Baker v. Commonwealth
Virginia Supreme Court
300 S.E.2d 788 (1983)
Robert Baker (defendant) drove a stolen truck to a car dealership, falsely claimed he owned it, and left it as security while test-driving a Jeep he then drove away and never returned; the dealer kept the Jeep's title documents throughout. The Commonwealth (plaintiff) charged Baker with larceny by false pretenses but requested, and obtained, a jury instruction addressing only Baker's fraudulent taking of possession of the Jeep, not any transfer of title to it. The jury convicted, and Baker appealed.
Whether a conviction for larceny by false pretenses can stand when the jury was instructed only on the defendant's fraudulent acquisition of possession, with no evidence or instruction addressing the passage of title -- an element that crime specifically requires beyond ordinary larceny.