Court Opinion

ID: 9551461
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:53:54.205018+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:23:53.767023
License: Public Domain

Thompson, C. J.,
dissenting:
This court is requested to release Charles Ray Edwards from prison for the reason that his guilt of the offense of burglary was not proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The evidence against him was wholly circumstantial and the issue is whether the circumstances were sufficiently strong to exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. I would hold that they were not of that character and, therefore, would reverse his conviction and order his immediate release from confinement. State v. Gray, 23 Nev. 301, 303, 46 P. 801 (1896); State v. Cerfoglio, 46 Nev. 332, 350, 213 P. 102 (1923); Roybal v. People, 496 P.2d 1019 (Colo. 1972).
At approximately 5:30 a.m. on July 8, 1972, police officers, in response to a silent burglar alarm, were dispatched to the premises of Roxy’s Cleaners and Laundry in Las Vegas. Upon arrival, they saw Edwards on the roof of that establishment. One of the officers climbed onto the roof, noticed an open vent and a pile of clothing five to seven feet from the vent. Edwards was immediately arrested for burglary. His acquaintance, *265James Bruce Bolden, was caught inside the building with money from the cash register in his possession. He also was arrested for burglary and subsequently pleaded guilty.
At the trial of Edwards, Bolden testified that he, Bolden, had entered the cleaners through the roof vent, and had placed the clothes on the roof himself. Edwards testified that shortly before the incident, and while drinking with his wife and Bolden at Henry’s Bar, he had advised Bolden against “looking at” Roxy’s. Nonetheless, he learned soon thereafter that Bolden was seen on the roof of Roxy’s. Consequently he, Edwards, left the bar to get Bolden off the roof.
Dusting for fingerprints around the vent and cash register was not productive. Edwards was not seen to either enter or leave the building. He was not in actual possession of the clothes on the roof of the building or of any article belonging to the cleaning establishment or its customers. Cf. State v. Watkins, 11 Nev. 30, 37 (1876). Neither was there direct evidence that he aided or abetted Bolden in committing the burglary. NRS 195.020; State v. Logan, 59 Nev. 24, 31, 83 P.2d 1035 (1938); McWilliams v. State, 87 Nev. 302, 486 P.2d 481 (1971).
Edwards’ presence on the roof of Roxy’s near the pile of clothes along with his acquaintance with Bolden were, without question, highly suspicious circumstances. Yet, they do not prove beyond a reasonable doubt his entry into the building. Such proof is required as an essential element of burglary. NRS 205.060(1). Of course, circumstantial evidence may possess such strength as to establish entry beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Watkins, supra (where the defendant was in actual possession of articles which could only have been obtained by entering the structure); Burkett v. State, 82 Nev. 383, 418 P.2d 991 (1966). That character of evidence does not appear in the record before us.
In 1923, this court wrote: “. . . there can be no conviction where the circumstances, though they create a strong suspicion of guilt, are as consistent with the theory of innocence as they are with the theory of guilt. In this case the State’s testimony is consistent with the theory of guilt, but is also consistent with that of innocence. For the reason given, the verdict and judgment are reversed, and the trial court is directed to dismiss the case and discharge the defendant.” State v. Cerfoglio, 46 Nev. 332, 350, 213 P. 102 (1923).
Proof that stands no higher than the level of suspicion, surmise or conjecture has insufficient substance to form the basis *266for a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. Roybal v. People, 496 P.2d 1019 (Colo. 1972).
Respectfully, I dissent.