Gann v. State
| Decision Date | 13 June 1900 |
| Citation | 57 S.W. 837 |
| Parties | GANN v. STATE. |
| Court | Texas Court of Criminal Appeals |
Appeal from district court, Hamilton county; J. W. Parker, Special Judge.
R. S. Gann was convicted of being an accessory to the crime of theft, and appeals. Reversed.
J. C. Main and Eidson & Eidson, for appellant. Robt. A. John, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
Appellant was convicted of being an accessory to the offense of theft of cattle, and his punishment assessed at confinement in the penitentiary for a term of two years; hence this appeal.
Appellant presented a motion in arrest of judgment on the ground that the indictment failed to allege an offense. The indictment, after setting out the offense of theft of said one head of cattle by John M. Harris, then proceeds as follows: "That the said R. L. Gann, * * * after the commission of said offense, * * * and well knowing that said offense had been committed by the said John M. Harris, and with the purpose and in order that the said John M. Harris might evade arrest for said offense so committed by him, did unlawfully and willfully give aid to the said John M. Harris." The objection here urged is that the indictment should have alleged the act of aid, and we are referred to the case of Street v. State, 39 Tex. Cr. R. 134, 45 S. W. 577, to sustain this contention. We would observe that said case went off on the proposition that the mere receiving of stolen property, knowing that the same was stolen, was not of itself sufficient to authorize a conviction of the person as an accessory to the theft of the property so received. It was, however, suggested in said opinion that an indictment charging one with being an accessory to an offense should set forth the act or acts done by him in aid of the principal offender, and not merely state the legal conclusion that said party did aid, etc. A closer examination of the authorities on this question indicates that an indictment charging one as an accessory need only do so in the most general terms. On this subject Mr. Bishop says: "It is in no case necessary to set forth the means by which the accessory after the fact received, concealed, or comforted the principal felon, for it is perfectly immaterial in what way the purpose of the one was effected, or the harboring of the other secured, as the means are frequently of a complicated nature, which would lead to great inconvenience and perplexity if they were always to be described upon the record." 2 Bish. Cr. Proc. § 8, subd. 3. It would seem, however, at common law that an accessory after the fact was confined to one who shielded the principal offender from prosecution by preventing his arrest or aiding in his escape, and did not extend to one who gave aid or assistance merely to defeat the prosecution. 1 Whart. Cr. Law, § 241. Under our statute (article 86, Pen. Code), however, as construed in Blakely v. State, 24 Tex. App. 616, 7 S. W. 233, it would appear that one who was guilty of perjury or subornation of perjury might be guilty as an accessory. It is not necessary, however, in this case, to discuss that proposition; the only question for our consideration being whether or not...
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Dent v. State
...used by defendant in the perpetration of any offense. An indictment similar to the first count here has been held good in Gann v. State (Tex. Cr. App.) 57 S. W. 837, and, without further discussion of the matter, we refer to that case. We think the count is good. Even conceding the first co......
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State v. Needham
... ... after the fact as one "who, after a full knowledge that ... a crime has been committed, conceals it from the magistrate, ... or harbors and protects the person charged with or found ... guilty of the crime." To the same effect are the three ... Texas cases of Gann v. State, 42 Tex. Crim. 133, 57 ... S.W. 837; Woods v. State, Tex. Cr. App., 60 S.W ... 244, and Harrison v. State, 69 Tex. Crim. 291, 153 ... S.W. 139. Contra, it was held in Ex parte Goldman, 88 P. 819, ... that the specific acts which constituted the aiding, ... harboring, and concealing ... ...
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Harrison v. State
...by Judge White in his Annotated P. C. § 108, and is sufficient, expressly so held by repeated decisions of this court. Gann v. State, 42 Tex. Cr. R. 133, 57 S. W. 837. It is unnecessary to detail the evidence. The appellant neither testified nor offered any evidence. The testimony was amply......
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Louvier v. State
...indictment is in substantial compliance with Willson's Criminal Forms, 6th Edition, section 2314. This Court has held in Gann v. State, 42 Tex.Cr.R. 133, 57 S.W. 837, and Stepp v. State, 96 Tex.Cr.R. 264, 257 S.W. 250, that in charging the offense of being an accessory to crime the indictme......