Candice Miles v. Commonwealth of Virginia ( 2002 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Willis, Agee and Senior Judge Overton
CANDICE MILES
MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
v. Record No. 2958-00-4 JUDGE JERE M. H. WILLIS, JR.
MARCH 12, 2002
COMMWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ARLINGTON COUNTY
William T. Newman, Jr., Judge
(Christina Monroe Smith; Sherise Law Firm, on
brief), for appellant. Appellant submitting
on brief.
(Randolph A. Beales, Attorney General;
Linwood T. Wells, Jr., Assistant Attorney
General, on brief), for appellee. Appellee
submitting on brief.
On appeal from her bench trial conviction of felony
embezzlement, in violation of Code § 18.2-111, Candice Miles
contends that the trial court erred in finding the evidence
sufficient to establish that she stole two hundred dollars or
more. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
I. BACKGROUND
While Miles worked as a bookseller at Waldenbooks in
Arlington County, the general manager of the store began to
notice cash shortages. Over a period of approximately two
weeks, from February 14, 2000 to March 1, 2000, the general
* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not
designated for publication.
manager identified a cash shortage of approximately $290.29.
Miles was on duty at the store when these shortages occurred.
On at least one occasion she was observed on videotape secreting
cash from the cash register into her sock.
On March 2, 2000, store management confronted Miles about
the missing money. Miles signed a statement admitting she had
taken money out of the register. She stated, "I think I have
taking [sic] about $200.00 or so and about the $20.00 on
yesterday I had a cash purchase and after the customer payed
[sic] for there [sic] book I took the money and put it in my
pocket."
Miles was indicted for felony embezzlement, in violation of
Code § 18.2-111. Following a bench trial, she was found guilty
and was sentenced to serve one year in prison, which was
suspended for one year on condition that she make restitution.
II. ANALYSIS
On appeal, Miles contends that the evidence was
insufficient to prove she stole $200 or more from her employer
and, thus, failed to prove her guilty of a felony. We disagree.
When the sufficiency of the evidence is
challenged on appeal, it is well established
that we must view the evidence in the light
most favorable to the Commonwealth, granting
to it all reasonable inferences fairly
deducible therefrom. The conviction will be
disturbed only if plainly wrong or without
evidence to support it.
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Jones v. Commonwealth, 13 Va. App. 566, 572, 414 S.E.2d 193, 196
(1992).
Miles contends that the Commonwealth failed to sustain its
burden of proof because the evidence did not exclude every
reasonable hypothesis of innocence. She argues the Commonwealth
failed to prove that other employees had not taken money or that
other employees had not returned too much change to customers.
While the Commonwealth bears the burden of excluding reasonable
hypotheses of innocence, meeting this burden requires only that
it exclude reasonable hypotheses of innocence "which flow from
the evidence itself, and not from the imagination of defendant's
counsel." Tyler v. Commonwealth, 254 Va. 162, 166, 487 S.E.2d
221, 223 (1997).
Miles repeatedly stole money from the store. Over a
two-week period, the general manager identified $290.29 missing
from the store's receipts. The shortages occurred on days that
Miles worked. A video camera recorded her stealing money from a
cash register and placing it in her sock. When questioned by
store management, she confessed to taking "$200 or so." This
evidence supports no inference other than that Miles stole the
missing $290.29. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Affirmed.
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