State v. Hall

128 S.W. 745, 228 Mo. 456, 1910 Mo. LEXIS 140
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMay 26, 1910
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 128 S.W. 745 (State v. Hall) 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. Hall, 128 S.W. 745, 228 Mo. 456, 1910 Mo. LEXIS 140 (Mo. 1910).

Opinion

GANTT, P. J.

On March 24, 1909;, the prosecuting attorney of Newton county filed an information with the clerk of the circuit court of said county, charging the defendant with having on the-day of February, 1909, at the county of Newton, unlawfully and feloniously set up and kept a certain gambling table and gambling device, to-wit, one poker table, commonly so called, upon which cards, commonly called playing cards, were used, which said gaming table and 'gambling devices were adapted, devised and designed for the purpose of playing games of chance for money, property and poker chips, and unlawfully and feloniously induced and permitted divers persons to bet and play at and upon and by means of said gaming table and gambling devices.

A change of venue was granted from the judge of the circuit court of Newton county, on account of alleged prejudice on the part of said judge against the defendant, and Honorable B. G. Thurman, judge of [461]*461the Twenty-sixth Judicial Circuit, was selected to try the case.

The defendant was duly arraigned and entered his plea of not guilty and was put upon his trial on the 21st of October, 1909, and convicted, and his punishment assessed at two years in the penitentiary.'

The evidence tended to show that the defendant was the owner of the DeMont Hotel at Seneca in Newton county, and had lived in said town since 1876; that in the fall of 1908, one R. 0. Thompson, a professional gambler, who had gambled in Kansas and Oklahoma continuously for eight years last past, went to the defendant and arranged for room number twelve in his hotel. This room number twelve had been three years previous to this time occupied by a man by the name of Dan Stuckey, who had built and left in the room a gambling table with a slot or slide on top, in which the gamblers- would deposit checks, which was called the bank or take-off of the person running the house. Dan Stuckey also left in this room about one hundred decks of common playing cards and divers red, white and blue poker chips. Thompson used this gambling paraphernalia, but the evidence was that this table had been covered by a cloth, and the slot or slit was not used, but Thompson in playing the game, instead of adding his chip-, would not ante and kept his ante out as pay for the use of the room, which was called the “kitty” or “take-off,” and that defendant and Thompson would divide the proceeds, or what Thompson would win in the game and the “kitty,” equally. Thompson sold checks to the players as follows: the blue at $1.25, white at five cents, and the red at twenty-five cents, and the players would use these chips as money, and when the game was over any of the players having chips had them cashed by Thompson at the same price at which he sold them. If Thompson was not present to attend to the business, the defendant would do it. The door by which they entered the room [462]*462number twelve was fastened by a spring lock, to which there were two keys, one of which was carried by Thompson and the other by the defendant. On February 9,1909, the sheriff of Newton county raided this room and found nine persons and arrested eight of them. The defendant was the owner of all the gambling paraphernalia.

The evidence on the part of the State tended to show that games of poker for money were often played in this room from the time Thompson formed this partnership with the defendant in September, 1908, until the day of the raid by the sheriff. The evidence also tended to show that the defendant spent a large part of his time in this room. The usual custom was to sell two dollars’ worth of chips to the players to start with, and if they wished more afterwards they could buy as many as they wished. That draw poker was the usual game played in that room. The game of draw poker was fully explained and described in the evidence, but it is not deemed necessary to repeat the description in this statement. The chips, playing cards and table were all offered in evidence before the court and jury.

The defendant testified in his own behalf that he lived at Seneca and had lived there since 1876; that he was the proprietor of the DeMont Hotel; that Dan Stuckey had boarded with him and occupied room number 22 then, but they had since changed the numbers, and it was now numbered twelve, and when he went away he left in the room these poker chips, cards and this table; that the defendant did not own or claim them; that Thompson was a guest in his hotel, came there in August, 1908. Thompson sent Norman Mitchell to see him about coming there; defendant said he did not want to talk to Thompson; that he never made any arrangements with Thompson to divide the profits or winnings in the poker games. Thompson was a high liver .and a good spender. He spent a go.od deal of [463]*463money around the hotel buying fruit, candies and at the lunch counter. Thompson had one key to the room and defendant the other. Defendant had never had anything at all to do in conducting any game since Thompson came there; had never received any money for checks or paid any money or cashed any checks as keeper or runner of the game. He never invited, solicited or induced anybody to come and play in the room. On cross-examination he testified that he had a number of rooms in his hotel for guests; that the cards, tables and chips in evidence had remained in the room and the table was used to set and pile things on; that Thompson paid for his room and stayed there a good deal of the time; that witness did not know that the boys were gambling much, he himself had been there and played for fun; that on the night of the raid he heard Collier, the sheriff, going upstairs and he followed to investigate. He did not recognize Collier and he wanted to see what he was doing up there; that the boys in this room had rooms upstairs in the hotel; that the lock on the door of number twelve was a Yale lock; that there was no gambling in this room to amount'to anything; that Thompson had offered to give him half the profits and winnings, but he refused and would not let him have it that way.

I. This is a prosecution under the Act of March 19, 1901, amending section 2194 of the Revised Statutes of 1899, by which the words ‘ ‘ slot machine, stand or device of whatever pattern, kind or make however worked or operated or manipulated” are added to said section 2194. The defendant insists that his demurrer to the evidence entitled him to an acquittal and that the court erred in not so directing.

The credibility of the witnesses and the weighing of the evidence were matters for the jury to determine. If the jury believed the witness Thompson, they were justified- in finding that the defendant furnished the [464]*464room and the table, cards and poker chips and together with Thompson was running regularly a poker table on the day laid in the indictment, and received one-half of the take-off, proceeds and winnings of the game played upon the said table, and that he brought different men to the room and introduced them to Thompson, who was the regular manager of the game, and that in the absence of Thompson the defendant himself managed it. Ffom this state of facts the question arises, was this poker table so adapted, devised and designed for the purpose of playing poker thereon for money or property and the permitting divers persons to bet and play at and upon it for money or property, a setting up and keeping of a gambling device or gaming-table within the meaning of the statute as amended in 1901?

The learned counsel for the defendant earnestly insists that under the Gilmore case, 98 Mo.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
128 S.W. 745, 228 Mo. 456, 1910 Mo. LEXIS 140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hall-mo-1910.