Greenway v. State

¹⁹⁵ Orth, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. The decision in this case rests upon the determination of two issues: (1) what evidence is necessary to enable the trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant knowingly had in his possession a motor vehicle containing an engine from which the engine number had been defaced for the purpose of concealing or misrepresenting the identity of the vehicle; and (2) was there such evidence before the trier of fact. The appellant was found guilty at a court trial in the Circuit Court for Charles County of violation of § 73, Art. 661/2 of the Maryland Code. Specifically he was convicted of unlawfully having in his possession “a motor vehicle, to wit, a 1967 Chevrolet Super Sport Automobile, dark blue in color, Serial Number 138177B211292, Registered to John Thomas Sainé, Sr., to which the manufacturer’s engine serial number had been defaced for the purpose of concealing or misrepresenting the identity of said vehicle.” (1) The statute provides: “Any person who knowingly buys, receives, disposes of, sells, offers for sale, or has in his possession any motor vehicle or engine removed from a motor vehicle, from which the manufacturer’s serial or engine number or other distinguishing number or identification mark or number placed thereon under assignment from the Department, or any vehicle from which the factory identification number for such makes of vehicles as are so identified or the factory serial number for such makes of vehicles as are so identified until the manufacturers thereof adopt, and use an identification number has been removed, defaced, covered, altered or destroyed for the purpose of concealing or misrepresenting the identity of said motor vehicle or engine is guilty of a misdemeanor.” The statute does not define “knowingly,” as is sometimes ¹⁹⁶ done in a particular statute.

For example, in Md. Code, Art. 27, § 418B,-proscribing the sale of certain obscene publications, “knowingly” is defined as “having knowledge of the character and content- of the publication or failure to exercise reasonable inspection which would disclose the content and character of the same.” There is no provision in the statute here concerned that failure to exercise reasonable inspection which would disclose that a serial number of a motor vehicle or engine number of a'motor vehicle engine had been obliterated is knowledge. Nor does the statute prescribe a presumption of such - knowledge from the mere possession of the motor vehicle or engine and there is doubt that such a statutory presumption Would be constitutional. See Leary v. United States, 89 S. Ct. 1532 . We can only conclude that “knowingly” as used in the statute means “having knowledge.”' A person may be found to have knowledge by evidence establishing that he had actual or direct knowledge, as, for example, that he defaced the number himself, 1 or admitted that he knew it had been defaced, and had no reasonable non-culpable explanation as to why it had been defaced.

And such knowledge may be proved, like any other fact, by circumstantial evidence. It may be established from all the facts and circumstances of the case, although denied by a defendant, but the burden is, of- course, bn the State. Thus knowledge may be inferred but the inference must not be irrational or arbitrary for if it were it would be unconstitutional. It would be irrational or arbitrary unless it can be said with substantial assurance that the inference of knowledge is more likely than not to flow from the proved facts on which it is made to depend.

See Leary v. United States, supra, at 1548. In other words, such knowledge may be found in a rational inference deduced from circumstantial evidence when such evidence indicates that the person buying, receiving, disposing of, selling, offering for sale, or possessing a motor vehicle or motor ve ¹⁹⁷ hide engine, the serial number or engine number of which was removed, defaced, covered, altered or destroyed, knew or could reasonably have suspected that the number had been so tampered with. Possession of such a motor vehicle or engine, although not sufficient to show such knowledge, is a strong circumstance to be considered with all other evidence of guilty knowledge. And, in addition, a person may be found to have knowledge under the recognized rule of law, which states that one, with an unlawful purpose in mind, who deliberately “shuts his eyes” to avoid knowing what would otherwise be obvious to view, acts at his peril in this regard as far as the criminal law is concerned, and is treated as having “knowledge of the facts as they are ultimately discovered to be.” Perkins, Criminal Law (1957), pp. 684-685.

(2) In the instant case the evidence clearly showed that the appellant had in his possession a motor vehicle containing an engine which he admitted had been removed from another motor vehicle and that the number on the engine had been defaced by covering it with a bead of weld. The trial court found as a fact that the bead of weld had not been placed on the engine “in connection with attaching anything to the engine, nor with repairing any crack in the block, nor with anything other than that it was intended to cover the lettering on the engine number.” We cannot say that this finding on the evidence was clearly erroneous. Md. Rule 1086. This finding permitted a proper inference in the circumstances that the number had been defaced to conceal or misrepresent the identity of the engine and the motor vehicle in which it had been placed.

There was no evidence sufficient to establish that the appellant had absolute knowledge that the number had been defaced. The only question is, therefore, whether from the facts and circumstances the appellant could be properly found to have such knowledge. The resolution of this question requires a review of the evidence adduced. ¹⁹⁸ The evidence disclosed that when an automobile is severely damaged in the front or rear it may be cut in two and the damaged section replaced by welding onto the undamaged section a “factory cut or clip.” The cut is made at places where the factory has put the car together. There is a “front end' clip” and a “rear end clip.” 2 Those in the business will buy wrecked cars complete and receive a certificate of title.

The serial number on the title corresponds to the serial number on the car, usually on the door post but the number apparently is on several other places including the chassis. They will then buy a clip, front end or rear end, as required, which was obtained from other wrecked cars. “They ship clips all the way from Florida north. This is a business * * * They ship all over the country.” When the clip is received the wrecked car is cut in two and the clip welded onto the undamaged portion. When necessary other motors and transmissions, usually obtained from other cars, are installed.

The title and serial number of the wrecked car is used for the car which results. The appellant operated such a business under the name of Holiday Motors. Although he had been in body repair work for about 20 years, he started to so restore wrecked automobiles and sell them in September 1967, to keep his body and fender man busy. The early part of February 1968 John Thomas Sainé, Jr. went to the used car lot of Holiday Motors.

A 1967 Chevelle Super Sport hardtop automobile, serial number 138177B211292, registered in the name of his father, but which he used, had been stolen on 8 January 1968 and he was trying to find a comparable used car. He learned that Holiday Motors had such a car for sale. He inspected two cars they had. From his observations he determined that car no. 1 was ¹⁹⁹ made up of the front and interior of the car stolen from him and car no. 2 was made up of the sides and rear of the stolen car.

A Maryland State Police Trooper and an investigator for the National Automobile Theft Bureau examined the cars. They ascertained that a front end clip had been welded onto car no. 1. The serial number, on a plate which was screwed on (it was the practice of the manufacturer of the car to attach the plate with rivets), was 136177G109939. The motor serial number had been obliterated by welding.

The transmission serial number was the same as that of the car stolen from Sainé and that number would not have appeared on any other transmission. The appellant’s brother produced a certificate of title issued by the State of New Jersey showing that a 1967 Chevrolet coupe, serial number 136177G109939, dated 10 October 1967 had been assigned by Motors Insurance Corp. to Armiger’s Auto Center. Car no. 2 had also been cut in two and a clip welded on. The serial number plate, affixed with factory rivets bore number 136177B106281.

There was a bill of sale for this car but no certificate of title. The front was a Chevrolet Malibu but the exterior rear portion contained certain scratches and marks which Sainé said had been on the car stolen from him. The appellant introduced a bill from Armiger’s Auto Center, Laurel, Delaware to Holiday Motors, dated 23 November 1967 for five automobiles including a “1967 Chevelle 136177G109939” on which was stated, “Titles Guaranteed — Wrecked as is.” He also introduced a receipted bill from Burley’s Shell