Dennison v. State, 28778

• Decision Date: 11 February 1952
• Docket Number: No. 28778,28778
• Citation: 103 N.E.2d 443,230 Ind. 353
• Parties: DENNISON v. STATE.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Page 443

103 N.E.2d 443

230 Ind. 353

DENNISON v. STATE.

No. 28778.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

Feb. 11, 1952.

Glenn W. Funk, Indianapolis, for appellant.

J. Emmett McManamon, Atty. Gen., John Ready O'Connor, George W. Hand, Deputies Atty. Gen., for appellee.

JASPER, Judge.

Appellant was charged by indictment with the crime of burglary in the second degree, under § 10-701, Burns' 1942 Replacement. A plea of not guilty was entered, trial by jury was waived, there was a finding of guilty, and judgment and sentence followed.

Appellant's sole assignment of error is the overruling of his motion for a new trial. He contends under his motion that the judgment of the trial court is not sustained by sufficient evidence and is contrary to law.

The evidence reveals the following: On the 28th day of May, 1950, Edward Jaydos, Jack Loveless, and Elizabeth Lieb were owners of the Speedway Tavern, in Indianapolis. The tavern was closed at midnight, and every one was out by 12:30 a. m. The wife of one of the partners returned about 2:30 a. m., and found the door broken and pried open and the glass broken out, the safe had been moved to the front of the bar, the door was broken off of it, two or three cases of liquor were near the front door, papers from the safe were strewn on the floor, the bars over the back window were broken, and the police were there and had appellant in their automobile. Between $225 and $235 were missing from the safe. A police officer testified that in making a routine check of business places in the neighborhood on May 28, 1950, they threw their spotlight on the door of the Speedway Tavern, in Indianapolis, at approximately 2:24 a. m., and saw that the door had been pried open, and saw somebody behind the bar taking liquor off the shelf. On going into the tavern, they found the safe had the front door pried off. Several cases of whiskey which had been taken off the shelves were standing inside the door, and they found appellant and two other men in the place. Appellant was found in the basement hiding behind several cases of beer. He stated to the police officer that he had found the door open and went in to have a drink. The lock on the tavern door was completely chewed off by a crowbar or a prying bar of some kind. At the time of apprehending appellant, he had a pair of gloves on his hands, which, as above stated, was on May 28, 1950, and while inside the building. He had liquor on his breath, but was not intoxicated. One of the other men with appellant was trying to break out the back window when the police entered. Another police officer testified that he had a conversation with appellant in which appellant told him he was in the tavern, but did not know how he got there. Appellant testified, among other things, that he had sustained a head injury in one of his professional prizefights, and that when he drank four or five bottles of beer he would black out. On the morning prior to being in the Speedway Tavern, he had met two other men, who were also apprehended in the tavern with him. He talked and had drinks with them. After he met the two men apprehended with him, at 9:00 or 9:30 a. m., in Harry's Tavern, he did not remember meeting them again. He was in Harry's Tavern until 10:00 or 11:00 p. m., when he started to get a cab, and that was the last he could remember until he awakened in the Speedway Tavern, when the police officer told him to come out from behind stacked beer cases.

Appellant admits that the evidence set out was sufficient to prove all of the elements of second-degree burglary except (1) a breaking and entering and (2) an intent to commit the felony charged. This court...