Carmean v. State

290 S.W.2d 240, 163 Tex. Crim. 218, 1956 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1034
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 11, 1956
Docket28130
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 290 S.W.2d 240 (Carmean v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carmean v. State, 290 S.W.2d 240, 163 Tex. Crim. 218, 1956 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1034 (Tex. 1956).

Opinions

BELCHER, Judge.

Appellant was convicted for the offense of burglary and his punishment assessed at two years in the penitentiary.

The state’s testimony shows that the appellant leased his building to the complaining witnesses who were engaged in the radio and television business, retained a small building at the rear of said leased building where he operated a radio repair business and also retained a key to the leased building with the right to use the rest room. On May 1, 1955, appellant sold said building to the complaining witnesses under a contract of sale with a deed to be delivered upon full payment therefor which [219]*219was to be made in installments. Appellant, after the sale, continued to occupy the small building and kept the key to the front building. The locks were changed on the front building in May and to which they did not give a key to the appellant.

About 8 A.M. on August 5, ten dollars in quarters and about two dollars in nickels were missed from the cash register in the front building. The quarters had been previously covered with flourescent salve. No visible evidence was found as to how the building was entered. Later in the morning, appellant consented to the officers examining his hands, clothing, keys, and a desk in the small building in which ten dollars in quarters and some nickels were found. By the use of an ultraviolet lamp they all revealed the presence of flourescent salve when examined by the use of said lamp. In appellant’s written statement introduced in evidence, he stated that he had not been in the building for several weeks and did not know how the flourescent salve got on his hands, clothes, and desk unless someone planted it there.

The owners of the building testified that they did not give the appellant or any other person consent to enter the building and take the money.

Appellant, while testifying, contended that he had a right to enter the building because of an agreement at the time of the lease and of the sale to the purchasers; that the rear door of the front building was open on the morning of August 5 when he arrived; and that he needed some cash before leaving town and borrowed about twelve dollars which he took from the cash register and left a note to the owners that he had done so.

Appellant insists that the court erred in permitting the state to prove other thefts and burglaries from and of the front building during a period of several months prior to the offense of burglary here charged to have been committed on August 5, 1955, over his objection that such testimony showed the commission of extraneous offenses with which he was not connected or charged and that it was prejudicial and inflammatory.

The state’s attorney in his opening statement of the case to the jury stated that, for several months prior to August 5, small amounts of money had been repeatedly missed from the cash register in the front building. Appellant’s objection thereto was overruled and he excepted.

[220]*220The state introduced testimony showing the unexplained loss of small sums of money from the front building on several occasions prior to August 5, 1955. The state proved that after they had changed the locks on the building, that on June 5, about fourteen dollars in money and a small radio were missing from the building.

The record presents the complained of testimony given by one of the owners of the building while on direct examination, by the state as follows:

“Q. I’ll ask you to state whether or not, Mr. Stevens, prior to August 5th, 1955, and even prior to April of 1955, there had' been a number of occasions when either you or your partner’ would open up in the mornings and discover various amounts: of money had been taken from the cash register between the1 time you opened up in the morning and the time you closed the perceding night? * 1 i$c *

“MR. CUNNINGHAM: I object to it as being immaterial and irrelevant and injecting other possible offenses in this case which the defendant is not charged. It is highly prejudicial and I ask the question be stricken and the jury be instructed to disregard it and since it can not be cured by such instruction we request that a mistrial be granted at this time.

“THE COURT: Objection overruled.

“MR. CUNNINGHAM: Note our exception, please.

“Q. Did you understand the question, Mr. Stevens? A, Yes, I did.

“Q. Will you please answer it? A. Yes, sir. We have had money missing from time to time up until August 5th, definitely.

“Q. Do you know approximately how many occasions it happened on? A. Not for sure, but there were several.

“Q. What, if anything, would you or your partner do when you discovered money missing from the cash register when you would open up in the morning? A. Well, as it kept on taking place we finally talked to Chief Krausse about it.”

[221]*221There is no testimony connecting the appellant with the taking of the missing money or any other article from the front building prior to August 5, 1955. The evidence simply shows that other thefts of small sums of money and a radio from the building had been committed by some unknown person or persons.

In Glenn v. State, 76 S.W. 757, a case similar to the instant case where the accused was convicted of burglary, the witness Justiss was permitted to testify “that his house had been broken into on several occasions before the night appellant is alleged to have broken into the house; that on several occasions, which dated back several months, small sums of money were taken from the house; that the reason for watching the house defendant is alleged to have burglarized was because of the previous breaking.” In holding this evidence as to the prior offenses inadmissible, this court said:

“* * * But in every case where such extraneous crimes are admissible there must be pertinent testimony tending to show that appellant was guilty of the extraneous offense. Williams v. State, 38 Tex. Cr. R. 128, 41 S.W. 645. In this case, so far as the bill presents the matter, there is no evidence tending to show that appellant was guilty of having entered the house on previous occasions. Nor is that apparent that the previous entries were a part of the res gestae, serving to identify and connect defendant with the crime charged. Nor was there any testimony showing how such extraneous crimes would shed any light on the burglary here charged against appellant.”

In Hooks v. State, 97 Tex. Cr. R. 480, 261 S.W. 1053, complaint was made of the receipt in evidence of the testimony of the witness White as follows: “Well, I was lying out there watching the store, guarding it until midnight; my son was there helping me guard it. My store had been broken into just shortly before this time; that is on Saturday night before this Friday night.” In holding this evidence inadmissible this court approved the holding in Glenn v. State, supra.

In Clark v. State, 145 Tex. Cr. R. 63, 165 S.W. 2d 747, we said:

“Ordinarily, evidence of extraneous offenses is not admissible unless it tends to prove intent, system or identity where the same is an issue, and then it is not admissible unless appellant’s guilt of the extraneous offense is shown. See Wells v. State, 118 [222]*222Tex. Cr. R. 355, 42 S.W. 2d 607; Williams v. State, 38 Tex. Cr. R. 128, 41 S.W. 645; Morgan v. State, 62 Tex. Cr. R. 120, 136 S. W. 1065; Sawyer v. State, 104 Tex. Cr. R.

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Bluebook (online)
290 S.W.2d 240, 163 Tex. Crim. 218, 1956 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1034, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carmean-v-state-texcrimapp-1956.