Crafton v. State
| Decision Date | 27 May 1946 |
| Docket Number | 36125. |
| Citation | 200 Miss. 10,26 So.2d 347 |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
| Parties | CRAFTON v. STATE. |
J. H. Brown, of Oxford, for appellant.
Greek L. Rice, Atty. Gen., and Geo. H. Ethridge, Asst. Atty. Gen for appellee.
Appellant was convicted of having in his possession unlawfully an integral part of a still, to-wit, what is called a worm, and sentenced to the state penitentiary for two years under Section 2632, Code 1942.
He contends on this appeal that the evidence is insufficient to show that he was in possession of said part and that he should be discharged. On this question the evidence of the State is that the sheriff and two deputies acting under a search warrant, about two or three o'clock in the afternoon, went to the home and premises owned by appellant; that the only persons there were the wife of appellant and her two children, three and six years of age that they searched the home and found between a mattress and a featherbed a one-half gallon fruit jar partly filled with what is called corn, homemade, moonshine whiskey; that the residence faces south and the hog lot is some seventy-five to eighty yards to the east thereof and between the residence and the hog lot are located a garden and a barn. The hog lot is under fence. The officers found this worm, consisting of four parts and disconnected, lying on the ground under some bushes in the hog lot. It had rained the night before and there were fresh tracks of a truck or automobile which had driven to and from the place where the worm was found, from which the officers surmised the main part of the still had been carried away but the worm had been left after the rain the night before. A road runs east and west just south of the residence. The officers followed human foot prints leading from the residence across the road some forty yards to a hollow log, in which log they found another one-half gallon fruit jar full of the same kind of whiskey. The officers furthermore testified that there was only one bed in the residence. This evidence made out a prima facie case against appellant who was the owner of the premises where the part of the still was found. Wylie v. State, 151 Miss. 897, 119 So. 825; Garland v. State, 165 Miss. 136, 146 So. 637; Goss v. State, 187 Miss. 188, 192 So. 494; Williamson v. State, 191 Miss. 643, 4 So.2d 220; Quick v. State, 191 Miss. 179, 2 So.2d 812, certiorari denied 317 U.S. 631, 63 S.Ct. 52, 87 L.Ed. 509.
As against this the wife of appellant testified that her two minor brothers lived a part of the time at her home and that one of them, seventeen years of age, was there on the occasion of this search of the premises; that her stepfather and her mother also stayed at her home at times, but that neither was there on this occasion. She further said that the appellant had been gone some four or five days and that he said he was going to visit his sister. She said further that they had four beds in the residence. She was the only witness for the appellant except that some of her neighbors did testify there were three or four beds in the home. We think it was a question for the jury whether the testimony offered by the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
McFee v. State
...single issue. Bolin v. State, 489 So.2d 1091, 1092 (Miss.1986); Brown v. State, 483 So.2d 328, 330 (Miss.1986); Crafton v. State, 200 Miss. 10, 14, 26 So.2d 347, 348 (1946). Evidence of other criminal activity on the part of an accused is inadmissible where the prior offense has not resulte......
-
Lockett v. State
...evidence should be limited to that relevant under the indictment. Brown v. State, 483 So.2d 328, 330 (Miss.1986); Crafton v. State, 200 Miss. 10, 14, 26 So.2d 347, 348 (1946). Evidence of other criminal activity on the part of the accused is ordinarily inadmissible where the prior offense h......
-
Stringer v. State, 55607
...single issue. Brown v. State, 483 So.2d 328, 330 (Miss.1986); Stinson v. State, 443 So.2d 869, 873-74 (Miss.1983); Crafton v. State, 200 Miss. 10, 14, 26 So.2d 347, 348 (1946). Evidence of other criminal activity on the part of an accused is inadmissible where the prior offense has not resu......
-
Ladner v. State
...(Miss.1985); Donald v. State, 472 So.2d 370, 372 (Miss.1985); Stinson v. State, 443 So.2d 869, 873-74 (Miss.1983); Crafton v. State, 200 Miss. 10, 14, 26 So.2d 347, 348 (1946). Exceptions have been laid down to the general rule, and have been approved numerous times. Proof of another crime ......