Cherry v. State

Citation189 So.2d 786,43 Ala.App. 318
Decision Date16 August 1966
Docket Number6 Div. 139
PartiesRobert Lewis CHERRY v. STATE.
CourtAlabama Court of Appeals

Ben F. Ray, Birmingham, for appellant.

Richmond M. Flowers, Atty. Gen., and David W. Clark, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

PRICE, Presiding Judge.

Appellant was convicted of grand larceny. His punishment was fixed at imprisonment in the penitentiary for two years.

Mr. J. B. Stone, Assistant Manager of Johnson Office Equipment Company, a place where office equipment, typewriters and adding machines were sold, testified that on Saturday afternoon, April 20, 1963, defendant and three other persons entered the store. Mr. Stone was alone in the store seated at his desk. The defendant went behind witness to where the typewriters were kept. In a short time Mr. Stone heard a noise and saw defendant starting out with a typewriter under his arm partially covered with a raincoat. Mr. Stone drew a gun, defendant dropped the typewriter and ran. Witness stated the typewriter sold for $76.50.

A police officer testified when defendant was arrested on April 29, 1963, he admitted being in the building but denied picking up the typewriter.

Mr. Stone was recalled to the stand and testified that defendant had carried the typewriter a distance of twenty to twenty-five feet before he dropped it.

The defendant testified that on April 20, 1963, he went into the Johnson Office Equipment Company with three other persons. The parking lot was behind the store and they entered at the back door. He asked Mr. Stone about portable typewriters and Mr. Stone said they were on the shelf and for him to look at the typewriters and when he found one he wanted to show it to him. Witness picked up a typewriter to have it put on layaway; that Mr. Stone got excited and pulled a pistol from the desk drawer; that witness then put the typewriter on another shelf and left.

Defendant stated on cross examination that he wanted to buy the typewriter for a girl friend. He denied having a coat with him when he was at the store. It was brought out on cross examination that defendant had previously been convicted of grand larceny.

Mr. J. B. Stone was recalled and testified defendant had no conversation with him on April 20, 1963; that there was no discussion about putting a typewriter on layaway; that the company had no such plan.

'To constitute larceny there must be a severance of the possession of the owner and an actual possession by the wrongdoer. The severance...

To continue reading

Request your trial
3 cases
  • Mauldin v. State
    • United States
    • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
    • 17 Julio 1979
    ...cert. denied, 291 Ala. 786, 286 So.2d 62 (1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 957, 94 S.Ct. 1972, 40 L.Ed.2d 308 (1974); Cherry v. State, 43 Ala.App. 318, 189 So.2d 786 (1966); Lawson v. State, 38 Ala.App. 322, 82 So.2d 812 (1955). Furthermore it is immaterial how short the distance the chattel w......
  • Wilkins v. State
    • United States
    • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
    • 17 Julio 1979
    ...denied, 291 Ala. 786, 286 So.2d 62 (1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 957, 94 S.Ct. 1972, 40 L.Ed.2d 308 (1974); and Cherry v. State, 43 Ala.App. 318, 189 So.2d 786 (1966). Mr. Johnson also noted the appellant getting into the vehicle, backing it up, and starting forward before he ran to the dr......
  • McKinnon v. State
    • United States
    • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
    • 19 Octubre 1976
    ...than sufficient to support an inference that a larceny had been committed and the defendant did the felonious taking. Cherry v. State,43 Ala.App. 318, 189 So.2d 786. Further in Lee v. State, 20 Ala.App. 334, 101 So. 907, we find the general rule that: '. . . where a particular kind of prope......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT