State v. Dixon

In this case the Court reverses what appears to be a well-founded conviction for theft of electrical services from a utility caused by tampering with the utility’s electric meter contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:20-8a. The defendant is a homeowner and customer of the utility furnishing electrical services. The trial court instructed the jury that it could draw an inference that the defendant, the person with complete control over the meter and “the person to whom electricity is being furnished,” was the person who tampered with the meter. Such an inference, statutorily described as “presumptive…