State v. Carswell - 296 N.C. 101, 249 S.E.2d 427 (1978)

Rule:

Larceny has been defined as a wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal property of another without his consent, with intent to deprive the owner of his property and to appropriate it to the taker's use fraudulently. A bare removal from the place in which he found the goods, though the thief does not quite make off with them, is a sufficient asportation, or carrying away.

Facts:

Rex Carswell was observed taking an air conditioner out of its window base and entering a room by an employee of the motel where certain rooms had been broken into in a similar fashion earlier in the evening. Carswell was arrested and charged with felonious breaking and entering and felonious larceny, but denied ever moving the air conditioner out of the window. The trial court entered a conviction on the charges, but the appellate court reversed on the larceny charge on the ground that the movement of the air conditioner was an insufficient taking to constitute a case of larceny against Carswell. 

Issue:

Was the movement of the air conditioner an insufficient taking to constitute a case of larceny against Carswell?

Answer:

No

Conclusion:

The court held that the movement of the air conditioner off its window base was a bare removal from the place in which he found the goods was found to have been larceny in previous cases. The court ruled that Carswell’s act where he picked the air conditioner up from its stand and laid it on the floor was sufficient to sever it from the owner's possession and place under his control, which satisfied the "taking" element present in larceny.