Kansas v. Gobin

531 P.2d 16 (1975)

Facts

The evidence established that on December 2, 1973, at 10:20 p. m., Webb arrived at his swine farm. A dead-end graveled road led from the highway to a private driveway at the farm. The swine were confined along this private driveway. Webb drove into the yard using the private driveway and saw two people sitting in a pickup truck, equipped with stock racks, parked at the other end of the driveway. He stepped from his car, and the pickup truck sped past him and left the premises. Webb pursued the pickup and was able to obtain the license number during a three-mile chase. Webb reported the incident to the sheriff's office. The pickup was registered in the name of Gerald Smith. The sheriff parked his police car at a likely intersection which led to Dodge City and waited. Two vehicles approached the intersection, one was the pickup truck seen earlier near the swine pens. The sheriff stopped the pickup. D was the sole occupant. The other vehicle was a large truck driven by Gerald Smith. D and Smith were taken to Jetmore and charged with an attempt to exert unauthorized control over swine belonging to Webb, an attempted felony theft. D that he and his girlfriend were driving around in the pickup and decided to park in seclusion for a while. D refused to give the name of this girlfriend. His explanation was not corroborated at the trial. D was convicted of attempted theft and appealed.