Pique v. State

480 S.W.2d 546, 1971 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 428
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedDecember 8, 1971
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 480 S.W.2d 546 (Pique v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pique v. State, 480 S.W.2d 546, 1971 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 428 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

OPINION

MITCHELL, Judge.

jimmy Pique, who will be referred to as the defendant or by name on November 23, 1970, was convicted in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Tennessee of burglary in the third degree of the business house of Baker Motors of Dandridge, Inc. on or about the 28th day of April, 1970. The jury fixed the punishment at three years in the State Penitentiary. After the motion for a new trial had been heard and overruled the trial judge Honorable George R. Shepherd pronounced judgment that the defendant Jimmy Pique for the offense of burglary be confined in the State Penitentiary for not less than three years nor more than three years and be rendered infamous and pay the costs. The defendant then prayed and was granted an appeal which he perfected and has assigned the following errors:

1.The Court erred in failing to sustain grounds I and II of the defendant’s motion for a new trial going to the weight of the sufficiency of the evidence to convict the defendant for the offense of burglary, especially as to the identity by the State’s witnesses as to the identity of the items allegedly stolen in the burglary.
2. Because the Court erred in refusing to sustain the defendant’s motion for a mistrial on account of the misconduct of the District Attorney General making reference in the presence of the jury to the defendant taking or not taking the witness stand upon the trial.
3. Because the Court erred during the progress of the trial in conducting numerous and extended examinations of the witnesses on the witness stand, including the defendant which were beyond the purpose of clearing up obscure points and supplying omissions which the interest of justice demanded, and which were conducted in such a prejudicial manner as to prevent the defendant from having a fair trial.

F. M. Mason testified he was in the automobile business in Jefferson County under the corporate name of Baker Motors of Dandridge, Inc. That about April 28, 1970 the business house was burglarized by breaking a back window and by tearing down a door coming into the garage and on into the showroom and office. That they sell and repair cars, and in their office they had their bookkeeping system and wastebaskets and things like that, and that they kept cigarettes out in the showroom.

That the Coca-Cola machine had been broken into and the money taken out of it, the cigarette machine had been broken open and the money and cigarettes taken out of it, some small change that had been left in the cash register and a trash can, and some tools were missing. That the value of the goods stolen was approximately $70.00 or $80.00. That the Sheriff recovered a wastebasket' belonging to Baker Motor Company.

[548]*548Mr. Mason identified the wastebasket by some tape they had put on it in an effort to hold the lid open.

The cigarettes that were stolen were L&M, Camel, Salem and Pall Mall.

On cross examination Mr. Mason said he would not swear that the wastebasket was in his place.

Elmer Franklin testified that he was Sheriff of Jefferson County, that early in the morning before daylight on April 28, 1970 he received information about the burglary at Baker Motor Company. On investigation he found that the breaking and entering had been by a rear window. That the Coke machine and the cigarette machine had been broken into. That he received a communication from Knox County officers. That he sent one of his deputies John Holt to Knoxville and he brought back a basket of cigarettes and tools. That the defendant Pique was arrested. That he communicated with George Hipshire, a Knox County .detective.

George Hipshire who at the time of this burglary was a patrolman with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, testified he had since been promoted to detective. That he had known the defendant Jimmy Pique for seven or eight years. That on the night of April 28, 1970 he and Officer Ca-wood were on Andrew Johnson Highway when he saw the defendant Jimmy Pique driving a ’59 model Ford going down the road. Officer Hipshire testified he was sitting in a service station when he saw the defendant drive down in a white Ford which had no tail lights. That he turned his blue light, siren and spot lights on and followed the defendant’s car. That the defendant speeded up his car and so did the officer. That the officer said “the faster he got the faster the defendant got.” That he pursued the defendant, west on Andrew Johnson Highway to the Asheville Highway, for about three-quarters of a mile and went north on Molly Bright for approximately a mile to Pleasant Hill Road. Hip-shire was in hot pursuit and the defendant’s car could not make the turn at a dead end where it went through a barbed wire fence into the field and bogged down in the mud. The defendant jumped out and ran. Hipshire testified he saw and recognized the defendant Jimmy Pique. That he saw in the defendant’s car some loose packages of assorted cigarettes, and this crooked bar laying on the floor board. This wastebasket was in the trunk of the car filled with cigarettes.

Hipshire said they' called the dispatcher for a wrecker and took all the stuff out of the car and took it to the records department and sometime the next day the department communicated with the Jefferson County authorities. Hipshire said he delivered the wastebasket, cigarettes and crowbars to Officer Holt of Jefferson County.

John Holt, Deputy Sheriff testified in April, 1970 he investigated a burglary at Baker Motors in Dandridge. That he went to the Knox County Jail where he contacted Officer Hipshire who had this merchandise in his possession. That he brought these tools these exhibits and merchandise back to Jefferson County which have been kept in custody of the Sheriff.

Miss Brenda Holland testified that in April, 1970 she was employed as bookkeeper at Baker Motors in Dandridge. That they had light colored beige wastebaskets. When asked if there was anything about this wastebasket that had been done to it that would have a mark on it she answered, “yes, sir we had tried to tape the lid onto the top of it.” When asked if this (exhibit) was the wastebasket she answered, “it looks like it. To my best impression it looks like it.”

The State then rested its case.

The defendant Jimmy Pique took the witness stand and testified in his own behalf. That he lived in Knoxville, and was 36 years old, and worked for S. L. Irwin Building Contractor. He denied any knowledge of, or connection with the bur[549]*549glary of Baker Motors of Dandridge, except what he was later told by David Van Sent and Joe Brown to whom he had loaned his car about eight o’clock that night. After they had wrecked his car they told him about it and told him to report his car stolen. Van Sent and Brown did not testify. The defendant further testified that the car was registered in his name but he was not in the car in Dandridge nor at the time the officers were pursuing the car on the night of the burglary when the car was wrecked. He testified he spent the night in the apartment of Helen Varner from 5 o’clock in the afternoon, all through the night of the burglary, April 28, 1970 and did not leave her house until the next morning. He admitted he had his sister report to the officers that his car was stolen.

Helen Varner testified that on the night of the burglary the defendant came to her place about 5:00 P.M. His car was there when she went to get her hair fixed and when she came back about 9:00 P.M.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
480 S.W.2d 546, 1971 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 428, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pique-v-state-tenncrimapp-1971.