State Of West Va. v. Alvis, (No. 8049)
| Decision Date | 28 May 1935 |
| Docket Number | (No. 8049) |
| Citation | 116 W.Va. 326 |
| Parties | State of West Virginia v. Roy Alvis and Phil Alvis |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
At common law robbery "is the felonious taking from the person of another of goods or money to any value, by violence or putting in fear." State v. McCoy, 63 W. Va. 69, 70, 59 S. E. 758. The manner of taking is alternative; it may be either through violence or through intimidation. Allegations of both force and intimidation are unnecessary since an allegation of either is sufficient.
It must appear from an indictment for robbery that the article taken had value, but value need not be specifically averred.
Error to Circuit Court, Roane County.
Roy Alvis and Phil Alvis were convicted of armed robbery, and they bring error.
Affirmed.
Thos. P. Ryan and Wm. S. Ryan, for plaintiffs in error. Homer A. Holt, Attorney General, and Kenneth E. Hines, Assistant Attorney General, for the State.
Defendants were jointly convicted of armed robbery and sentenced in the circuit court, and then were granted a writ of error here.
The evidence herein is highly contradictory, though that of the State is ample to sustain the verdict. Some of the members of this Court feel now that had they been on the jury they would have been averse to conviction. We all concede, however, the general right of the jury to pass upon such evidential conflicts.
The indictment charges a felonious assault, a putting in bodily fear, and a felonious taking of "one rifle, one watch and a flashlight.7' The indictment does not allege that the intimidation was felonious, and does not state the value of the articles taken. Counsel for defendants contend that these omissions are fatal. Robbery at common law "is the felonious taking from the person of another of goods or money to any value by violence or putting in fear." State v. McCoy, 63 W. Va. 69, 70, 59 S. E. 758. Accord: State v. McAllister, 65 W. Va. 97, 63 S. E. 758, 131 Am. St. Rep. 955. Franklin v. Brown, 73 W. Va. 727, 728, 81 S. E. 405, L. R, A. 1915 C, 557. It will be noted that the manner of the taking is alternative; it may be either through violence or through fear. Code 1931, 61-2-12, states several alternative ways of committing robbery, including "violence to the person," without mentioning intimidation. Wharton's Twelfth Edition of his Criminal Law (1932). sec. 1087, says: This conception of the law is general. See 23 R. C. L., subject Robbery, sec. 12; 54 C. J., idem, sec. 24. This last authority, sec. 105, also says: Consequently, the allegation of the indictment herein relating to intimidation may be disregarded as surplusage. Wharton, supra, section 1094, says: "As force or fear is the main ingredient of the offense., the indictment need not specify value." Accord: State v. Fulks, 114 W Va. 785, 173 S. E. 888, 889-890; 54 C. J., supra, sec. 93; 23 R. C. L., supra, sec. 19. We know as men that some value attaches to a rifle, watch and flashlight. The amount of that value is not material. State v. Fidks, supra; 23 R. C. L., supra, sec. 3. The indictment is therefore sufficient.
Counsel for defendants complain that a witness for the State was permitted to testify in rebuttal of a conversation with one of the defendants sometime before the trial, which, counsel state, was "concerning a wholly different criminal
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State v. Satterfield
...61-2-12 [1961]. Moreover, although not directly on point, this Court held the following in syllabus point 2 of State v. Alvis, 116 W.Va. 326, 180 S.E. 257 (1935): "It must appear from an indictment for robbery that the article taken had value, but value need not be specifically averred." (e......
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State v. Harless
...force or violence inflicted on the victim or by intimidating the victim by placing him in fear of bodily injury. State v. Alvis, 116 W.Va. 326, 180 S.E. 257 (1935). See also, Watkins v. Commonwealth, 287 S.W.2d 416 (Ky.1956); Gray v. State, 10 Md.App. 478, 271 A.2d 390 (1970); State v. Hawk......
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State v. Levesque
...victim in fear in accord with what the State's evidence may disclose. Either is sufficient to sustain the indictment. State v. Alvis, 1935, 116 W.Va. 326, 180 S.E. 257. The defendant complains that since the State elected to charge robbery by putting in fear, the robbery verdict was not sup......
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Bayer v. State
...182, 31 N.E.2d 993; Worl v. State (1962), 243 Ind. 116, 183 N.E.2d 594. The rule is similar in other jurisdictions. In State v. Alvis (1935), 116 W.Va. 326, 180 S.E. 257, the court upheld an indictment for robbery which merely stated that one rifle, one watch and a flashlight had been taken......