with no tail lights. The car drove off the exit ramp onto Causeway Boulevard where it was stopped by the deputy. Ennis, the driver of the automobile, could not produce registration papers for the car. The Deputy could not remember whether the defendant told him that the papers were at his house or that the man who sold him the car was going to take care of the paper work. A computer check revealed the car had been stolen from Jimmy Mumphrey. The deputy advised defendant of his rights and placed him under arrest.
The state's second witness was Jimmy Mumphrey, the owner of the stolen vehicle. He testified that he purchased the car in June of 1979 for $2,900 and that it had been stolen in December of 1980. Mumphrey recalled that the registration papers had been in the glove compartment of the car when it was taken.
At the close of the state's case, defense counsel moved for an acquittal based on the contention that the state had failed to show that the defendant knew or had good reason to believe the car was stolen. The motion was denied.
One witness was called for the defense. Barbara Teston, the defendant's fiancee, testified that she had been at Ennis's house on the 29th or 30th of December, 1980 when a man who had identified himself as Jimmy Mumphrey was also there. He was driving a silver Camaro and took Ms. Teston and the defendant for a ride in the car. She testified that the Jimmy Mumphrey who had testified for the state was not the Jimmy Mumphrey she had met at her fiance's house.
Ms. Teston further testified that on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1980 or New Year's Day, January 1, 1981, Ennis and the person she knew as Mumphrey discussed the sale of the Camaro while at a bar where Ms. Teston worked. According to her testimony, Ennis gave Mumphrey $1,000 cash for the car. She did not see any papers transferred, but understood when the two men left that they were going to take care of the paper work. She saw her fiance later that night but he had not received any papers as of that time.
In State v. Walker, 350 So.2d 176 (La.1977), this court held that " R.S. 14:69 does not create any presumptions and the State must prove that the accused actually knew or had good reason to believe that the property had been stolen before a conviction under La., R.S. 14:69 can be obtained." We have also held that mere possession of stolen property does not create a presumption that the person in possession of the property received it with knowledge that it was stolen by someone else. State v. Nguyen, 367 So.2d 342 (La.1979); State v. Walker, supra, at 178.
The state argues that a person who purchases a car for $1,000 without receiving ownership papers has good reason to believe the car to be stolen. The state established that the owner of the 1976 Camaro purchased it in 1979 for $2,900. The owner testified that the fiberglass in the front of the car had a crack in it when he bought it. When it was returned to him after the theft both front fenders were dented and the back of the car had been damaged. He testified that this additional damage was not present at the time it was stolen. There was no testimony regarding the condition of the car at the time of the alleged sale to the defendant. The state did not establish the value of the car at the time of the arrest of the defendant. Therefore, we are unable to conclude that the price paid by defendant was so unusually low as to give the defendant good reason to believe the car to be stolen.
A person who purchases a car without receiving ownership papers may have reason to suspect that the car was the sub ject of a theft. However, in order to obtain a conviction of receiving stolen things, the state must prove that the defendant knew or had good reason to believe the thing to be stolen. Mere suspicion, not rising to the level of certainty required to form a belief, is not enough. See, W. LaFave and A. Scott, Criminal Law, § 93, at 685, 686 (1972).
It is the defense position that R.S. 15:438 and Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), require a reversal of the conviction. Under the Jackson standard, the appropriate question is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could conclude that the state proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Guillot, 389 So.2d 68 (La.1980).
Regarding circumstantial evidence, R.S. 15:438 sets forth the rule that, in order to convict, the evidence must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Under Jackson, the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution and from the viewpoint of a rational trier of fact. Therefore, when we review a conviction based upon circumstantial evidence we must determine that, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a reasonable trier of fact could have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that every reasonable hypothesis of innocence had been excluded. State v. Austin, 399 So.2d 158, 160 (La.1981).
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we think that a rational trier of fact would have failed to conclude that beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant knew or had good reason to believe the vehicle had been stolen when he acquired it. Defendant's fiancee testified she saw him purchase the car for $1,000. Considering that the vehicle was about five years old and damaged, this price does not necessarily indicate that the auto had been the subject of a theft. The state proved that the defendant did not have a title certificate with him when he was arrested, but the evidence fails to establish that defendant acquired the vehicle without obtaining a title certificate or a bill of sale. Even if the defendant did not obtain a title certificate at the time of sale, this in itself did not furnish good reason for him to believe the car had been stolen. The defendant purchased the car on New Year's Day, only five days before his arrest. To experience a short delay in obtaining title papers to a car does not necessarily give a person good reason to believe the vehicle has been stolen. Without additional circumstantial evidence concerning the defendant's acquisition of the automobile, we conclude that the state's proof of the crime is not constitutionally sufficient in this case.
Accordingly, the defendant's conviction and sentence are reversed.
REVERSED.
LEMMON, J., concurs.
LANIER, J. Pro Tem., dissents with reasons.
Judges Walter I. Lanier, Jr. of the Court of Appeal, First Circuit and Fred S. Bowes and Nestor L. Currault, Jr. of the Court of Appeal, Fifth Circuit, participated in this decision as Associate Justices pro tempore, joined by Associate Justices Calogero, Dennis, Blanche and Lemmon.