State v. Cox

360 S.W.2d 668, 1962 Mo. LEXIS 607
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedOctober 8, 1962
DocketNo. 48969
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 360 S.W.2d 668 (State v. Cox) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Cox, 360 S.W.2d 668, 1962 Mo. LEXIS 607 (Mo. 1962).

Opinion

HYDE, Judge.

Defendant was convicted of assault with intent to kill with a deadly weapon with malice aforethought and given a sentence of eight years in accordance with the verdict of the jury. (See Section 559.180 RSMo, V.A.M.S.) Defendant has appealed hut filed no brief so we consider all assignments made in his motion for new trial in accordance with Supreme Court Rule 27.20, V.A.M.R. (See also Rule 28.02.)

The assignments allege error in rulings on evidence, refusal of an offered instruction and other trial .rulings. There is no contention made (and none reasonably could have been made) concerning the sufficiency of the evidence to make a case for the jury. Therefore, reference to the facts will be made in connection with the rulings challenged, except for the following brief statement of the situation, as shown by the evidence of the State and the evidence of defendant.

Defendant was forcibly ejected from the T.ravelux Tavern (hereinafter referred to as the Tavern) in Jackson County on the night of March 25-26, 1960, by Harry E. Campbell, door man, and other tavern employees, and told not to come back. About 12:25 A.M., March 27th, Campbell with another employee, Beckett, came to the tavern for duty and saw defendant there. Campbell walked to where defendant was standing at which time defendant inquired of Campbell why he (defendant) had been thrown out of the tavern the night before. Campbell replied that the management did not want him there and that defendant would have to go out again. Defendant pulled a pistol out of his right pocket and fired three shots which struck Campbell. Beckett then shot at defendant with a shotgun, his second shot shooting the pistol out of defendant’s hand as he was aiming again at Campbell. Defendant had testimony (from his brother’s wife) that Campbell took hold of his shoulder and said that he had heard that defendant was looking for him. Defendant replied that he wanted to know why they both jumped on him last night and then Campbell hollered out, “Shoot the son-of-a-bitch.” Beckett fired a shotgun from behind the bar, his first shot striking defendant in the right hand, then defendant grabbed his gun with his left hand and tried to shoot back.

Assignments 1 and 6 claim error in permitting reference by the State to the wounding of Karen Routh, who accompanied defendant and others with him to the Tavern on the night of the shooting. Those who came there with defendant were his brother, his brother’s wife, Karen Routh, Bill Allbright and a girl called Nancy. Defendant’s brother and wife and Karen were sitting in a booth when the shooting started and Karen was struck by a bullet, apparently from defendant’s pistol. The first mention of this was in Campbell’s direct testimony when in answering a question he said, after the shooting was over, somebody said “there was a girl shot.” Objection by defendant’s counsel to this was sustained as hearsay but when Campbell was asked: “Did you actually see this girl that had been shot,” there was no objection and he said he did. Likewise, there was no objection to two subsequent questions as to where she was and what he observed. However, when another witness told about Karen being shot, defendant’s counsel objected and asked the court to instruct the jury to disregard alll [671]*671testimony with respect to shooting of Karen and also asked the court to declare a mistrial. Thereafter, defendant’s counsel objected each time any such .reference was made. However, as we said in State v. Bell, 359 Mo. 785, 788, 223 S.W.2d 469, 471: “This evidence was properly admitted as a part of the res gestae. It did not relate to separate and distinct crimes, but parts of a continuous occurrence intimately connected with the crime for which defendant was being tried.” See also State v. Moore, Mo.Sup., 353 S.W.2d 712, 713, and cases cited. Defendant’s assignment 8 claiming error in allowing endorsement of Karen Routh as a witness at the trial is wdthout merit, in any event, because she was not called as a witness, State v. Johnson, 349 Mo. 910, 163 S.W.2d 780, 783. Assignments 1, 6 and 8 are overruled.

Assignments 2 and 5 claim error in restricting cross-examination of Campbell as to where he was and what he did on the evening of March 26th before he went to the Tavern about midnight and as to previous claimed illegal gambling activities at the Tavern. The court did permit much cross-examination concerning Campbell and Beckett being together at another tavern earlier in the evening and coming together to the Tavern where the shooting occurred, bringing the shotgun with them from Campbell’s home. (Campbell said they brought the shotgun because they heard of threats made by defendant.) Campbell was asked if he ran a dice game at the Tavern and said he did not. Objection to defendant’s counsel thereafter arguing with him about it was sustained as were also objections to his questions about running dice games in other places. No connection of gambling with the events of the night involved appears. “The court is invested with much discretion, and necessarily so, in determining the extent of cross-examination,” State v. Turner, Mo.Sup., 320 S.W.2d 579, 584, especially as to collateral matters. State v. Winn, Mo.Sup., 324 S.W.2d 637; State v. Shilkett, 356 Mo. 1081, 204 S.W.2d 920. We have carefully read the cross-examination of this witness and the court’s rulings and hold there was no improper restriction of this cross-examination. Assignments 2 and 5 are overruled.

Assignments 3 and 4 involved testimony as to what was done after the shooting by other employees of the Tavern at the hospital, where defendant was taken, to prevent him from getting a blood transfusion; and as to threats received by defendant’s brother’s wife by telephone at home later that night, she having recognized the voice of the person calling. Defendant’s offer of proof as to the threats was that, after defendant’s brother and his wife returned to their home from the hospital where defendant was taken, she received a telephone call from a Tavern employee saying they had already got defendant and were coming to get them. This was a subsequent collateral matter involving a third party not involved in the assault charged, and who did not testify, throwing no light on what occurred at the time of the alleged assault by defendant. See State v. Hannebrink, 329 Mo. 254, 44 S.W.2d 142. Concerning the hospital incident, a deputy sheriff, called as a witness by defendant, testified about occurrences at a hospital to which defendant and Campbell were taken after the shooting. He said there was a fight there and he arrested defendant’s companion Allbright and ordered two Tavern employees (Baer and Wishman) and others out of the hospital. There was no testimony that Baer and Wishman were at the Tavern at the time of the shooting but, after the deputy told about clearing the hospital, defendant’s counsel asked him the following question: “Officer Smith, at the time that you were at the hospital was the plasma needle pulled out of J. D. Cox’s arm?” Objections and rulings were as follows: “MR. GANT: Your Honor, I object to the question, first, on the ground it is certainly leading and suggestive and improper. Secondly, it [672]

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360 S.W.2d 668, 1962 Mo. LEXIS 607, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cox-mo-1962.