Davies v. Commonwealth
Court of Appeals of Virginia
423 S.E.2d 839 (1999)
Davies (defendant) opened credit accounts at two stores under a fictitious name, and cashiers accepted that fraudulent credit as payment for over $2,000 in video and stereo equipment, letting him take the goods home; he was prosecuted for grand larceny by false pretenses, and though he requested a jury instruction requiring proof that he fraudulently obtained both possession and title to the property, the judge instructed only on possession. The jury convicted him, and he appealed, citing a prior case (Baker) reversing a conviction where the jury wasn't instructed on the passage of title as an element.
Whether the requirement that the defendant obtain ownership of property, rather than mere possession, distinguishes larceny by false pretenses from larceny.