Opinion ID: 734228
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Possession of Stolen Goods

Text: 24 Kim claims that the Government presented insufficient evidence at trial to support the jury's verdict that the goods found in the PSM storage locker were stolen. We disagree and hold that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's decision. 25 Initially, the parties stipulated that various containers of goods, bearing certain identification numbers, were stolen from particular terminals and truck drivers on particular dates. With regard to the Campbell and Hausfeld tools, the parties stipulated that: On May 13, 1995, container number NYKU6983889, which was loaded with approximately 1,789 cartons of 'Campbell and Hausfeld' tools, was stolen from Pacific Rim Transportation yard.... 26 Wee testified that he first handled goods for Kim during the end of April or early May 1995 and that he inventoried a 40-foot container of tools at Seaway warehouse on a Saturday in mid-May 1995. He stated that it contained approximately ten different types of tools, including drills, flashlights and pumps and that these tools were subsequently moved to the PSM storage units. 27 Sang Ha Lee (Lee), President of Seaway, testified that the defendant contacted him to negotiate a price for the loading and transloading of various 40-foot containers of goods. According to Lee, the tools arrived on a Saturday and consisted of different types of hand tools. 28 Officer Garcia testified that his search of the storage locker revealed a large number of cardboard boxes, all containing various types of Campbell and Hausfeld tools and fittings. At trial, he identified a number of photographs depicting the recovered tools. 29 Danny Eckel (Eckel), the manager of International Logistics for Campbell and Hausfeld, testified that sometime after the theft, Pacific Rim Transport returned the goods to him. After conducting three separate inventories of the returned goods, including one by an independent surveyor, Campbell and Hausfeld concluded that they were the goods from the stolen containers. Of particular importance to this determination was the existence of a unique packaging color sleeve found on one of the tools recovered from the stolen container. As Eckel testified, [t]his was the only time that the packaging itself was brought in alone. And it was only on this container. 30 Eckel also confirmed that part numbers on the cartons depicted in photographs of the stolen goods were numbers for the same type of items found in the stolen container. He testified that the value of the recovered items was about $37,000 less than the approximately $220,000 value of the stolen container. 31 Although the Government never presented direct evidence that the stolen tools were the same tools recovered from Kim's storage locker, we must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the United States. See Shortt, 785 F.2d at 1453. Kim argues that the sum total of the evidence presented at trial does not enable us to infer that the goods recovered from his locker were the ones in the stolen container. 32 However, this theory would require us to hold that absent direct proof of theft, such as matching serial numbers, the government could never prove that element of the crime. This is incorrect, as the Government may prove the existence of stolen goods by demonstrating that the recovered material is similar to the stolen items. See United States v. Eagleston, 417 F.2d 11, 15 (10th Cir.1969) (holding that when recovered clothing resembled stolen goods and inventory confirmed that the style, size, and color were similar, evidence was sufficient to support inference that goods were stolen); Doss v. United States, 355 F.2d 663, 665 (8th Cir.1966) (same); Marifian v. United States, 82 F.2d 628, 629 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 298 U.S. 686, 56 S.Ct. 956, 80 L.Ed. 1406 (1936) (holding that similarity of cartons, brands and labels was sufficient to establish that recovered items were goods reported stolen). 33 The evidence presented at trial illustrated that: Kim possessed Campbell and Hausfeld tools at around the same time that a container of Campbell and Hausfeld tools were stolen; one of the recovered goods had a distinctive packaging that was used only in the stolen container; the value of the recovered goods was greater than 80% of the original value of the goods in the stolen container; and part numbers for the stolen goods corresponded with the numbers for the items found in the recovered container. Consequently, the evidence supported the jury's finding that the goods recovered from the PSM storage locker were those stolen from Pacific Rim.