Robison v. State

298 S.W. 349, 174 Ark. 899, 1927 Ark. LEXIS 582
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 26, 1927
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 298 S.W. 349 (Robison v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robison v. State, 298 S.W. 349, 174 Ark. 899, 1927 Ark. LEXIS 582 (Ark. 1927).

Opinion

Humphreys, J.

Appellant was indicted for the crime of murder in the first degree for killing Will Goff, and, upon a trial of the charge, was convicted of manslaughter and adjudged to serve a term of five years in the State Penitentiary as a punishment therefor, from which judgment an appeal has been duly prosecuted to this court.

The assignments of error consist in the admission of certain testimony, the giving of instruction number 3 9 by the court, and the refusal to give instruction number 16 requested by appellant.

• The evidence introduced by the State showed that, on November 5, 19'26, three officers, Gene Booker, Clarence Baker and Will Goff, left Hope about dusk in a car to search the “Smiling Service Station” for whiskey. The station was owned by appellant, and was situated about one mile from Hope, on the Bankhead .Highway. Booker had filed an affidavit before W. G. Bright, a justice of the peace, 'that he suspected intoxicating liquor was concealed in appellant’s house or premises, and a warrant directed the officers to search appellant’s house. The justice of the peace had failed to sign the warrant. The officers stopped before reaching appellant’s premises, consisting of a filling station, several tourist houses, and a main residence, a part of which was used for a store. They concealed themselves in the woods near the station, and observed a Ford touring car drive up to the side of appellant’s place and stop, and appellant go out from his filling station to the car, and, after a few minutes, two men in the car get out and unload some sacks, which they took to the back yard, where there were two woodpiles. They saw them put one sack on one woodpile, one on the top of the other one, and one between the two. They also saw them go into the filling station and, after a short time, come out and stop in front, and, after meeting appellant, go back to the car. They then saw a Ford roadster come up and appellant get something out of the sacks and take to the ear. They then saw a Ford coupe drive up and appellant again get something out of the sacks and take it to the car. The officers then approached the premises, Baker entering the back yard and Goff and Booker entering the station from the front. Appellant was informed by Goff and Booker that they were there to search his premises, and produced the warrant. Appellant objected to the search, because it did not purport to charge those to whom it was directed to search for whiskey which might he concealed there for purposes of sale or for any unlawful purposes, and because the warrant was not signed. Appellant then went into the room right north of him, and came out and put his hand in 'his hip pocket and then pulled his hand out just as he came out of the door from behind the counter. The two officers, in company with appellant, went into the back yard, where they met Baker, and searched the premises, and found seventy-two eight-ounce bottles of whiskey in sacks at the wood piles. After they carried the whiskey to the car and were ready to go, Goff suggested to appellant that they go to the garage and make a search. Goff went to the garage with appellant, but found nothing. As they were returning, appellant a few steps in front, Goff told him to wait a minute until he searched him, whereupon appellant jumped and wheeled and threw his hand to his hip pocket, and told Goff that he should not search him. Goff then pulled his gun and cocked it, and had his left arm extended toward appellant, who was backing away from him. Appellant pulled his hand out of his hip pocket, and as it came out it flashed right in Goff’s face, and, as Goff started to fall, the gun in his hand went off and fired toward the ground. As Goff fell, appellant fired again. Baker then pulled his gun and began shooting. Goff made no motion to shoot appellant, and never had his gam up from his hip pocket to a shooting position. Goff’s pistol was fired only the one time. A fusillade followed between appellant and the other officers, resulting in the infliction of several wounds on appellant. Appellant was arrested in a short time after killing Goff, and incarcerated, where his wounds were later dressed. After being placed in jail, appellant said that if he had had a good gun he would have killed all of them.

Bobert Evans testified that, about a year before the killing, he raided appellant’s place of business, and that, after the raid, appellant asked him where he got the information which caused him to raid the place, and when he told him that he acquired it from Will Goff, appellant said, “Well, I will just tell you, it is none of Will Goff’s damn business what I do out there.” The packages of whiskey which were found and seized were exhibited to the jury.

Appellant testified, on direct examination, that he had been appointed deputy sheriff for the purpose of protecting his own property and to assist officers in running down car thieves. Several cars had been stolen, and one of them had been left near appellant’s place of business, before he received Ms commission as deputy sheriff. A part of the time and up until about three weeks before the killing’ appellant had rented Ms place of business to a man by the name of Bush, who had complete control of same during the rental period. The prosecuting attorney was permitted to ask appellant, on cross-examination, if the very man who stole the oars, and was then in the Federal pen in Louisiana, was not his lessee and in charge of his station there, and asked him if that was not the man that got the Buick cars belonging to Dave Finley, and a Chevrolet car.

Appellant first insists that the court committed reversible error in admitting the affidavit and search warrant in evidence, because they were defective. It is unnecessary to discuss the sufficiency of the affidavit and warrant; as bffih were admissible in evidence to explain the presence of the officers at the filling station and the circumstances leading up to the killing.

Appellant next insists that the court committed reversible error in permitting the packages of whiskey to be exhibited to the jury. The killing grew out of the search of appellant’s premises for whiskey, and the discovery and seizure were circumstances tending to show a motive for killing and who was probably the aggressor. Weldon v. State, 168 Ark. 534, 270 S. W. 968.

It is next insisted that the court erred in permitting the prosecuting' attorney to ask appellant, on cross-examination, if the very man who stole the ears and was then in the Federal pen in Louisiana was not his lessee and in charge of his station there, and in asking him if that was not the man that got the Buick cars belonging- to Dave Finley, and a Chevrolet car. The cross-question was based upon the direct examination, and so invited error, if error at all.

It is next insisted that the court committed reversible error in permitting- Robert Evans, a witness for the State, to testify that, about a year previous to the killing, he and other officers had made a raid upon appellant’s premises, and that, shortly after the raid, appellant came to him and asked him who furnished the information leading up to the raid, and that he told him Will Q-off had, whereupon he said that appellant told him that it was none of Will G-off’s damn business what he did out there. We think this testimony admissible as tending to show appellant’s feeling toward the deceased and the motive for the killing.

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Related

Williams v. State
297 S.W.2d 771 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1957)

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Bluebook (online)
298 S.W. 349, 174 Ark. 899, 1927 Ark. LEXIS 582, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robison-v-state-ark-1927.