Adams Express Co. v. Commonwealth

198 S.W. 556, 178 Ky. 59, 1917 Ky. LEXIS 689
Court of Appeals of Kentucky·Decided November 27, 1917·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Opinion op the Court by

Judge Carroll

Eeversing.

The Adams Express Co. was indicted by the grand jury of Perry county charged with violating subsection 2 of section 2569b of the Kentucky Statutes by delivering to one Harlan Patrick in local option territory on March 9,1916, whiskey not intended for his personal use. On a trial of the case there was a verdict and judgment •in favor of the Commonwealth, and the express company appeals.

The indictment, which was returned by the grand jury on November 28, 1916, in lieu' of an indictment that had been returned on March 11,- 1916, in apt terms charged that there was marked on the outside of the package containing the liquor — which it was charged was delivered on March 9, 1916 — the statement that it contained 12 gallons and that “the liquor was for' the [61]*61personal use of the said Harlan Patrick, hut which statement was false and such liquor was not intended for the personal use of said Harlan Patrick and the said Adams Express Co. knew that said statement was false and knew that the said liquor was not intended for the personal use of the said Harlan Patrick at the time it so delivered same.”

On the trial of the case the Commonwealth introduced the agent of the express company, who was the only witness in its behalf, and he testified that on July 9, 1915, he delivered to one Harlan Patrick, as shown by the records of his office, a barrel containing 14 gallons of whiskey in glass bottles or containers, and that on January 28,. 1916, he delivered to one Harlan Patrick, as the records of his office showed, a barrel containing 12 gallons of whiskey in glass bottles or containers. It further appeared from the evidence of this witness that there were two persons by the name of Harlan Patrick; that, one of them lived in Knott county and the other in Perry county; and that the package delivered on July 9, 1915, containing 14 gallons, was delivered to the Harlan Patrick who lived in Perry county, while the package containing 12 gallons was delivered on January 28, 1916, to the Harlan Patrick who lived in Knott county.

It further appeared from his evidence that each of these packages contained on the outside thereof a statement, as provided in subsection 2 of section 2569b of the statutes, giving the name and address of the consignor, and the name and address of the consignee, and stating that it was for the personal use of the consignee. It also appears that the express company kept the record required by subsection 3 of section 2569b, showing the quantity and kind of liquor received, the name and address of the consignor, the name and address of the consignee, and the purpose for which the liquor was intended to be used as stated upon the outside of the package, as well as the date when received and when delivered, and by whom and to whom delivered.

After this evidence had been introduced, counsel for the express company 'moved the court to exclude from the consideration of the jury the evidence as to the 14 gallons delivered on July 9,1915. But this motion was over-' ruled and thereupon the trial judge orally instructed the jury that.he had committed error in allowing the introduction of evidence as to the delivery of the package of liquor on January 28, 1916, to Harlan Patrick living in, Knott county, containing 12 gallons, and admonished [62]*62them that in making up their verdict they should not consider the evidence concerning the delivery of this Í2 gallons of whiskey.

No evidence was offered by the express company, and the jury were instructed in substance that if they believed from the evidence that within twelve months before the finding of the indictment, that is, within twelve months before March 11, 1916, the express company delivered to Harlan Patrick a package of liquor on which there was a statement that the liquor .was for the personal use of the consignee, and further believed beyond a reasonable doubt that the statement appearing upon the outside of the package that the liquor was for the personal use of the consignee was known to the defendant to be false and was in fact false, they should find the defendant guilty. They were further instructed that unless they believed beyond a reasonable doubt that Baker, the agent of the company who delivered the whiskey, had such information as would put an ordinarily prudent person on notice that the statement on the package containing 14 gallons, which was delivered to Harlan. Patrick, that it was for his personal use was false and also that it was in fact false, they should find for the defendant.

It will be seen from what has been said that the indictment charged the delivery to Harlan Patrick of 12 gallons of whiskey on March 9, 1916; that the evidence showed that there were two persons by the name of Harlan Patrick, one of whom lived in Knott county and the other in Perry county; that the Harlan Patrick who lived in Perry county was the consignee of the 14 gallons de-, livered on July 9, 1915, while there was delivered to the other Harlan Patrick, who lived in Knott county, the 12 gallons on January 28, 1916; that the trial court took from the jury all evidence concerning the delivery of the 12 gallons to the Knott county Harlan Patrick on January 28,1916, and instructed the jury that if they found the defendant guilty it must be for the delivery, to the Perry county Harlan Patrick of 14 gallons on July 9, 1915, and accordingly the verdict of the jury was based on the delivery of the 14 gallons on July 9, 1915. .

Now the question is, could the express company be found guilty of having unlawfully delivered a package of liquor containing 14 gallons when the indictment charged that the offense was committed by the unlawful delivery of a package containing 12 gallons ?

[63]*63The statute regulating this offense provides, as we have seen, that the carrier shall keep a record of its deliveries of liquor in prohibited territory, and that this Teeord shall show the quantity and kind of liquor delivered as well as the date of delivery, the name of the consignor and consignee. This record is accessible to the Commonwealth and was evidently before the grand jury when the indictment in this case was found, as the indictment specified the delivery of 12 gallons, although the date of the delivery as fixed in the indictment was-March 9, 1916. The date, however, of the delivery of whiskey fixed in the indictment was not material. The Commonwealth had the right to show a delivery of the quantity specified in the indictment to the consignee named in the indictment at any time within one year before the indictment was found, and this indictment covered the year antecedent to March 11, 1916.

But we think the Commonwealth should show the unlawful delivery of the quantity of liquor specified in the indictment to the consignee named in the indictment. In other words, the evidence as to the quantity of the liquor and the name of the consignee must, in this class of cases, correspond with the indictment. If there is a material variance between the indictment and the evidence in respect to the name of the consignee or the quantity of liquor delivered, it will, if prejudicial, be fatal to the prosecution. The statute describes the essential ingredients constituting offenses committed under it, and among these essentials is that the liquor was not intended for the personal use of the consignee to whom it was delivered.

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Adams Express Co. v. Commonwealth, 198 S.W. 556, 178 Ky. 59, 1917 Ky. LEXIS 689 (Ky. Ct. App. 1917).

198 S.W. 556 (Adams Express Co. v. Commonwealth) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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