Opinion ID: 901120
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Whether the trial court erred in denying the defendant's Motion for Judgment of Acquittal.

Text: [¶ 37.] At trial Talarico moved for judgment of acquittal. The court denied Talarico's motion. On appeal Talarico asserts that the trial court erred. Talarico claims that there was insufficient evidence to corroborate Lakin's testimony connecting Talarico to the crimes. [¶ 38.] The standard of review for a motion for acquittal is whether [the] State set forth sufficient evidence from which the jury could reasonably find the defendant guilty of the crime charged. State v. Larson, 1998 SD 80, ¶ 9, 582 N.W.2d 15, 17 (citations omitted). The trial court found as a matter of law that Lakin was an accomplice. Under SDCL 23A-22-8: A conviction cannot be had upon the testimony of an accomplice unless it is corroborated by other evidence which tends to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense. The corroboration is not sufficient if it merely shows the commission of the offense, or the circumstances thereof. [¶ 39.] Corroborating evidence need not be sufficient alone to sustain a conviction. State v. Phyle, 444 N.W.2d 380, 382 (S.D.1989). Evidence is sufficient to corroborate the testimony of an accomplice if it tends to affirm the truth of the testimony of the accomplice and establish the guilt of the accused. Id. Whether corroborating evidence is sufficient is a question for the jury. Id. After a review of the record we are convinced that the corroborating evidence, although not overwhelming, was sufficient to satisfy SDCL 23A-22-8. [¶ 40.] Lakin was the primary witness in the state's case-in-chief. At trial Lakin testified to a series of burglaries which she claimed were committed by the defendant. Lakin testified as to the location of the thefts, the items taken, and the disposition of the stolen goods. Lakin testified that the first of three incidences took place in early August at a construction job site. As recounted by Lakin, Talarico kicked in the door to the garage breaking the doorknob and the lock box. Talarico entered the garage and took a table saw. He scratched the company name off of the saw so that it could be pawned, and pawned it in Rapid City. [¶ 41.] Lakin testified that after Talarico pawned the table saw, they went to another house that was under construction. Talarico entered the garage and stole a black air compressor and put it in the trunk of the car. This time it was Lakin who pawned the stolen item at a different Rapid City pawn shop. Lakin stated that the air compressor was too heavy for her to lift so Talarico lifted the compressor in and out of the trunk, but that she was able to drag it on its wheels into the pawnshop. [¶ 42.] Lakin described a third incident which took place at a home that was also under construction. According to Lakin, Talarico entered the construction trailer on the site and took a miter saw. They left the home and later, Talarico decided he wanted to return to the same site. They returned and stole a laser transit. Talarico pawned the miter saw in Spearfish, South Dakota and the laser transit was pawned by Lakin in Gillette, Wyoming. [¶ 43.] At trial the state presented eleven witnesses in its case-in-chief including Lakin. Although not every piece of Lakin's testimony was corroborated, such is not the standard. At trial the testimony presented by the state was enough to confirm the truth of the accomplice testimony and establish the guilt of the defendant. [¶ 44.] The locations, descriptions of the scene, identification of the property stolen and the fact the property was pawned was substantiated from the testimony of nine other witnesses. The testimony present by the state was as follows: 1. Dale Tipton, testified that a laser transit and a miter saw had been stolen from his construction site. Mr. Tipton testified that he found the door to his construction trailer open, the padlock was broken and his laser transit and miter saw were missing. 2. Jeff Mehlhaff gave testimony that a Makita table saw was stolen from the garage of a house he was building. Mr. Mehlhaff testified that he found his doorknob broken and his lock box lying on the ground. 3. William McCarty, testified that his air compressor had been stolen. Mr. McCarty recalled that it weighed approximately 85 pounds. 4. Alton Shumaker, a pawnbroker at a pawnshop in Spearfish, SD, testified that a miter saw was pawned by a gentleman he identified as Ronald Talarico. 5. Dick Baker, a pawnbroker at a pawnshop in Gillette, Wyoming, testified that a woman pawned a laser transit at his shop. 6. Stanley Butolth, a pawnbroker in Rapid City, South Dakota, testified that it was Ronald Talarico who pawned a table saw in early August. 7. Deputy Sheriff Rhoden responded to the call that there had been a burglary. Rhoden met with Dale and Shawn Tipton. Rhoden testified that at the scene he determined that the burglar obtained entry by prying loose a padlock on the trailer. 8. Deputy Sheriff Beug responded to the call that there had been a theft at the Mehlhaff site. Beug testified that when he arrived at the scene he noticed that the garage door had been kicked in. Beug recalled seeing a key box on the ground. 9. Deputy Sheriff Harmon investigated the thefts. Harmon testified that he interviewed Lakin. Lakin agreed to take Harmon to the locations of the burglaries. Harmon testified that he talked with the victims. Harmon described his role in contacting the pawn shops and recovering some of the stolen property. Harmon's testimony basically described how he had proceeded in investigating the crime. [¶ 45.] The evidence placed the defendant in the area at the time the thefts were committed. Two witnesses identified the defendant in possession of stolen property. Property that was stolen from the same site was pawned by both Lakin and Talarico. The court properly instructed the jury that accomplice testimony must be corroborated and to determine if there is evidence apart from the accomplice testimony to connect the defendant to the crime. [4] We find there was sufficient evidence to corroborate Lakin's testimony. We affirm.