Facts
- Joseph Caruso was convicted of grand larceny and his punishment was fixed at three years in the penitentiary.
- Around 2:00 a.m. on August 24, 1958, a Greeneville police officer (Lyle Doty) was told that a robbery or similar crime was in progress at the business building of Greene County Producers.
- The officer reached the building within about five minutes, heard three men running, and heard what he described as water “pouring” from a nearby creek area.
- When the officer entered the building, he saw the back door open.
- He saw a safe just outside the office area, with a “dolly” or cart positioned against it; the safe had fallen over and struck a counter.
- The safe weighed about 600 pounds and had been left at its usual place inside the office at closing time.
- Using the cart, the intruder moved the safe about five feet out of the office and into the main part of the building.
- The safe contained about $34,000 in money and securities.
- Caruso appealed without filing assignments of error; the Supreme Court reviewed the record for reversible error as required by statute, and also considered the new-trial claim that the evidence preponderated against the verdict.
Issues
- Whether moving the safe about five feet within the same building constituted the “taking and carrying away” (asportation) required for larceny under Tennessee law.
- Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction (including review of whether the proof preponderated against the verdict under the motion for new trial).
- Whether the record showed any reversible error requiring relief despite the absence of assignments of error.
Decision
- The conviction was affirmed.
- The court held that moving the safe five feet under the circumstances shown constituted asportation and satisfied the “taking and carrying away” element of larceny.
- After reviewing the record as required, the court found no reversible error and found the proof adequate to support the jury’s verdict.
Legal Principles
- Tennessee’s larceny statute defines the offense as the felonious taking and carrying away of the personal goods of another, requiring a trespassory taking of possession plus a carrying away.
- “Carrying away” (asportation) can be met by moving the property, even a short distance, once the defendant has exercised control over it with felonious intent.
- When an appellant files no assignments of error, the Tennessee Supreme Court may still review the record for reversible error when a statute requires that review.
Conclusion
The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed Caruso’s grand larceny conviction, ruling that the intruder’s use of a dolly to move a 600‑pound safe about five feet from an office into the main part of the building was a sufficient carrying away to complete larceny, and that the record revealed no reversible error.