State v. Rice

419 S.W.2d 30, 1967 Mo. LEXIS 795
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedOctober 9, 1967
DocketNo. 52887
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 419 S.W.2d 30 (State v. Rice) 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. Rice, 419 S.W.2d 30, 1967 Mo. LEXIS 795 (Mo. 1967).

Opinion

BARRETT, Commissioner.

A jury found the appellant, Cornelius Rice, Jr., “guilty of the sale of marijuana as charged in the information.” RSMo 1959, §§ 195.010(5) (17), 195.020, V.A.M.S. Originally by an indictment filed on April 8, 1966, Rice was charged with having sold 54.917 grams of marijuana to Keith Fieger on September 8, 1965. In substitute informations, one on May 18, 1966, and the other on October 3, 1966, (the latter two days prior to the trial on October 5, 1966), a prior felony conviction (RSMo 1959 Supp. § 556.280, V.A. M.S.), larceny from the person was charged. (Upon the trial of the cause the court found the prior felony conviction and fixed the appellant’s punishment at eight years’ imprisonment.) In the second amended information, October 3, 1966, it was charged that on September 8, 1965, Rice sold 54.917 grams of marijuana to Maurice Herron. On October 5, 1966, after the empaneling of the jury but before the offering of any evidence, defendant’s counsel objected that as to the change of names of the purchaser the latter information violated the defendant’s rights under the state and federal constitutions to be informed of the nature of the charge. Const. Mo. Art. I, Sec. 18, V.A.M.S. As to the amendment in both informations as to the prior offense as well as to the name of the purchaser counsel claimed that forcing him to trial on October 5, 1966, was unfair and, therefore, he said that the case should be “continued for a period of approximately two weeks for the defense to enable themselves to prepare a defense in accordance with this new information.” After this objection the prosecuting attorney withdrew the second information and elected to go to trial on the first substitute information of May 18, 1966, which only added to the original charge Rice’s prior conviction, leaving the name of the purchaser as Fieger. As to that particular amendment, the addition of the prior conviction, the case is governed by the recent narcotics case of State v. Collins, Mo., 383 S.W.2d 747, 750; “The substituted information only alleged facts making the habitual criminal statute applicable in determining the punishment and this did not charge an offense different from the original indictment, as defendant erroneously claims.” In this posture and in the particular circumstances noted hereinafter the appeal is not necessarily concerned with whether the amendment as to the name of the purchaser of the marijuana infringes the appellant’s right to be informed of the offense charged. The amendment as to the prior offense did not standing alone entitle the appellant to a continuance: “No amendment of the information or substitution of an information for an indictment as herein provided shall cause a delay of the trial unless the defendant shall satisfy the court that such amendment or substitution has made it necessary that he have additional time in which to prepare his defense.” RSMo 1959, § 545.300, V.A. M.S.; Criminal Rules 24.02, 24.03, V.A. M.R.

In brief these are the facts insofar as they relate to the substantive offense: [32]*32On the afternoon of September 8, 1965, Maurice Danny Herron, an informer, called his old friend Rice on the telephone “and I told him that my friend from K. U. that I had made a purchase from (for) him the week before wanted to make another purchase of marijuana, two cans, and I asked him how much would it be; and he told me he could sell me two cans for seventy dollars, and I told him that I would meet him later on that night when the guy came in from Lawrence.” Herron then called federal narcotics agent Fieger and told him that he had made arrangements for "another purchase for him.” Herron met Fieger and agent Wilkie (who provided surveillance) at a parking lot at 31st and Florence in Kansas City, the agents there searched Herron and his automobile for narcotics and marijuana and money and Fieger and Herron proceeded to the home of Rice’s parents at 26th Street and Walrond. Her-ron sounded the horn on his automobile and when Rice came out sat in the rear seat of the automobile and Herron introduced Fie-ger as “my friend from K. U.” as the “fellow that I had made the previous purchase for.” Fieger complained of the amount of marijuana in the prior sale as well as of the price but Rice said “that’s the price stuff is in Kansas City, and you got a fair shake, I gave you a fair amount for your money.” At this point Rice complained of the traffic at 26th and Walrond and so they drove to Lockridge and Benton and parked. There Rice got out of the automobile and motioned to Herron to come to the back of the car where Fieger could not hear their conversation. But Herron walked up to the automobile and asked Fieger for the money but Fieger said he wanted to talk to Rice and “they bickered a few minutes about price. Keith (Fieger) was trying to get him to sell for $50 and he maintained the price of $70, so Keith counted out $70 and he started to hand it to Rice and Rice walked away and told me to take the money.” Fieger gave Herron $70 (marked bills) and as Herron and Rice walked away Rice handed him the $70 and they walked to a liquor store at 27th and Benton where Rice changed the twenty and ten dollar bills into bills of other denominations. Rice walked on home telling Herron “to go back to my car and get Keith and come back to his house and he would show me where the stuff was.” Herron and Fieger returned to the Rice residence, Herron “blinked my iights,” Rice “came out and pointed to a package laying over in the weeds by the corner of the garage.” Herron picked up the package, wrapped in a newspaper, and after another conversation between Fieger and Rice, the agents and Herron returned to the parking lot where the agents took charge of the package. It is obvious from this brief recitation of the testimony that the state established and the jury could reasonably find the appellant’s guilt as charged. State v. Collins, supra; State v. Taylor, Mo., 391 S.W.2d 835.

Upon the trial and in the motion for a new trial there were objections to the packages, wrappers and marijuana, the claim being that “the chain of custody * * was broken.” Independently of the exhibits there was testimony that the packages contained marijuana and that indirectly the appellant sold the packages to Fieger and it is not necessary to consider this assignment of error.

As a matter of fact the meritorious question briefed and argued is whether the court erred in refusing the appellant’s instruction A submitting as a necessary part of the law of the case entrapment. State v. Decker, 321 Mo. 1163, 1170, 14 S.W.2d 617, 620. As others have noted it is difficult to state, even envisage, an all-embracing definition and rule of entrapment, each case of necessity must be limited to its particular circumstances bearing in mind that in this field there is “a distinction between entrapment in the literal sense and unlawful entrapment.” 33 A.L.R.2d 883, 884, “Entrapment to commit offense with respect to narcotics law.” The circumstances surrounding this particular transaction have been detailed, in addition to Herron’s being an informer hoping to avoid [33]*33the penitentiary the other circumstance necessary to complete the picture is the fact that Herron and the appellant “Skip” Rice were old friends, “teenagers” together. As Herron said, “a buy was made on me by an informant” and he began “to set people up” for arrest by narcotic agents receiving, he claimed, “only expenses.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Shumate
516 S.W.2d 297 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1974)
State v. Napolis
436 S.W.2d 645 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1969)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
419 S.W.2d 30, 1967 Mo. LEXIS 795, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-rice-mo-1967.