Slaughter v. State, 29827

Citation314 S.W.2d 92,166 Tex.Crim. 403
Decision Date21 May 1958
Docket NumberNo. 29827,29827
PartiesJames Glendon SLAUGHTER, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
CourtTexas Court of Criminal Appeals

[166 TEXCRIM 404] Buck C. Miller, King C. Haynie, Houston, for appellant.

Dan Walton, Dist. Atty., Thomas D. White, Asst. Dist. Atty., Houston, and Leon B. Douglas, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.

MORRISON, Presiding Judge.

The offense is possession of heroin; the punishment, three years.

Officer Free of the narcotics division of the Houston police department testified, in the absence of the jury, that he had known the appellant for approximately two years and knew him to be a person who associated with people who carried narcotics but did not know where in the city he lived until shortly prior to the day charged in the indictment, that he then secured a search warrant to search appellant's apartment and proceeded to such address in company with other officers, searched the apartment, arrested several occupants thereof, and learned from one of them that the appellant would soon return in a described automobile and that the appellant had certain narcotics on his person at the time. The search warrant was not exhibited to the trial court.

In the presence of the jury, he testified that he was waiting outside the apartment when appellant drove up, and as the appellant got out of his automobile his fellow officers identified themselves as police officers, that at this moment the appellant reached in his pocket and raised his hand and tried to insert something in his mouth, but was prevented from doing so by one of the officers who was able to reach him and knock a piece of white cellophane paper out of the appellant's hand. The paper was retrieved from the ground where it fell and was shown by the testimony of a chemist to contain two one-grain capsules of heroin.

Appellant did not testify or offer any evidence in his behalf.

We overrule the appellant's contention that the arrest was [166 TEXCRIM 405] unlawful. The information in the possession of Officer Free plus the unusual act of the appellant were sufficient to lead him to believe that a felony was being committed in his presence and to authorize the arrest without a warrant. Sanders v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 312 S.W.2d 640, and French v. State, 162 Tex.Cr.R. 48, 284 S.W.2d 359. See also Tillman v. State, 162 Tex.Cr.R. 618, 288 S.W.2d 521, and Garcia v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 289 S.W.2d 766.

The judgment is affirmed.

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12 cases
  • Miller v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • September 4, 1970
    ...under the provisions of Article 14.01, Vernon's Ann.C.C.P. Article 725b, Sec. 15, Vernon's Ann.P.C. See also Slaughter v. State, 166 Tex.Cr.R. 403, 314 S.W.2d 92; Bridges v. State, 166 Tex.Cr.R. 556, 316 S.W.2d 757. The search incident to such arrest was therefore lawful. Even if it can be ......
  • Adkins v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • November 23, 1988
    ...785 of maj. opinion.) Does this mean that what I cannot see, I really can see? Miller, supra, and like cases, see Slaughter v. State, 314 S.W.2d 92 (Tex.Cr.App.1958), and Bridges v. State, 316 S.W.2d 757 (Tex.Cr.App.1958), represent the infamous "dropsy cases", in which after or during when......
  • Stull v. State, 3-86-060-CR
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • March 4, 1987
    ...the automobile without a warrant. 316 S.W.2d at 760. See also McLeod v. State, 450 S.W.2d 321 (Tex.Cr.App.1970); Slaughter v. State, 166 Tex.Cr.R. 403, 314 S.W.2d 92 (1958). In Miller v. State, 458 S.W.2d 680 (Tex.Cr.App.1970), police officers received information that one Gary Ross had mar......
  • Artell v. State
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
    • March 13, 1963
    ...upon authority of French v. State, 162 Tex.Cr.R. 48, 284 S.W.2d 359; Sanders v. State, 166 Tex.Cr.R. 293, 312 S.W.2d 640; Slaughter v. State, 314 S.W.2d 92; Bridges v. State, 166 Tex.Cr.R. 556, 316 S.W.2d 757; Baray v. State, 167 Tex.Cr.R. 456, 321 S.W.2d 87; McCall v. State, 167 Tex.Cr.R. ......
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