Opinion ID: 2288535
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defendant's Motion for a Directed Verdict

Text: The defendant's first exception is to the denial of his motion for a directed verdict at the close of the state's case. There is no dispute about the applicable rule governing the duty of the trial justice in passing on a motion for a directed verdict. The defendant concedes that in passing on such a motion in a criminal case, neither the credibility of the witnesses nor the weight of the testimony is before the court, but that the trial justice must give full credibility to the state's evidence, view it in the light most favorable to the state and draw therefrom every reasonable inference consistent with guilt. State v. Lisi, 105 R.I. 516, 253 A.2d 239; State v. Contreras, 105 R.I. 523, 253 A.2d 612. The defendant bases the instant exception on his claim that there is a material variance between the allegations of the indictment as to the ownership of the building broken into and the proof submitted thereof. He argues in substance that the indictment alleges ownership in Avery & Adams, Inc., that such allegation of ownership is an essential allegation of the indictment and the proof must conform thereto; and that the uncontroverted evidence is that the premises were owned not by the corporation, but by Charles H. Hoelck, its president and sole stockholder. He concludes that this variance was material and therefore fatal. We do not agree with defendant's claim that the indictment alleges ownership in Avery & Adams, Inc., and, consequently, cannot agree with his conclusion that there is a variance between the allegation in the indictment referring to the building as the building of Avery & Adams Inc., a corporation and the proof that the building was owned by Charles H. Hoelck, and occupied by Avery & Adams, Inc. We interpret the allegation, in question as referring to occupancy, rather than to ownership. In other words, in describing the building broken into, the grand jury chose to refer to the occupants of the building, rather than to the owner or owners thereof, for purposes of identification. This interpretation finds support in the record which indicates that the state knew who owned the building and who occupied it. The complaint and warrant, which was issued by the District Court of the Third Judicial District (presently known as the Fourth division) upon the complaint of a captain of the Westerly Police Department, refers to the premises in question as    the business place of Avery and Adams Inc. Charles Hoelck, President, located in a building owned by Charles Hoelck   . So viewed, there is no variance between the allegation in the indictment and the proof. However, this raises the question whether the ownership of the building broken into is a material element of the offense for which defendant was indicted. If it is, then the state's failure to prove this element may entitle defendant to a directed verdict. We note at the outset that defendant is not charged with burglary, which is defined at common law as    the breaking and entering the dwelling-house of another in the night time with the intent to commit a felony therein, whether the felony be actually committed or not. State v. Hudson, 53 R.I. 229, 230, 165 A. 649, 650. The penalties for common-law burglary have been codified in Rhode Island under G.L. 1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 11-8-1: Every person who shall commit burglary shall be imprisoned for life or for any term not less than five (5) years. The indictment in the case at bar charges defendant with the commission of an offense in violation of § 11-8-4 (1969 Reenactment), which, in pertinent part, reads as follows: Every person who shall break and enter any bank, shop, office or warehouse, not adjoining to or occupied as a dwelling house    in the nighttime, with intent to commit    larceny, shall be imprisoned not exceeding ten (10) years. Whatever the rule may be elsewhere with regard to the crime of burglary, [1] there is nothing in the language of § 11-8-4 from which it can be implied or inferred that ownership of the building involved is an essential or material element of the offense therein set forth. The common-law crime of burglary, on the contrary, involves the dwelling-house of another. State v. Hudson, supra. No words of ownership are present in § 11-8-4. Accordingly, we hold that under § 11-8-4, neither an allegation of ownership, nor proof thereof is necessary; all that is required is that there be sufficient identification of the premises (1) to inform the defendant of the charge against him so that he may prepare his defense, and (2) to protect the defendant against a second trial for the same offense, that is, to protect him against double jeopardy. In the case at bar there is no question as to the identity of the building, and the description of the building was sufficient to inform defendant of the charge against him and to protect him against double jeopardy. Additionally, the language of the indictment was sufficient to apprise defendant of the fact that the building did not belong to him. The defendant cites a 1955 Illinois case, People v. Walker, 7 Ill.2d 158, 130 N.E.2d 182, in his argument that ownership of the building is essential and that the proof must conform to the charge. However, defendant's reliance on Walker is of no help to him, as is seen by a reading of a later Illinois case. In 1961, the Supreme Court of Illinois, in an opinion by Mr. Justice Schaefer, said in People v. Stewart, 23 Ill.2d 161, 177 N.E.2d 237, that an indictment charging that defendant burglariously entered a building occupied and in possession of a named corporation was sufficient even though there was no allegation of ownership of the building involved. The court said that the two-fold purpose of the ownership requirement, to enable the accused to prepare for trial, and to guard against double jeopardy, were satisfied by proof of occupancy and possession. When an allegation of ownership may be established, not by proof of ownership but by proof of occupancy and possession, a requirement that ownership must be alleged has become an empty formality. The premises involved are effectively identified, and the rights of the accused are fully protected by an indictment that charges the unlawful entry of a building in the possession of another. Id. at 168, 177 N.E.2d at 241. The Illinois court also rejected the claim that ownership be required in order to show that the building was not the property of the accused and to negative his right to enter. The court cited with approval an opinion by Mr. Justice Burch of the Supreme Court of Kansas, where he pointed out in State v. Toliver, 109 Kan. 660, 202 P. 99, 102, that both purposes were served by an indictment that alleged occupation and use of the building rather than its ownership. Since there was evidence in the record pertaining to occupation of the building by Avery & Adams, Inc., the trial justice found that a reasonable inference of guilt could have been drawn. For the aforementioned reasons, we hold that the trial justice did not err in denying defendant's motion for a directed verdict.