People v. Rife

48 N.E.2d 367 (1943)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

D, and his wife, Mabel, operator a junkyard. The roundhouse foreman in the Chicago and Eastern Illinois railway yards supervised the replacing of brass on engines 3643 and 1908. The old brass taken off these engines was loaded into two freight cars, sealed and shipped to the railroad shops. The cars arrived on October 22, and November 2, 1940, were unloaded and the brass was stored in the company's storeroom in the Danville yards. On November 5, 1940, D bought 187 pounds of railroad brass from a negro boy named Henry Brandon. On the day previous he had also bought brass from Brandon. On November 5, 1940, Police went to D's junkyard where they recovered 132 pounds of railway-engine brass and 167 pounds of journal brass. This brass was positively identified from engine numbers, 3643 and 1908, and the patent number A-D 830 stamped on the various pieces. D had been warned to be on the lookout for stolen brass. D and his wife were indicted. D testified there was nothing suspicious about his transaction with Brandon. Brandon had also stated that the brass was not stolen. D’s wife testified that D had told her it was stolen. D was convicted and the appeals court affirmed. D appealed.