ELEMENTS OF A CRIME
Mason owned and operated a trucking rig, transporting goods for L.T. Goods, Inc., of Clarksville, Indiana. He accepted an offer to haul a trailer load of beef from Clarksville, Indiana to Trader Joe’s in Wayne, New Jersey. After his truck was loaded with ninety five hindquarters of beef in Clarksville, Mason drove north to his home in Lansing, Michigan, rather than east to New Jersey. While in Lansing, he asked employees of the Royal Meat Company to butcher and prepare four hindquarters of beef – two for himself and two for his friends. When Mason arrived in Wayne, New Jersey with his load short four hindquarters, he notified L.T. Goods who told him to contact the police in New Jersey, but he failed to do so. Shortly thereafter, Mason was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Using sound legal reasoning and proper legal terminology, explain what crime, if any, that Mason committed. If you find that Mason did indeed commit a crime, prosecute him by explaining the elements of that crime and how they are met. If you find that Mason did not commit any crime, defend him by explaining why.