Com. v. Bottom

• Decision Date: 10 October 1910
• Citation: 140 Ky. 212,130 S.W. 1091
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. BOTTOM et al.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

130 S.W. 1091

140 Ky. 212

COMMONWEALTH v. BOTTOM et al.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

October 10, 1910

Appeal from Circuit Court, Mercer County.

Prosecutions of W. A. Bottom and De Witt Bonta for violating the local option law were dismissed, and the Commonwealth appeals. Certificate of error ordered.

James Breathitt, Atty. Gen., Tom B. McGregor, Asst. Atty. Gen., and C. E. Rankin, Commonwealth Atty., for the Commonwealth.

J. F Vanarsdall and Ben Lee Hardin, for appellees.

HOBSON J.

Local option is in force in Harrodsburg. It is not in force in Lawrenceburg, which is 20 miles from Harrodsburg and connected with it by rail. W. A. Bottom runs a saloon in Lawrenceburg, and De Witt Bonta is his saloon keeper. On March 26, 1910, J. W. Divine, at Harrodsburg, wrote Bottom this letter: "Harrodsburg, Ky. 3/26/10. W. A. Bottom Lawrenceburg: Send me four quarts of whisky the first chance you have, and leave it at John I. Vanarsdall's, and I will send you the money court day. Resp., J. W.

Divine." R. L. Goddard, at Harrodsburg, went to the telephone of John I. Vanarsdall, some days after, and telephoned to Bottom asking him if anybody was coming up to send him some whisky. A number of other persons sent similar messages. Some days later Bonta took the train at Lawrenceburg, with the whisky that had been ordered by these parties put up in different packages. At Lawrenceburg he put his packages on a truck, and when the train came had them put on the train. When the train got to Harrodsburg, the hotel porter, or man sent by Vanarsdall to meet the train, took the packages to the hotel. Bonta delivered to Goddard the whisky he had ordered, and it was charged to Goddard on an account he had with Bottom. When he would see any of the other persons who had ordered whisky, he collected from them the money, and they went to Vanarsdall's and got the whisky. Bottom and Bonta were indicted in these two cases for selling the whisky to Goddard and Divine in Harrodsburg; and on the conclusion of the evidence for the commonwealth, in each case, the court instructed the jury peremptorily to find for the defendants. The jury so found, and, a judgment having been entered dismissing the prosecutions, the commonwealth appeals.

The judgment of the circuit court, it is said, was rested on two grounds: First, that the sale was made at Lawrenceburg; second, that Bottom and Bonta could not be jointly indicted.

It is true that, where whisky is ordered and...