United States v. James Henry Patterson

Defendant James Patterson appeals his conviction on two counts of receiving stolen property, 18 U.S.C. § 2313 , and on one count of conspiracy to transport stolen motor vehicles in interstate commerce, 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 2312. He assigns several errors: 1) the grand jury testimony of a witness was erroneously admitted into evidence; 2) the evidence was insufficient to prove his knowledge; 3) the conspiracy conviction should be reversed because his alleged coconspirators were acquitted; 4) the jury was improperly instructed, and 5) the closing argument of defendant’s counsel was improperly limited.

We affirm the convictions for receiving stolen property and reverse the conspiracy conviction.

Three forklifts were stolen from different companies in California and eventually were recovered in the Reno-Sparks area of Nevada. The first was a large, yellow, 1978 Liftall HT 100, No. 78664. The defendant purchased this forklift October 30, 1978, from two men he met at a casino in Sparks. The second forklift was a small, yellow, 1977 Liftall LT 60, No. 77511. It was purchased from two men outside the defendant’s house in late April 1979 by Manuel Crummett, a contractor working for the…