The Bomb Casings

On a large uninhabited tract of wooded Michigan land, the United States Air Force had established a practice bombing range. The Air Force dropped simulated practice bombs — metal cylinders about forty inches long and eight inches across, filled with sand and black powder. Signs reading "Danger — Keep Out — Bombing Range" were posted around the perimeter. After bombing runs, spent casings were cleared from the targets and thrown into piles. These piles had been accumulating for four years or more, exposed to the weather and rusting. In December 1948, the Defendant went hunting on the range but did not get a deer. The Defendant was a fruit stand operator in summer and a scrap iron collector in winter — an honorably discharged World War II veteran with no prior criminal record except a reckless driving conviction. He decided to meet the costs of the trip by salvaging some of the spent casings. He loaded three tons onto his truck, drove them to a nearby farm, flattened them with a tractor, and sold them for $84. The Defendant openly acknowledged taking the casings, insisting he genuinely believed the Air Force had abandoned them. The trial judge refused to let him present this Defence to the jury and instructed the jury that if the Defendant intentionally took the property, he was guilty.