Sullivan v. State

136 S.W. 456, 61 Tex. Crim. 657, 1911 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 178
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 29, 1911
DocketNo. 1054.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 136 S.W. 456 (Sullivan v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sullivan v. State, 136 S.W. 456, 61 Tex. Crim. 657, 1911 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 178 (Tex. 1911).

Opinion

PRENDERGAST, Judge.

—By complaint and information it was *658 charged that the appellant on or about December 8, 1909, in Grayson County, Texas, “did then and there unlawfully keep and was concerned in keeping and did aid, assist and abet in keeping a disorderly house in a certain house, building, edifice and tenement then and there situated in this: That he did then and there unlawfully keep and was concerned in keeping and did aid, abet and assist in keeping said certain house, building, edifice and tenement there situate, in which spirituous, vinous and malt liquors were sold and kept for sale, without a license first having been obtained under the laws of Texas to retail such liquors and in which said appellant then and there unlawfully sold and kept for sale spirituous, vinous and malt liquors, without having first obtained a' license under the laws of Texas to retail such liquors.” The complaint and information were made and filed December 9, 1909. The case was not tried until November 9, 1910.

The record shows that the court gave a verbal charge. There is no exception whatever thereto, nor were any special charges requested. This court will, therefore, conclusively assume that the charge covered every phase of the case necessary or proper to be submitted. The appellant was convicted and his penalty assessed at $200 fine and twenty days in jail.

The only complaint is that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction. We will, therefore, give the substance in full of the testimony. Seven witnesses, to wit: Greer, apparently a disinterested witness; Kirk, Kidd and Howard, each a deputy sheriff of Grayson County; Rich, the sheriff; Binkley, a minister of the gospel, and Stark, the constable of the precinct, each testified that they knew the general reputation of the house kept and run by the appellant, which was clearly identified as situated in Sherman, on the corner of certain streets; in Grayson County, Texas, and that the general reputation of the place was one where intoxicating liquors were sold and kept for sale. There was no dispute whatever on this point. It was also clearly shown, without dispute, that this certain house was kept and run and operated by the appellant at the time charged in the information, and for several years prior thereto in which were situated a barbershop, a pool-room where negroes resorted to play pool, and a lunch counter, all in the same building and on the same floor and that there was a door between the barbershop and the pool-room.

Charles Greer testified: That he lived in Sherman, Grayson County, Texas, on December 8, 1909, and was at appellant’s place of business, designating where it was in the city of Sherman on said date. When he got there, there were several darkies laughing and talking loud; some were swearing and cursing, engaged in conversation in different parts of the place and some were playing pool. Appellant had" been keeping a lunch counter in part of the house and in another part was a .negro barbershop; and he also kept a pool hall therein. When he went there he was in search of whisky, but did not buy any *659 right then; he was talking with a negro boy named Alex, who had been working there in the house awhile before that; he did not know whether he was working there then or not. The witness was seated at the lunch counter; he got up and started away, telling Alex that he was going down to Mackey’s to get some whisky; Alex said he did not have to go down there, that he could let him have some whisky and they stepped out of the door’ and around the corner against the side of appellant’s pool-hall; he put his hand in his inside coat pocket, pulled out a half pint of whisky and he gave him a half dollar for it. The witness drank it, or most of it. At appellant’s place, at times, the negroes get pretty loud and make a great deal of noise; he did not buy any whisky from appellant at that place that day.

Kirk, a deputy sheriff of Grayson County, testified: Appellant was running a negro pool-hall on December 8, 1909, and had been in the same business there for several years. “I have seen whisky and beer there—glasses and empty bottles there frequently along about December 8, 1909. About this time I had several parties to complain to me about this place being noisy and disorderly and was frequently called there about this as an officer to act in an official way.”

Kidd, also a deputy sheriff of Grayson County, testified: That on December 8, 1909, he and Howard, another deputy sheriff of said county, had placed in their hands a search and seizure warrant and went to appellant’s place—identifying it—for the purpose of executing the warrant. They got there late in the evening just after dark; they found the appellant there and immediately began searching the premises; they found a number of bottles of whisky and beer in different parts of the house. In the barbershop, which is a part of the building, they found some four or five bottles of whisky in a grip. In the pool-room they found several half pint bottles of whisky in a kind of safe; also some ice and several bottles of beer on it. This whisky was found behind the lunch counter in some pigeonholes used for canned goods; they also found some four or five half pint bottles of whisky there. In the back part of the pool-room they found a great number of empty whisky bottles. Behind the lunch counter they found a number of glasses of different kinds. There were a number' of negroes in there who were disorderly and intoxicated. “I have seen them drink whisky in that place and a number there that appeared to be under the influence of liquor. I never knew anyone to buy whisky there myself.” They took charge of the whisky and beer found there on this occasion. Ho one made any claim of owning it, or claimed to own it, or know anything about it. This witness afterwards heard that a part of it had been brought from Dallas to be used in a case of sickness for Dorchester, who was sick at that time. They took the beer and whisky to the county jail. This witness did not know what became of it.

Howard, another deputy sheriff of Grayson County, testified: He and Kidd, another deputy sheriff, under a search warrant and seizure *660 to search appellant’s place for spirituous, vinous and malt liquors, on December 8, 1909, went to appellant’s house and found the place filled with negroes—some playing pool, some engaged in loud and boisterous* conversation in different parts of the house. Upon searching the place they found bottles filled with whisky in different parts and in an old safe or cupboard behind the lunch counter they found some bottles filled with whisky, several bottles of beer in a vessel with ice about it. They found glasses and some whisky wrapped up in a paper grip; they found several barrels and sacks of empty whisky and beer bottles in the back end of the house; they took charge of the whisky and beer and carried it to the jail. Ho one claimed to own the whisky at this time. Appellant was there in charge of the place. This witness heard afterwards that they claimed the beer belonged to one Dorchester; no one that he knows of ever claimed to him to own the whisky. “Chas. Greer informed me that there was whisky kept there for sale and told me where it could be found and I went there and found it as he stated.”

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Related

Aston v. State
48 S.W.2d 292 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1931)
Wagner v. State
188 S.W.2d 1001 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1916)
Cunningham v. State
166 S.W.2d 519 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1914)
Novy v. State
138 S.W. 139 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1911)

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Bluebook (online)
136 S.W. 456, 61 Tex. Crim. 657, 1911 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sullivan-v-state-texcrimapp-1911.