State v. Smith

OPINION

JACKSON, Judge:

Defendant, Rodney W. Smith, appeals his conviction of theft, a second degree felony, in violation of Utah Code Ann. § 76-6-404 (1990). We reverse and remand for a new trial.

FACTS

After business hours on August 16,1989, defendant and a friend, Scott Montoya, drove to Hot Water Products (HWP), a wholesale spa dealer in Salt Lake City, Utah, and loaded a preplumbed spa onto defendant’s truck. The spa was delivered to the home of Scott Davidson.

Two days later, an employee of HWP discovered that the chain locking the gate to the storage yard was broken and that a spa was…