Lankford v. State, 25303
| Decision Date | 16 May 1951 |
| Docket Number | No. 25303,25303 |
| Citation | 239 S.W.2d 394,156 Tex.Crim. 113 |
| Parties | LANKFORD v. STATE. |
| Court | Texas Court of Criminal Appeals |
Irwin & Irwin and Robert C. Benavides, all of Dallas, for appellant.
Henry Wade, Dist. Atty., Charles S. Potts, Asst. Dist. Atty., Dallas, George P. Blackburn, State's Atty., of Austin, for the State.
The appellant was on the 9th day of November, 1950 charged by complaint and information in the County Criminal Court of Dallas County, Texas, with the offense of establishing, keeping and exhibiting a lottery.
Thereafter, to-wit: on the 12th day of December, 1950, this cause was tried to a jury, and on the 13th day of December, 1950, the jury found appellant guilty as charged and assessed the maximum penalty of One Thousand ($1,000.00) Dollars fine.
Previous to the filing of the complaint the vice squad officers of the City of Dallas went to a place called 'The Scorpion's Den' where they observed appellant and others as they participated in a certain drawing. The officers testified that at the conclusion of this drawing they placed appellant under arrest and took charge of nineteen ledger books, together with other matter including business cards bearing the names of 'Lankford, Freeman & Terry Advertising Agency.'
Prior to this date the officers had witnessed other drawings by the same parties, conducted in the same manner at other places, described generally as beer joints, dance halls, etc. The evidence developed the fact that these men were conducting what they denominated an advertising agency under the title 'Telequiz'. They had nineteen subscribers in the City of Dallas who paid to them $15.000 each per week. Of this amount, $100.00 was set aside as a prize to the person whose name was drawn. Each of the subscribers collected by some process not fully explained, the names of customers. Each name was listed in a book and given a number which was placed in a 'capsule'. These were deposited in a 'squirrel cage', a container in which they were stirred and mixed, and at a stated time a number was drawn in the presence of the assembled crowd. If the person was present, either at the place of drawing or at one of the other subscribers' place of business, that individual was to receive $100.00. If no one at the place of the drawing received the money the name of the person with the lucky number was telephoned to the other places. If no one was present at either place having that number then the $100.00 for that week was added and accumulated the prize to that extent for the following week. At the particular time in question this prize money had accumulated to $900.00
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