State v. Morris

677 N.W.2d 787 (2004)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Gonzales started the engine on his truck parked on the street in front of his home to let it warm up before driving to work. Gonzales reentered his home leaving the engine running. D heard a 'revving' of the truck's engine, looked outside, and saw someone driving his truck away. Gonzales called the police and thirty minutes later, saw the missing truck being driven in the opposite direction from that of the officer's vehicle. The Officer gave pursuit the driver stopped the vehicle, got out, and fled on foot toward nearby houses. A K-9 unit responded. One of the dogs alerted police to the presence of a person hiding on a porch of a house. D was apprehended and arrested. A second-degree theft charge was submitted to the jury along with the lesser-included offense of operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent in violation of Iowa Code section 714.7. The jury found D guilty of second-degree theft. The court of appeals concluded that the mere fact that D took the pickup truck without consent of the owner did not give rise to an inference that he intended to permanently deprive the owner of the vehicle. The court concluded that the evidence, viewed in its entirety, was insufficient to permit a finding of the requisite intent beyond a reasonable doubt. P appealed.