Davis v. State

Banke, Judge.

The defendant was convicted of theft by receiving stolen property solely upon evidence which showed his arrest while driving an automobile recently stolen from a used car lot. The state’s theory of prosecution relied upon defendant’s "recent possession” of the stolen property, and the trial court charged that such evidence "would be a circumstance along with other evidence in the case from which the jury may infer guilt.” Held:

"Proof of recent possession alone, while sufficient to authorize an inference of guilt as to the principal thief, is not without proof of circumstances…