Patrick v. Commonwealth

• Decision Date: 29 April 1941
• Parties: Patrick v. Commonwealth.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

286 Ky. 265

Patrick v. Commonwealth.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

April 29, 1941.

Intoxicating Liquors. — Where accused was charged with transporting intoxicating liquors without a license and his sole defense was that he knew nothing of the intoxicants found in automobile which accused drove from a poolroom to service station and back to poolroom at request of owner, accused was entitled to a concrete instruction setting forth his defense, and failure to do so was error.

Appeal from Powell Circuit Court.

M.E. Strange and Beverly White for appellant.

Hubert Meredith, Attorney General, and Harry D. France, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before W.J. Baxter, Judge.

OPINION OF THE COURT BY CHIEF JUSTICE REES.

Reversing.

John Thomas Patrick has been convicted of the offence of transporting intoxicating liquors without a license, and his punishment fixed at a fine of $125. He has prayed an appeal in this court.

The facts briefly stated are these: The county judge of Powell county issued a search warrant based upon an affidavit made before him by a field representative of the Department of Revenue. The affiant stated that he believed the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law was being violated by H.C. McQuinn and Bascom Patrick, and his reason for so believing was that he had been informed by Dellmus Bowen, sheriff of Powell county, that alcoholic beverages were then being transported by H.C. McQuinn and Bascom Patrick in a red Ford coupe carrying license No. 24027, Hancock county, Kentucky. The warrant authorized the search of the described automobile. J. Sam Sternberg, a field representative of the Department of Revenue, the only witness for the Commonwealth, testified that immediately after issuance of the search warrant he went to the poolroom in Clay City operated by Bascom Patrick, brother of appellant, and shortly thereafter saw the automobile described in the warrant coming up the street. Appellant, who was driving the car, was stopped and the car was searched. A half pint bottle of untaxed whisky, with one or two drinks missing, was found under the driver's seat and 12 cases of beer were found in the luggage compartment which was locked. Appellant testified that his brother, Bascom Patrick, requested him to drive the car to James Bloom's service station, about one block from the poolroom, to have it washed. After the car was washed he returned it to the poolroom where he was arrested and the car searched. He had not looked into the luggage compartment or under the driver's seat, and did not know the beer and whisky were in the car. Bascom Patrick testified that the car belonged to him, and that he had driven to Irvine that morning and bought beer and placed it in the luggage compartment and locked it; that appellant was not with him at the time; that he then drove to Clay City and...