Commonwealth v. Lewis

PALMORE, Justice.

In May of 1975 the Harlan County grand jury indicted Carlos Lee Lewis and J. Til-don Crase for knowingly receiving stolen property (an automobile) worth $100 or more in violation of KRS 433.290. 1 The indictment stated that the property “had been stolen from Mildred Dishner of Duf-field, Virginia.”

KRS 433.290 provided that the offender “shall be liable to the same punishment as the person stealing it. . although the principal offender has not been convicted.” KRS 433.220, the statute covering grand larceny and automobile theft, called for a penalty of one to five years’…