Jones v. State

Full title: RON LEE JONES, APPELLANT, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District

Date published: Jan 22, 1979

365 So. 2d 774 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1979)

Opinion

No. JJ-405.

December 12, 1978. Rehearing Denied January 22, 1979.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Leon County, George L. Harper, J.

Terry P. Lewis, Tallahassee, for appellant.

Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and Charles A. Stampelos, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Jones appeals his conviction under Section 812.031, Fla. Stat. (1977) for receiving, retaining, disposing of or aiding in the concealment of stolen property, claiming that the evidence at his trial showed that if he was guilty of anything, it was larceny rather than the crime charged. It is true that the evidence indicates Jones and a co-defendant had stolen the property in question. However, the evidence also shows that Jones aided in the concealment of that same property. We hold that since the section is disjunctive, i.e., prohibits the intentional receiving, retaining, disposing of, or aiding in the concealment of stolen property, Jones could be found guilty of that crime as well as larceny. The judgment and sentence are therefore AFFIRMED.

BOYER, Acting C.J., and BOOTH, J., concur.

MILLS, J., dissents.

MILLS, Judge, dissenting:

I dissent. A long line of Florida Supreme Court and District Court of Appeal decisions establishes that despite the disjunctive character of the statute, the offenses of larceny and receiving stolen goods are separate and distinct. Where, as here, the same property, the same larceny and the same persons as principal are involved, they are legally inconsistent. A thief cannot be convicted of receiving, retaining, disposing of or aiding in the concealment of the same property stolen by him. Adams v. State, 60 Fla. 1, 53 So. 451 (1910); Bargesser v. State, 95 Fla. 404, 116 So. 12 (1928); Brizzie v. State, 120 So.2d 27 (Fla. 2d DCA 1960); Ketelsen v. State, 211 So.2d 853 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968); Thomas v. State, 216 So.2d 25 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968); Johnson v. State, 226 So.2d 884 (Fla. 2d DCA 1969); McWhirter v. State, 325 So.2d 463 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); and State v. Brooks, 348 So.2d 417 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977). I would reverse appellant's conviction under Section 812.031.