State v. Bennett

• Decision Date: 31 January 1946
• Docket Number: No. 650.,650.
• Parties: STATE. v. BENNETT et al.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

36 S.E.2d 708
226 N.C. 82

STATE.
v.
BENNETT et al.

No. 650.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Jan. 31, 1946.

Appeal from Superior Court, Guilford County; J. H. Clement, Judge.

Raymond Bennett and others were charged with an offense and named defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree and he appeals.

No error.

Criminal prosecution upon a bill of indictment charging that "Hugh Gibson (alias Bob O'Connell, alias Bob Martin, alias F. H. Heater), Lacy Salmon, Herbert Carroll, Henry Hadie Agner, Clarence Norris, Sam H. Thompson and Raymond Bennett, late of the county of Guilford, on the 9th day of June, A. D.1944, with force and arms, at and in the county aforesaid, unlawfully, wilfully, feloniously, premeditatively and deliberately and of their malice aforethought, did kill and murder R.L. (Bob) Beck, while engaged in the perpetration of the crime of robbery against the form of the statute", etc.

The defendants, and each of them, on being arraigned, pleaded not guilty. Thereafter, prior to the drawing of the jury, the solicitor announced in open court that the State takes a nol pros with leave as to defendant Hugh Gibson (alias Bob O'Connell, etc.). And during the progress of the trial defendant Lacy Salmon, through his counsel, entered a plea of guilty of murder in second degree, and at close of argument of counsel, defendants Henry Hadie Agner

[36 S.E.2d 709]

and Clarence Norris, through their counsel also pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree, and the case was submitted to the jury only as to defendants Herbert Carroll, Sam H. Thompson and Raymond Bennett. As to each of these the jury returned verdict of "Guilty of the felony of murder in the second degree as charged in the bill of indictment".

The judgment of the court is that each of the defendants, so pleading and being found guilty, be confined in the State's Central Prison, Raleigh, at hard labor for a term of not less than 25 nor more than 30 years and assigned to work under the supervision of the State Highway and Public Works Commission.

Defendant Raymond Bennett only appeals therefrom to Supreme Court and assigns error.

Harry M. McMullan, Atty. Gen., Hughes J. Rhodes, Ralph M. Moody, and J. E. Tucker, Asst. Attys. Gen., for the State.

H. L. Koontz and J. A. Cannon, Jr., both of Greensboro, for defendant-appellant.

WINBORNE, Justice.

While the assignments of error on this appeal are too numerous and extensive to admit of treatment seriatim within the bounds of an opinion of reasonable length, we have given careful attention to each of them and fail to find cause for disturbing the judgment on the...