State v. Jones

800 S.E.2d 54 (2017)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Jones (D) was a truck driver who worked as an independent contractor. D was driving trucks for EF Corporation, which was doing business as WEST Motor Freight (West). West gave its drivers the option to have money withheld every payroll period and placed in a 'maintenance account' for the driver. D chose that option and requested $1,200 from his maintenance account. An error was made by West, and the $1m200 turned into $120,000. D was to be given $118,729.49. The next morning, West realized her error and tried to stop the transaction. D was also told of the error through his agent. West requested that D not withdraw or transfer the excess funds from his account. The deposit went through. West promptly tried to initiate a reversal of the deposit. Knowing of the mistake D removed almost all of the excess funds from his account. The teller who assisted him in transferring the money noticed the deposit of $118,729.49 and asked D why such a large amount of money had been deposited into his account. D lied and said he had sold his part of a business. D was indicted for three counts of larceny and three counts of possession of stolen goods. At the close of trial, D moved to dismiss the remaining charges based on insufficiency of the evidence. The motion was denied. The jury found D guilty of all three counts of larceny. The Court of Appeals vacated d's convictions, finding that he had not committed a trespassory taking. P appealed.