State v. Beale

299 A.2d 921 (Me. 1973)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Beale (D) owned and operated an antique shop. While D's wife was minding the store, a customer recognized some of the items on display as those that had been stolen from her home. The customer brought a police officer to the shop, and he asked D's wife to set the items aside. D's wife told D what had happened. The next day, D sold all the items which had initials by which the customer had identified them. D was tried for knowingly concealing stolen property. D claimed that he had purchased the items from reliable people and that he had receipts. The jury was instructed that D could be found guilty if he believed the goods had been stolen or that a reasonable person, under those circumstances, would have believed that they had been stolen. D was convicted and appealed.