State v. Cobb

Decision Date18 September 1913
Citation79 S.E. 419,164 N.C. 418
PartiesSTATE v. COBB.
CourtNorth Carolina Supreme Court

Appeal from Superior Court, Halifax County; Lane, Judge.

R. W Cobb was convicted of murder in the first degree, and he appeals. Affirmed.

The examination of witnesses is largely within the control of the trial court.

R. C Dunn, of Enfield, and Jos. P. Pippen, of Littleton, for appellant.

T. W Bickett, Atty. Gen., T. H. Calvert, Asst. Atty. Gen., and E. L. Travis, of Halifax, for the State.

BROWN J.

There are 60 exceptions in the case on appeal. We have examined each one of them and the entire record with that care which the importance of the case demands, but will not undertake to comment on them seriatim, as it would unduly lengthen this opinion, and would be threshing over again much "old straw."

The most important contention of defendant is that the court should have allowed his motion to nonsuit or direct a verdict of not guilty at conclusion of the evidence upon the ground that the evidence is insufficient to convict.

The state's evidence tends to prove that the deceased was a merchant, living about 2 or 3 miles from Rosemary, and his store was situated about 100 yards from his dwelling. He was in the habit of closing the store about 10 o'clock at night on Saturdays, and carried the money with him from the store to the house. On the night of the homicide he left the store about 10 o'clock with his son, Shelton Shaw. It was a dark night, and they had just come out of the light of the store. When they reached the corner of the house porch, a man, who was sitting on the ground, stood up and said, "Hands up!" The deceased ordered him to get away, and the man then shot. The son of the deceased testified that he could not recognize the man, or tell whether it was a white or a black man, on account of the darkness of the night, but that he was wearing a cap and that he was of the height and size of the defendant. There was other testimony that the defendant usually wore a cap. There is testimony tending directly to prove the conversation of Cobb and Gurkins that they were planning to rob the deceased, and if necessary kill him; that they were to borrow bicycles so as to escape being trailed by hounds; that the agreement was made; and that Cobb said: "I will put a gun in his face, and we will get that kit. We will get on the bicycles and ride back to town. Damn sure thing; bloodhounds can't track a bicycle." The deceased was shot and killed after this on Saturday night, May 3d.

C. O Byrd testified that on May 2d he saw Cobb sitting on the steps of the church, and that he engaged the witness in conversation. This witness testified: "He told me 'I saw a thing that looked good to me out in the country yesterday, and all it takes is nerve, and what it takes to get it, I got it.' I said, 'Yes, and you will get got, too.' He said, 'Why, can't you get a job?' I said, 'Yes, I have several jobs here to finish and cannot save any money in Norfolk.' He said, 'I am going Sunday morning, if things have come out as I have planned."' There is evidence that defendant borrowed two bicycles on the evening of the homicide, and that the bicycle track leading from scene of homicide had eight ridges in the tires, corresponding exactly with the wheel defendant borrowed the same evening from Clyde Taylor. There was evidence of successful trailing with hounds and evidence that the shoe tracks leading from the scene of the homicide were carefully...

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