Fields v. State

The evidence did not support the defendants' theft by receiving convictions because the evidence showed that he was the original thief.

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Leslie E. Fields III was convicted of misdemeanor theft by receiving stolen property,1 misdemeanor theft by deception,2 and two counts of felony theft by receiving stolen property.3 Following the denial of his motion for new trial , he filed this pro-se appeal, enumerating numerous errors he contends the trial court committed. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part. Construed in favor of the verdict,4 the evidence shows that on June 11, 2009, three laptop computers were stolen from the shelf of an Office Depot in Fulton County. On June 12, 2009, Khalfani Mukabi, who was staying a few doors down from Fields at an extended-stay motel in Gwinnett County, noticed Fields offering to sell a laptop to a friend, and Mukabi expressed interest in buying it. The men agreed on a price of $375, and Mukabi paid Fields a $100 down payment, completing the transaction approximately four days later. The serial number on that laptop was later determined to match one of the computers stolen from the Office Depot.

Office Depot reported the missing laptops to its loss prevention investigator, who obtained surveillance video showing the man stealing the laptops, and who activated tracking software that ultimately identified Mukabi as the user of one laptop. Police were contacted and they interviewed Mukabi, determining that his purchase was innocent. Police also spoke to but did not arrest Fields, who denied any wrongdoing and checked out of the motel that night. Police then obtained a warrant to search a nearby storage unit rented by Fields which Mukabi had described to police. In the storage unit, police found a substantial amount of electronic and musical equipment, three golf shirts that were later confirmed to be stolen from a sporting goods store, and the two other laptops stolen from Office Depot.

Fields v. State

The evidence did not support the defendants' theft by receiving convictions because the evidence showed that he was the original thief.

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