State v. Tabet

67 S.E.2d 326, 136 W. Va. 239, 1951 W. Va. LEXIS 20
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 30, 1951
Docket10392
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 67 S.E.2d 326 (State v. Tabet) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia 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. Tabet, 67 S.E.2d 326, 136 W. Va. 239, 1951 W. Va. LEXIS 20 (W. Va. 1951).

Opinions

Riley, Judge:

. Farris Tabet was indicted, tried and found guilty in the Intermediate Court of Kanawha County of the violation of Chapter 25, Article 10, Acts of the Legislature, 1939, Section 11-a, commonly known as the “numbers” statute, and sentenced to the State penitentiary for an indeterminate ¡term of one to five years. This writ of error is prosecuted to the order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, • refusing a writ of error to the judgment of conviction.

The indictment, consisting of six counts, charges, in effect, that, on the_day of July, 1950, the defendant did unlawfully, feloniously and knowingly (1) keep, occupy and use and permit a place, building room, table, establishment and apparatus for “policy” and “numbers” playing, and for what are commonly called “lottery policies”; (2) deliver and receive money and other valuable consideration in playing “policy” and “numbers”, and in aiding the playing thereof; (3) have in his possession certain writings, papers, and documents, representing and being records of chances, shares and interests in numbers drawn and selected to be drawn in what is commonly called “policy”'and “numbers”, and in the nature of a bet, wager or insurance upon the drawing and selecting of numbers of a “policy” and “numbers” lottery; (4) have in his possession certain papers, prints, writings, numbers, devices, policy slips and other articles commonly used in carrying on, promoting, and playing the games called “policy” and “numbers”; (5) was “the owners, agents, superintendents, janitors and caretakers of certain places, buildings and rooms where ‘policy’ and ‘numbers’ playing and the sale of what is commonly called ‘lottery policies’ was carried on with” defendant’s knowledge, and after he had been notified that said premises were so used, “did unlawfully, feloniously and knowingly permit such use to [241]*241be continued”; and (6) did “aid, assist and abet other persons to the Grand Jurors unknown”, in doing and performing the acts alleged in the indictment.

On December 8, 1950, prior to the selection, empanelling and administration of the oaths to the jurors, the defendant, having been sent to the bar of the Intermediate Court in the custody of the sheriff (1) moved the court to quash the indictment therein, and (2) moved the court to require the State to elect upon which of the Counts of the indictment he was to be tried, which motions the court overruled and thereupon the defendant pleaded not guilty. Thereupon the jury having been selected, empanelled and sworn, the case was set for trial at nine-thirty o’clock in the forenoon of December 9, 1950.

Tabet rented from State’s witness, Ed L. Boggs, the buildings at Nos. 155 and 159 Summers Street, a part of which he subleased to one Lonzo Peace at a rental of fifty dollars a week for a shoe shine shop, and the rest of said building, consisting of approximately one-half thereof, he subleased to one Gregory for a restaurant at a rental of two hundred fifty dollars a month. In 1948, defendant rented the entire premises at No. 155 Summers Street to Joe Levinson, and removed therefrom to operate a place on Summers Street known as Monarch Pool Room. A restaurant and pool room were operated by the defendant at said No. 159 Summers ¡Street, when Diamond Billiards was incorporated with Tabet as a majority stockholder thereof. This record does not disclose that Tabet was an officer or member of the board of directors of Diamond Billiards. From the time of its incorporation until the happening of the events involved in this suit, Diamond Billiards has continued to operate the restaurant and pool room at No. 159 Summers Street, with Nathan Comer, as its manager.

State’s witness, Sabe G. Corey, had indorsed Tabet’s note in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars for negotiation at Kanawha Banking & Trust Company, which note was paid at the rate of one thousand dollars a month;

[242]*242and later, on May 4, 1950, Corey indorsed another note for said defendant at said bank, in the amount of twenty-eight thousand five hundred dollars, from the proceeds of which the balance of the fifteen thousand dollar note was paid, and a deed of trust was given by “Diamond Billiards” to secure the second loan, which deed of trust was. executed by the defendant.

On the complaint of State’s witness, Eloise Jackson, made to the Police Department of the City of Charleston, that she had purchased, at the Idle Hour Pool Room, where she was then employed, from State’s witness, Thomas Harvey Richardson, designated in her testimony as “Ross Richards” a winning number, as shown by a numbers slip held by her and introduced in the record as one of the State’s exhibits, which had not been paid, two search warrants were obtained before H. G. Thayer, a Justice of the Peace of Kanawha County, on July 3, 1950, the search warrant complaints being executed on the same day. A raid was made on July 7, 1950, at the shoe shine shop at No. 155 Summers Street, and the premises at No. 159, which was then being operated by Diamond Billiards.

The raid on the shoe shine shop at No. 155 Summers Street produced an expired life insurance policy on the life of Farris Tabet for the term of one year, which had expired September 17, 1945; membership cards in the-Southern West Virginia Automobile Club for the year 1945 in the names of Farris Tabet and his wife; and a. battery warranty and adjustment agreement, issued by Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, dated July 13, 1947.

The raid at Diamond Billiards at No. 159 Summers Street produced: A topcoat hanging in a semi-public-closet back of the counter, evidently not belonging to defendant, in the pocket of which was a paper bag containing an envelope, bearing the name “Kanawha Banking- & Trust Company” with five yellow numbers slips with certain writing thereon, including figures; unidentified cash found in three envelopes in the pocket of said coat,, [243]*243in the respective amounts of $9.85, $7.75 and $2.80, in the latter of which were some slips of paper; several yellow numbers sheets found in the wastebasket, and a steel box, which contained memoranda on adding machine tape, some of which bore the legend, “Cash to Mr. Tabet”, followed by various figures and the date “10/17”; a diary for the year 1948 found in the safe, which contained a list of cash turned over to defendant in part and to one F. E. Davis, bearing date September 17, 1948; a cigar box found in the safe, which contained memoranda on which appeared figures, notes and initials; a number of slips showing withdrawals of cash by defendant, such as “4-12-49, Farris $25.00”; and certain cards filed as “State’s Exhibit No. 17”, purporting to be a notification to “all houses” of a change in the rules of payoff on a gambling game, the nature of which is not disclosed by this record. None of these initials, figures or notations was in defendant’s handwriting.

The purported winning number which Eloise Jackson, the prosecuting witness, testified she had purchased from State’s witness, Thomas Harvey Richardson, should have, according to her testimony, paid her fifty dollars. . She testified that when she asked Richardson for payment it was refused ¡ whereupon she went, at Richardson’s direction, to see the defendant.

On her first visit to Monarch Pool Room, made at the instance of Richardson, who had refused payment, she was told to see the man who wrote it. Upon advising Tabet that such person had directed her to him, he stated that he could not be responsible for somebody- else’» mistakes.

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State v. Tabet
67 S.E.2d 326 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1951)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
67 S.E.2d 326, 136 W. Va. 239, 1951 W. Va. LEXIS 20, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-tabet-wva-1951.