State v. Kaufman

A junk dealer, the Jamestown West End Hide and Fur Company, bought several rolls of scrap copper wire and stored them in its open yard; an employee noticed some rolls were missing. The Company later learned Frank Kaufman (defendant) had sold a similar roll of copper wire to another junk dealer, Porter Brothers. A Porter Brothers employee identified Kaufman as the seller, and a deputy sheriff testified Kaufman admitted to finding the wire. Kaufman was indicted for theft of lost or mislaid property and convicted; he appealed, arguing that wire stolen by someone else and then abandoned isn't "lost" property under the statute, and that the evidence was insufficient.