Thomas v. State

1938 OK CR 50, 79 P.2d 625, 64 Okla. Crim. 265, 1938 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 37
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 6, 1938
DocketNo. A-9435.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1938 OK CR 50 (Thomas v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas v. State, 1938 OK CR 50, 79 P.2d 625, 64 Okla. Crim. 265, 1938 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 37 (Okla. Ct. App. 1938).

Opinion

BAREFOOT, J.

The defendant was charged by information in the county court of Custer county with the crime of having unlawful possession of three gallons of intoxicating liquor with intent to sell the same. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to pay a fine of $100 and serve 90 days in the county jail. From this judgment and sentence he has appealed.

The overruling of defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence by reason of the service of an illegal search warrant is the first issue presented. A hearing was had upon this motion before the trial of the case. The court, after hearing the testimony, overruled the motion and defendant excepted. It was shown that a search warrant was issued, based upon *267 an affidavit of J. R. Greer, chief of police of the city of Clinton, in which it was stated that certain intoxicating liquor was being manufactured, sold, and otherwise furnished, contrary to law, by one Otto Thomas, “On the following described premises, at and in the residence, * * * situated upon the real estate located in Custer county, state of Oklahoma, described as follows: lots 21 and 22 in block 1, Lincoln addition to the city of Clinton, Oklahoma. That said residence * * * are used as a place of public resort, and for the storage and furnishing of intoxicating liquors.” The search warrant issued in pursuance of said affidavit, among other things, stated:

“That said liquor was being disposed of and kept in the manner aforesaid by Otto Thomas, at and in the residence * * * situated in and upon real estate located as follows : Lots 21 and 22 in block 1, Lincoln addition to the city of Clinton, Oklahoma.”

It also directed the officers to seize any liquor found on said premises, and to make a return of the warrant within three days, etc. One of the officers to whom the warrant was directed made a return showing that the warrant was served upon Otto Thomas and there was found in his possession “six half gallon fruit jars of whisky, canyon run,” at his place of residence, lots 21 and 22 of the Lincoln addition, under the floor of the house at the southwest corner.

The defendant, in support of his motion to suppress the evidence, testified that he and his wife lived in the south room of the two-room house, located upon the said above-described lots; that his sister and her husband, Jim Henry, lived in the north room; and that there was a door and wall between them. On cross-examination he testified that “Jim Henry had been with me for a long time and after the raid he was there a week and a half I should think,” but later stated that he was separated from his wife and remained there and was there at the time of the raid. He further testified that there were two cookstoves, one in the south *268 room and one in the north room, and testified that he had the place rented and that he paid $7.50 per month, and was paying the gas and water bills; that his brother-in-law was paying him $1.25 a week for the north room. His wife corroborated this testimony. Neither Jim Henry nor the sister of the defendant appeared as a witness.

J. R. Greer, the chief of police of the city of Clinton, testified that there was no cookstove in the south room; that there was a sewing machine and a bed in the south room and that there might have been a radio. The witness testified that in the north room there was a bed, cookstove, cooking utensils, groceries, but testified that he found no groceries in the south room, and that it was in the south room where the officers made the search which resulted in finding the liquor, the liquor being found under the floor, and under the linoleum where was situated a trapdoor. This officer also testified to the finding of an empty fruit jar in the south room which had contained whisky, and that he asked the defendant in reference to this empty jar and that the defendant told him that he had sold that the night before. The testimony of this officer was corroborated by Officers Bill Armstrong and Jack Smith, who also assisted in the search of the premises. It is the contention of the defendant that the court erred in overruling the motion to suppress the evidence, and in support of this proposition counsel cites the cases of Stouse v. State, 62 Okla. Cr. 46, 70 P. 2d 145; Lucas v. State, 56 Okla. Cr. 413, 41 P. 2d 131; Wiese v. State, 32 Okla. Cr. 203, 240 P. 1075; Myer v. State, 34 Okla. Cr. 421, 246 P. 1105; Eastridge v. State, 57 Okla. Cr. 323, 48 P. 2d 869. We have carefully read the above cases and we think the facts in those cases are clearly distinguishable from the facts in the case at bar. In the Stouse Case the affidavit and warrant described the person as “one Stout,” the name of the defendant was Stouse. The court held that these names were not idem sonans. The description described the premises as follows;

*269 “Starting at Strother St. in the city of Seminole, Okla., going two miles north on Highway No. 48 thence west about % mile to Good Hope school house, thence south about three hundred yards, to a small unpainted house, in section 16 twp. 9, range 6 east, in Seminole county, Oklahoma.”

The evidence revealed that there were 17 two-room houses along the west side of the road south of the Good Hope schoolhouse, all facing east; that all of these houses, with the exception of one or two, were unpainted oil field shacks, and all of similar appearance and design. Under these circumstances the court held that the description was insufficient, and we think the facts in that case are entirely different from the facts in the case at bar.

In the Lucas Case the liquor was found in a kitchen that was jointly used by several people who lived in an apartment. The defendant lived in the northeast room and the whisky was found in the kitchen, which was another room and over which the defendant had no authority or control. He testified that he did not have any whisky in his possession and knew nothing about the whisky until the officers came there. The description in the search warrant called for a search, describing the premises as an apartment, upstairs, on lots 19 and 20, Elk City. It was shown that several parties used the kitchen in common. It will thus be seen that the facts in that case are entirely different from the facts in the case at bar.

The Wiese Case was reversed upon the questions propounded by the county attorney, and the argument of the county attorney, he having argued to the jury that the defendant was a farmer and had lived here twenty-five years without taking out naturalization papers. The search warrant and affidavit described the property as being a certain section of land. The defendant only owned a quarter section of the same and there were other houses located upon the section other than the one in which the defendant lived. The search warrant did not state that it was a place of public *270 resort and was based upon information and belief. It will thus be seen that the reasons the court reversed this case were not such as is here urged.

In the Myer Case the court held (page 1106) :

“This writ was intended to operate and did operate as a blanket search warrant covering the private places of abode of several people, and was therefore void.”

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

Related

Brown v. State
1941 OK CR 110 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1941)
Crouse v. State
1940 OK CR 28 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1940)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1938 OK CR 50, 79 P.2d 625, 64 Okla. Crim. 265, 1938 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 37, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-state-oklacrimapp-1938.