State v. Knecht

147 N.W.2d 167, 181 Neb. 149, 1966 Neb. LEXIS 477
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 22, 1966
Docket36322
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 147 N.W.2d 167 (State v. Knecht) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Knecht, 147 N.W.2d 167, 181 Neb. 149, 1966 Neb. LEXIS 477 (Neb. 1966).

Opinions

Brower, J.

The defendant and appellant, Robert Lee Knecht, was convicted and sentenced for the crime of burglary by the district court for Douglas County, and has appealed to this court from an order overruling his motion for a new trial.

The case was consolidated in district court for trial with that of two other defendants, Ruth Ann Duncan and Bobby Joe Weiland, but the appeal of Robert Lee Knecht alone is now before us and he will be designated herein as the defendant.

It is first urged that there was not sufficient evidence to submit the State’s case to the jury, for which reason the trial court should have sustained defendant’s motion for a directed verdict made at the conclusion of the State’s evidence, or at any rate, granted a new trial. We will therefore at this point review the evidence as disclosed by the record.

On August 23, 1965, between the hours of 2:30 and 3 a.m., George W. Grixby, employed nights as a window washer, was walking in the vicinity of Sixteenth and Douglas Streets in Omaha, Nebraska. He heard a pounding and about the third or fourth pound heard glass break and a burglar alarm go off. He looked from a distance of about half a block toward the front of the jewelry store operated by the Zales Jewelry Company. There he saw a person run from the store to an automobile parked against the curb. The back of this car was colored orange below and white above. It proceeded south on Sixteenth Street to Farnam Street where, after stopping momentarily, it ran through a red traffic light. He was unable to testify that anyone else was at the scene or in the automobile becadse he did not observe further [151]*151although the area was well lighted. He could not identify any of the three accused. About 10 minutes later a police officer appeared.

Alphonse Powell, a sergeant on the Omaha police force, was operating a cruiser car. Hearing the alarm ringing, he drove to the Zales store, arriving at 3:05 a.m. He noted a large pane of glass was broken with fragments thereof on the walk and within the store. The ring section in the display window near the break was disturbed. The officer met Grixby at the store front and was informed by him of what he had seen. Thereupon the officer stepped to his cruiser and put forth a general broadcast of the robbery and Grixby’s information concerning the car.

Carl Ciciulla, a plain clothes police officer, was operating a cruiser car eastward on Vinton Street. He stopped his car on Sixteenth Street for a red light where he noticed an automobile with three occupants making a right-hand turn at Sixteenth and Vinton Streets, and thereafter proceeding west. The car observed was white and faded orange, being an older model Lincoln. Minutes later, at approximately 3 a.m., a “general pickup” came through for a car matching the color of that which he had seen.

At approximately 3:30 to 3:40 am., police officer Edward Skar, who had heard the radio bulletin from Zales, observed a white over orange 1956 Lincoln automobile with Iowa plates at Twenty-fourth and Vinton Streets, proceeding eastward on Vinton Street. The officer’s cruiser was then going west on the same street. He turned about and attempted to stop it at Twenty-third Street, and succeeded in doing so at Eighteenth and Vinton Streets.

Three persons were in the front seat of the stopped vehicle, including the defendant. The codefendant Ruth Ann Duncan was the driver.' Particles of glass were in the car and on the floor was a 4-way tire lug wrench, gloves, and a small black ring ■ holder. A price tag [152]*152marked $12.95 was on the front seat. Later a search warrant was procured, and from the glove compartment numerous rings, some in cases, and a watch were taken. Four rings and five ring holders were admitted in evidence and identified by the manager as having been taken from Zales Jewelry Store. Not all the items taken from the store were received in evidence.

The three occupants of the car stopped were identified as the defendant and the two others with whom he was tried. They were placed under arrest and taken to central police headquarters. There is evidence the occupants had been drinking, but none of the officers indicated either the defendant or the other occupants were so intoxicated that they did not realize what was going on or were incoherent. They seem to have promptly followed instructions given them.

Defendant testified on his own behalf that he had started drinking whiskey at his own home about 9 o’clock in the morning before the robbery and continued to drink into- the evening. The last thing he remembered was when drinking at the Pussy Cat Bar, having an argument with Ruth Duncan concerning her dancing with another man. The next thing he recalled was waking up in jail.

Defendant’s contention that there is not sufficient evidence to submit the State’s case to the jury is based to a great extent on the testimony of Grixby that he saw only one man at the scene of the crime. He did not, however, say there was none other there, but only that he did not observe any other. The cross-examination by defendant’s counsel on this point follows: “Q. But you only saw one person out of the car? A. I only saw one person out of the car. Q. In fact, you only saw one person; is that correct? A. That’s right, just one person is all I saw. Q. You didn’t see another soul in the car? A. No; I didn’t look that far. I mean, I just didn’t observe it. All I could see was just the one person. Q. That’s right, you just saw one person, and that might have been all there was there, as far as you know? A. That’s [153]*153right. Q. And this is a very well-lighted area there? A. It is in front of the jewelry store.” Grixby had testified he observed the color of the car from its back which was all he saw.

We here cite certain rules applicable to the present case.

“Whoever aids, abets or procures another to commit any offense may be prosecuted and punished as if he were the principal offender.” § 28-201, R. R. S. 1943.

In Miller v. State, 173 Neb. 268, 113 N. W. 2d 118, this court said: “A common purpose among two or more persons to commit a crime need not be shown by positive evidence but may be inferred from the circumstances surrounding the act and from defendant’s conduct subsequent thereto. * * * Participation in criminal intent may be inferred from presence, companionship, and conduct before and after the offense is committed.”

“The credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence are for the jury to determine in a criminal case and the verdict of the jury may not be disturbed by this court unless it is clearly wrong.” Small v. State, 165 Neb. 381, 85 N. W. 2d 712, 70 A. L. R. 2d 984.

“It is only where there is a total failure of proof to establish a material allegation of the information, or the testimony is of so weak or doubtful a character that a conviction based thereon cannot be sustained, that the trial court is justified in directing a verdict for the defendant.” Salyers v. State, 159 Neb. 235, 66 N. W. 2d 576.

Jewelry stolen from the display window at Zales Jewelry Store was found in the car in which the defendant rode. Broken glass was seen m it. The defendant, when apprehended, was with the same person in whose presence he had been drinking beforehand. An officer testified he saw three persons in a similar vehicle on Vinton Street at 3:05 a.m. There is evidence a similar vehicle was stopped and the defendant with two companions apprehended therein a few minutes thereafter.

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State v. Knecht
147 N.W.2d 167 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1966)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
147 N.W.2d 167, 181 Neb. 149, 1966 Neb. LEXIS 477, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-knecht-neb-1966.