Albritton v. State

187 So. 601, 137 Fla. 20, 1939 Fla. LEXIS 1786
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedMarch 21, 1939
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 187 So. 601 (Albritton v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Albritton v. State, 187 So. 601, 137 Fla. 20, 1939 Fla. LEXIS 1786 (Fla. 1939).

Opinion

Bufosd, J.

Information was filed charging as follows:

“That Jesse Spradlin, Rufus Albritton and Archie Albritton of the County of Okeechobee and State of Florida, on the 4th day of January in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Thirty-seven, in the county and state aforesaid did commit the crime of grand larceny in that the said Jess'e Spradlin, Rufus Albrhton and Archie Albritton did then and there unlawfully and feloniously take, steal and carry away thirty otter hides and three hundred and eight raccoon hides of the value of One Thousand Dollars, of the property, goods and chattels of Nathan Zelmenovitz, contrary to the form of the statute in such cases made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State of Florida, and that the said Jesse Spradlin, Rufus Albritton and Archie Albritton, subsequent to the 4:h day of January in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and *22 Thirty-seven, and prior -to the time of the filing of this information, have each been duly convicted and adjudged guilty of said crime of grand larceny in the Circuit Court of Okeechobee County, Florida; that Henry AlbrLton on the 4th day of January in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Thirty-seven and on divers other dates and within two years prior to the date of the filing of this information, and prior to the commission of the Grand Larceny aforesaid by the .said Jesse Spradlin, Rufus AlbrLton and Archie Albritton, did counsel, hire and procure, the said Jess'e Spradlin, Rufus Albritton and Archie Albritton to commit the aforesaid crime of Grand Larceny and in the County of Hardee in the State of Florida did counsel, hire, and procure the said Jesse Spradlin and the said Archie Albritton to commit the aforesaid crime of Grand Larceny, and in the County of Lee in the State of Florida did counsel, hire and procure the said Rufus Albritton to commit the aforesaid crime of grand larceny, contrary to the form of the Statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the Sta.e of Florida.”

Defendant Henry Albritton filed plea of autrefois acquit. The plea is voluminous but the salient facts relied on were those set out in the motion to arrest of judgment. Demurrer to the plea was sustained. He then pleaded “not guilty.” After conviction defendant filed motion in arrest-of judgment as follows:

“Comes now the defendant, Henry Albritton, by his undersigned attorney, and moves the Court to arrest the judgment in said cause and for grounds of said motion says:
“1. That the defendant has heretofore been tried and acquitted of the identical offense charged in the said in *23 formation in that on the 17th day of May, A. D. 1937, at a vacation term of the abo've styled Court, Information was filed by Honorable Angus Summer, States Attorney, prosecuting for the State, charging the defendant Henry Albritton, together with others, of the offense of ‘breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, to-wit: Grand Larceny,’ as will more fully appear from the record in said cause; that on the 20th day .of May A. D. 1937, at said special term of said Circuit Court, the defendant was duly arraigned in open court and pleaded ‘not guilty’ to said Information; that the said Court had jurisdidfion to try and determine the guilt or innocence of the defendant of the offense so charged; that at said term of said Court, on to-wit: May 20, 1937, the defendant was' duly tried upon said Information and by the verdict of a trial jury was found not guilty, which verdict was duly received and filed in said Court on the same day; that this defendant is the identical person named in said Information and the present Information; that the offense charged in both Informaions, namely: ‘breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, to-wit: Grand Larceny’ and Accessory before the fact to Grand Larceny’ is one and the same offense; that the building alleged to have been broken and entered with intent to commit grand larceny and the property alleged to have been stolen is the property of the same person, namely: Nathan Zelmenovitz; that both Informations charged that the offense was committed on the same day and in like manner and thá: the defendant has been acquitted of the offense charged in the present Information.
“2. Defendant further says' that the offense charged in the Information upon which he was tried and acquitted as herein alleged, namely: ‘breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, to-wit: Grand Larceny’ and *24 the offense set out in the present Information, namely: ‘Accessory before the fact to Grand Larceny’ is one and the same offense and not divers and different offenses and relate to the same transaction and that the offense of “accessory before the fact to Grand Larceny,’ as herein alleged, is an essential element of the substantive offense of ‘breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, to-wit: Grand Larceny,’ of which offens'e the defendant has heretofore been acquitted all of which will more fully appear in the record, of said cause.
“Wherefore, defendant prays judgment and that by the Court here the Judgment may be arrested and thé defendant be discharged from the premises in the present Information specified and contained and that he may have such other relief as provided in such cases.”

Motion was overruled. Judgment whs entered after motion for new trial had also been overruled.

The plea in abatement and the motion in arrest of judgment both show that the defendant at a former trial on a different charge had been acquitted of 'chat charge which was one of the offense of breaking and entering a building with intent to commit grand larceny, and both pleadings also aver that the instant information charged the defendant with the crime of being an accessory before 'the fact to grand larceny. The crime of breaking and entering and the crime of being an accessory before the fact of the crime of grand larceny are entirely separate and distinct offenses. The crime of breaking and entering a building with intent to commit a felony is denounced by Section 5115 R. G. S., 7216 C. G. L., while the crime of accessory before the fact is denounced by Section 5008 R. G. S., 71101 C. G. L. A conviction cannot be had on a charge of either offense solely upon the evidence which would be necessary to sustain a conviction under a charge of the other offens'e. One *25 may be convicted of the offense of breaking and entering a building with intent-to commit a felony, to-wit: grand larceny, without evidence showing that grand larceny was actually committed. The gravamen of that offense is the breaking into and entering of a building with the intent to commit a felony, while the gravaman of the offense of being accessory before the fact of grand larceny is the act of counselling or hiring or procuring another to actually commit the substantive offense of grand larceny before the act is actually committed, and before one may be convicted of this offense the crime of grand larceny must have been committed.

In Boswell v. State, 20 Fla. 869, it was definitely held that:

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Bluebook (online)
187 So. 601, 137 Fla. 20, 1939 Fla. LEXIS 1786, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/albritton-v-state-fla-1939.