Commonwealth v. Simmons

Opinion by

Spaeth, J.,

This case presents the issue of the permissible extent of the use of the fact of possession of recently stolen property to conclude that the possessor is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes of larceny (theft by unlawful taking or disposition),1 burglary,2 and receiving stolen property.3 Hopefully, the relatively simple factual situation will enable us to untangle a series of interrelated appellate decisions in this area.

On June 14, 1973, at 6:27 a.m., a police officer saw four men, one of whom was appellant, pushing a wagon with a refrigerator in it. The…