MBE Rules · Criminal Law
Receiving stolen property
The rule
A defendant is guilty of receiving stolen property when he (1) receives control of property, (2) that was in fact stolen, (3) knowing that it was stolen, and (4) with intent to permanently deprive the true owner. Under modern statutes, actual knowledge or belief that the property is probably stolen suffices.
In plain English
This offense targets the fence — the person who takes in property they know is hot. The property must actually be stolen at the moment of receipt; sting operations sometimes fail this element.
The trap
If police recover the property before the defendant receives it, it is no longer stolen — only attempt is available at common law.
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