Opinion
33458.
DECIDED MARCH 15, 1951.
Larceny; from Clarke Superior Court — Judge West. December 16, 1950.
Joseph E. Webb, for plaintiff in error.
D. M. Pollock, Solicitor-General, contra.
On the trial of one charged with larceny, where it is shown by the evidence that recently, after the commission of the offense, the stolen goods were found in the possession of the defendant, that fact, while it would not require them to do so, would authorize the jury to infer that the accused was guilty unless he explained his possession to their satisfaction. Warren v. State, 76 Ga. App. 243 ( 45 S.E.2d, 726); Lewis v. State, 120 Ga. 508 ( 48 S.E. 227); Gravitt v. State, 114 Ga. 841 ( 40 S.E. 1003); Morris v. State, 47 Ga. App. 792 171 S.E. 555); Vining v. State, 80 Ga. App. 756 ( 57 S.E.2d 354); Long v. State, 62 Ga. App. 775 ( 9 S.E.2d 845).
The judgment of the trial court overruling the motion for a new trial, which was based on the general grounds only, is without error.
Judgment affirmed. MacIntyre, P.J., and Gardner, J., concur.
DECIDED MARCH 15, 1951.
Allan Hansford and Ralph Veale were jointly indicted in the Superior Court of Clarke County for larceny. The defendants elected to sever. Hansford was tried and convicted. The evidence established that the defendants were policemen of the City of Athens; that between midnight and 8 a. m. they walked a beat which passed Lay's Service Station; and that some time during the night of July 4, 1950, while they were on this beat, a truck, parked in front of the service station and loaded with beer, was opened and between 14 and 18 cases of beer extracted therefrom. On July 6, four cases of the beer were found in the attic of Veale's home, which attic was entered by a trap door, and eight cases were found on the defendant's premises, in a meat box in the garage. The beer was identified by decals which had been placed on it just before loading, to indicate that it was directed to Putnam County. The defendant admitted having taken the beer to his home on the night in question, but claimed that he had found it in an alley and did not wish to take it to the city hall, as he thought it had been put there to "frame" him.