Berry v. State

1929 OK CR 330, 279 P. 982, 44 Okla. Crim. 150, 1929 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 50
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma·Decided August 17, 1929·No. No. A-6696.·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

CHAPPELL, J.

The plaintiffs in error, hereinafter called defendants, were convicted in the superior court of Okmulgee county of the crime of robbery with firearms, and each sentenced to serve a term of five years’ imprisonment in the state penitentiary.

The information charged these plaintiffs in error jointly with one Blanche Berry, the wife of Carl Berry, with robbing W. H. Caswell and Mrs. W. H. Caswell of $810 in money and notes of the value of $435. On the trial the court instructed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty as to Blanche Berry.

Carl Berry and his wife, Blanche Berry, lived in the city, of Henryetta at the time of this robbery. Carl Berry was employed as an automobile salesman previous to that time, but had worked in the lead and zinc mining business in connection with the smelters. The defendant E. E. Smith also lived in Henryetta and roomed at a rooming house known as the “Yale Booms.” At the time of this robbery he was employed in a smelter, and previous to the robbery had worked with the defendant Carl Berry, and they were well acquainted with *152 each other. Carl Berry also bad held a commission as deputy sheriff of Okmulgee county some time previous to the commission of this offense.

W. H. Caswell and his wife, who' were the victims of the robbery, lived at Spelter City in a one-room shack, and Caswell was connected with the mining business. The Berrys and the Caswells became acquainted with each other through the purchase of an automobile by the Cas-wells some two or three months before this robbery occurred. This automobile was purchased from the people for whom Berry was working. Some time after the purchase of this automobile, which was paid for by the Caswells in cash, Berry negotiated the sale of a note, that he held secured by a mortgage on an automobile, to the Caswells. This note amounted to $225, but Berry sold it to the Caswells for $200, and at the time the Caswells paid him the money, which was at their house, Mrs. Cas-well took the money out from under a pillow on a couch, and Berry at that time saw the way the Caswells had of keeping their money, to wit, in a paper bag. After Berry had sold the Caswells the note, he told them to put the note in the bag with the money, and to always keep the note and the money together.

Some weeks later to this transaction, and just a short time before the robbery, according to the testimony of the Caswells, Berry borrowed $175 from them, giving a mortgage on his own Essex car to secure the payment of the same. Caswell gave him $150 in cash, discounting the loan in the sum of $25. This note of Berry’s was also placed in the paper bag with the money, and at the time Berry told them that, if they were ever out with him, always to take the money and the notes with them, and they would be perfectly safe.

*153 This robbery occurred on the 17tb of September, 1926. On the evening previous to that date, Berry took the Caswells to the Free County Fair at Okmulgee, and when returning from the same it appears that they passed a man who evidently was drunk, driving an automobile, and the subject of intoxicating liquor was brought up, and Berry asked the Caswells if they ever drank any wine, and was told by them that they liked wine. Whereupon Berry suggested that he knew a man who had some very good wine; that the man had given him a drink of it the day before, and in the course of the conversation it was arranged that on the following evening the Berrys should take the Caswells out to this place, which was over in McIntosh county, to get some wine. On the trip after the wine in McIntosh county, the party was held up and robbed. Mrs. Caswell threw the paper sack, with the money and notes, in the weeds, and the robber failed to get that. Berry then proposed they return home, as they had no money to buy wine. Mrs. Caswell then told them that she had thrown the money and notes in the weeds, and Berry then proposed that they go on, which they did. When they reached the place where the wine was supposed to be kept, Berry got out of the car and left them for 10 or 15 minutes. On the way home they were held up again, and Mrs. Caswell' again threw the money and notes in the paper sack in the weeds; but the robber, without paying much attention to searching the parties, went out into the weeds and found this sack, and got on the back of the car and forced them to drive him to Spelter City. The Caswells postively identified Smith as the person who robbed them both times. There is evidence in the record showing that Berry and Smith were well acquainted, and that they were seen together in the Yale Booms the night before the robbery, and that Berry *154 drove by this garage where Smith worked on the evening of the robbery, and waved at some person in the garage, but it was not shown who that person was.

Smith’s defense was an alibi, and Berry’s that he was the innocent victim of a high-jacker. It is first urged by the defendant that the evidence is insufficient to support the verdict. This court has repeatedly held that, where the evidence is conflicting, and where there is competent evidence in the record to support the verdict of the jury the cause will not be reversed for insufficiency of the evidence. While the evidence on the part of the state is mostly circumstantial, it is sufficient to support the verdict of the jury. Under all the facts and circumstances shown by the evidence in this case, an honest jury could not have returned any other verdict, except guilty.

It is next contended that the information is insufficient to charge the crime of robbery. The charging part of the information is as follows:

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Berry v. State, 1929 OK CR 330, 279 P. 982, 44 Okla. Crim. 150, 1929 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 50 (Okla. Ct. App. 1929).

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