Jeffries, Alias Dippy v. State

198 S.W. 778, 82 Tex. Crim. 42, 1917 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 268
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas·Decided October 31, 1917·No. No. 4596.·Published

Opinion

*43 PRENDERGAST, Judge.

The indictment herein alleged that appellant, on or about the 22nd day of March, 1917, unlawfully sold to Adam. Dillinger intoxicating liquor in said county after prohibition had been adopted therein in 1910. He was convicted and his punishment assessed at the lowest prescribed by law.

The indictment, so .far as the allegations of the prohibition election, the orders of the Commissioners Court, and the publication thereof are concerned, is exactly like the indictment in the case of Fump Coursey v. State, decided by this court on October 17th, in an opinion by Presiding Judge Davidson, wherein this court held that the indictment was valid. We adhere to that decision. It is useless to discuss the question in this case.

Dillinger, the alleged purchaser, swore positively that he bought a bottle of whisky from appellant as alleged in the indictment, and paid him one dollar therefor. He swore that the sale occurred in an alley hack of a pool hall and restaurant in Gainesville, and that there was no one else present except him and appellant. He further swore that Pink Ozment was not present at the time, and that appellant did not at the time merely give him and Ozment a drink of whisky out of a bottle.

The State proved up and introduced all of the orders of the Commissioners Court ordering the election, the canvass of the returns, and the declaration that prohibition had carried, and the order putting the law in force in that county and the proper publication thereof.

Tom Eord, the sheriff of Cooke County, testified that on or about March 23rd, by virtue of a search warrant for that purpose, he searched appellant’s house and found sixty-seven pints and two quarts of whisky; that he found it in a closet kind of back in the wall; part of it was in a grip, part in the wall of the house, and part in a closet.

The sheriff took the liquor to his office at the time. Appellant did not disclaim ownership of any of it at the time, and never said any part of it was not his until he testified on the trial in this ease.

Mr. Jones, the agent of the American Express Company of Gaines-ville, testified that on March 21st appellant received from said company twelve quarts of intoxicating liquor on the afternoon train of that date. Appellant made no denial of this.

Appellant himself testified and swore that on the occasion when the said witness Dillinger testified that he bought a bottle of whisky from him, that said Ozment was present, and he did not sell said witness any liquor but gave him and Ozment a drink of liquor at that time out of a bottle. He further had Braken, a horse trader, to testify that the day before the sheriff found that liquor in appellant’s house, that he had put thirty-six pints of whisky therein, and his brother swore that at the same time he had put twenty-four pints therein, and they respectively testified that much of the liquor taken by the sheriff belonged to them, but neither had ever set up any claim to it or demanded possession thereof from the sheriff or anyone else.

*44 Without doubt the testimony is amply sufficient to sustain the conviction, and, as stated, the jury assessed the lowest punishment.

Appellant’s bill No. 4 shows that he objected to the introduction in evidence of the order of the Commissioners Court ordering a prohibition election, on the ground that it was immaterial and irrelevant, not supported by the indictment, and it constituted a variance from the allegations in the indictment. This is the substance of the whole bill. It does not give a copy of the order or any other data other than stated. His next bill shows that he objected to the introduction of the order showing, or tending to show, the publication of the said election. This is the whole of the bill, except his objections, that it was immaterial, irrelevant, not -supported by any allegation in the indictment, and at variance with the allegations in the indictment. The order is not copied, and in no other way shown by the bill. By his next bill he objected to the Commissioners Court’s order declaring the result of the prohibition election in said county. That order is not given or otherwise stated. There was no error by the court shown by either of these bills. Doyle v. State, 59 Texas Crim. Rep., 60; Wesley v. State, 57 Texas Crim. Rep., 277; Gibson v. State, 58 Texas Grim. Rep., 403; Hardy v. State, 52 Texas Crim. Rep., 420; Alexander v. State, 53 Texas Crim. Rep., 504, and other eases unnecessary to cite.

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Jeffries, Alias Dippy v. State, 198 S.W. 778, 82 Tex. Crim. 42, 1917 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 268 (Tex. 1917).

198 S.W. 778 (Jeffries, Alias Dippy v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Wesley v. State
122 S.W. 550 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1909)
Doyle v. State
127 S.W. 815 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1910)
Hardy v. State
107 S.W. 547 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1908)
Alexander v. State
111 S.W. 145 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1908)