Court Opinion

ID: 9616176
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 04:44:01.348426+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:03:55.814438
License: Public Domain

On motion for rehearing.
MacIntyre, P. J.
If the defendant was found in the possession of the cigarettes recently stolen from the building at the time of the burglary in question, such possession is sufficient to connect the defendant with the perpetration of the offense of burglary. While not of itself conclusive, it would authorize, but not require, the jury to- infer that the defendant was guilty unless he explained his possession of the cigarettes to the satisfaction of the jury. Gravitt v. State, 114 Ga. 841 (40 S. E. 1003); Morris v. State, 47 Ga. App. 792 (171 S. E. 555); Lewis v. State, 120 Ga. 508 (48 S. E. 227).
The jury was unquestionably authorized to find that the defendant, Annis, was in the possession of the recently stolen cigarettes in question, stolen at the time of the burglary. The defendant says his possession was explained by the direct and positive testimony of Lee Williams and Perk Best and that the jury is forbidden to arbitrarily disregard such testimony which was wholly unimpeached, uncontradicted, and in no way discredited, and that the jury, in finding him guilty, violated the rule that uncontradicted testimony of unimpeached witnesses can not lawfully be arbitrarily disregarded. This rule was not applicable to’ the testimony of Lee Williams for a least one reason, because Williams had been discredited by a conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude. The burglary was committed on Sunday night and the jury was authorized to find, relative to the witness Perk Best, that on this same night, the defendant and Best met at about 11:30 p.m.; that they soon were joined by Lee Williams; that Best and Williams departed in the defendant’s car, Best driving; that they returned with two cases of the cigarettes *199which had been stolen from the building in question and thereupon Best and the defendant went to the home of the defendant, unloaded the cigarettes and then changed cars, using the car of the defendant’s brother, to go to the home of Pink Griffin, several miles away; and, at about 12:30 at night the defendant bargained with Griffin to sell, below cost, some of the cigarettes which had been stolen from the building in question; Best accompanied the defendant on this trip; the cigarettes bargained for were to be delivered to Griffin the next day, Monday; when the cigarettes were accordingly delivered at about 10 a.m., Best again accompanied the defendant; and when it was later discovered that the stolen cigarettes had not been stamped, at the suggestion of the defendant, he and Griffin went to Tifton to see Best to obtain stamps for such cigarettes; they found Best and he went away and returned with Williams and delivered to them the stamps for the cigarettes; that it developed that these stamps, which they obtained from Best were stamps which had been stolen at the same time and place that the cigarettes themselves had been stolen.
Thus Best seems to have been connected with the possession of the stolen cigarettes and stamps from the night of the burglary until the cigarettes were delivered to Griffin on Monday and the stamps were delivered to him on Tuesday.
If, in fact, Best was a co-conspirator and participated as such in the burglarious enterprise, the fact that he testified for the State and was not indicted does not change the situation so as to prevent the jury from finding that such acts as were done by Best were in the prosecution of the burglarious enterprise in question; nor does the further fact that Griffin was indicted and pleaded guilty or was convicted of receiving stolen goods change the situation. Thus, if the jury was authorized to find that Best was a co-conspirator in the perpetration of the burglary, the jury was authorized to discredit his testimony, and the rule against arbitrarily disbelieving a witness, as here sought to be invoked, is not applicable.
This and all other matters in the motion having been considered, the motion for rehearing is denied.

Rehearing denied.

Sutton, C. J., Gardner and Worrill, JJ., concur. Felton and Townsend, JJ., dissent.