Half Price, No Questions

An employee stole a roll of cloth from his employers. The owners found out, got the cloth back, and then, working with the police, had the employee offer it to a man. The man agreed to buy it for about half its value and took delivery, believing it was stolen. But by then the cloth had already been returned to its owners and was under their control. He was convicted of attempting to receive stolen property. His point is that the goods were not in fact stolen when he received them, whatever he believed.