Brenan v. Commonwealth

• Decision Date: 23 April 1945
• Citation: 33 S.E.2d. 639,183 Va. 846
• Parties: BRENAN. v. COMMONWEALTH.
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court

33 S.E.2d. 639

183 Va. 846

BRENAN.

v.COMMONWEALTH.

Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia.

April 23, 1945.

Error to Corporation Court of City of Norfolk; James U. Goode, Judge.

William Greggs Brenan was convicted of robbery, and he brings error.

Affirmed.

Before CAMPBELL, C. J., and HOLT, HUDGINS, GREGORY, BROWNING, EGGLESTON, and SPRATLEY, JJ.

Herman A. Sacks, of Norfolk, for plaintiff in error.

Abram P. Staples, Atty. Gen., and M. Ray Doubles, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the Commonwealth.

GREGORY, Justice.

The petitioner, William Greggs Brenan, was convicted upon a charge of robbery, and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary. The facts are not in dispute, and are substantially as follows: The accused, a young man twenty-two years of age, left his home between 6:30 and 7 o'clock on the evening of July 22, 1944, taking with him $100 in cash and a check for $207, payable to himself and made by his mother. Later he met Mr. Ford, and they were together for several hours, during which time they drank some beer. They separated at Tegg's Barbecue about 10 o'clock p. m. At this time the accused had with him nearly four quarts of whiskey.

At approximately 12 o'clock that night one A. G. Kinsey, the victim of the robbery, was driving a taxicab on the Sewells Point road in Norfolk, about two blocks west of Granby Street, close by Tegg's Barbecue. The accused was walking on the Sewells Point road, and he stopped Kinsey and requested that the latter drive him to his home at No. 815 Holt Street. He thereupon boarded the taxicab and when they arrived at the intersection of Granby Street and Sewells Point road, where the cab was stopped on account of a red traffic light, the accused put his right hand inside of his coat and stuck it in Kin-sey's right side and at the same time said that it was a "stickup". He then told Kinsey to drive straight ahead which Kinsey did for some little distance, when he was told by the accused to pull to the curb and was ordered to hand over his money. Kinsey handed the accused the money, which was refused, but the accused ordered Kinsey to lay the money on the dash board, whereupon the accused took the money, amounting to $16.25, from the dash board.

Kinsey reported the occurrence to the Norfolk Police Department and in a short time police officers were on the scene, and they arrested the accused. When he was searched the $16.25 in money was found on his person. The accused was then carried to the police station where he admitted having taken the money from the taxi driver. He exclaimed: "Yes, I robbed him. Give me fifteen or twenty years. What in the hell do I care?"

On the same night very soon after the robbery, but before his arrest, the accused was seen in Denby Park. In that neigh-borhood he approached a Mrs. Edwards and a Mrs. Richardson, who were sitting in the former's automobile which was parked in the driveway next to her house. The lights in the house were burning and the front door was open. When Mrs. Edwards first saw the accused he was coming up the street limping. He approached the automobile and placed his hand in his pocket and said "This is it". He later said "This is the real thing". By that time Mrs. Richardson had thrown her pocket book out of the car, and when the accused observed her movement he said, "Hey, sit where you are. Don't move". Mrs. Richardson screamed and Mrs. Edwards' son and daughter ran out of the house. When the accused saw Mrs. Edwards' son and daughter he said, "it is a good thing I love women". He then ran down the street and stopped under a street light. Later he came back to where Mrs. Edwards and Mrs. Richardson had been and told persons standing there that he came up to see "what was the trouble". He used profanity and ordered Mrs. Edwards' daughter to go back into the house. He then left and went under the same street light and...