Wilton Arthur Welch, Jr. v. United States

Appellant, having waived jury trial, was found guilty of receiving and selling a stolen vehicle in violation of 18 U.S. C.A. Section 2313. His appeal is based on a claim of insufficiency of the evidence in that the proof failed with respect to requisite knowledge on his part that the vehicle had been stolen.

It is clear that such knowledge may be established by circumstantial evidence and that possession of a stolen vehicle recently after its theft justifies the inference that the possession is guilty possession. This evidence may be of controlling weight unless it can be explained in some way…