People v. Smith

Opinion by

Judge BRIGGS.

Defendant, Edgar L. Smith, appeals the judgment of conviction entered on a jury verdict finding him guilty of theft. He asserts, among other things, that his second trial on that charge was precluded under the doctrine of collateral estoppel because, even though the jury could not reach a verdict on the charge of theft in the first trial, it acquitted him on a related charge of burglary. We reverse.

A home was burglarized at night and items of value taken. Prior to the burglary, a neighbor had called police to report the suspicious activities of two men in a vehicle.…