State v. Chambers
| Full Citation | State v. Chambers, 286 S.W. 744 (Mo. App. 1926) |
| Decision Date | 31 August 1926 |
| Citation | 286 S.W. 744 |
| Docket Number | No. 4081.,4081. |
| Parties | STATE v. CHAMBERS. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Jasper County; S. W. Bates, Judge.
Len Chambers was convicted of a second offense of possessing intoxicating liquor, and he appeals. Affirmed.
Defendant was convicted on an information charging that he had heretofore been convicted of the offense of possessing intoxicating liquor on the 18th day of November, 1922, and that on the 25th day of July, 1925, he unlawfully had in his possession intoxicating liquor, to wit, corn whisky. His punishment was assessed at a fine of $300 and one year in jail. Defendant has appealed.
No assignment of errors has been filed, and neither the state nor defendant has filed a brief or appeared by counsel in this court. The cause is before us on the full record, which we shall examine as the statute directs.
Resorting to defendant's motion for new trial, the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict is questioned. The state's case tended to prove that intoxicating liquor was found in the house where defendant lived, in the city of Joplin, by the sheriff of Jasper county and other officers, acting under a proper search warrant. Defendant was in charge of the house which was his usual place of abode and had been for a number of years. He had rented a room to one Jack Cameron. There was evidence tending to prove liquor was found in every room in the house, except the kitchen, and that the doors between all the rooms were open when the search was made. Since defendant was in charge of the house where the liquor was found, that was sufficient to make a prima facie case against him of possessing intoxicating liquor. State v. Briggs (Mo. App.) 281 S. W. 107; State v. Blocker (Mo. App.) 274 S. W. 1097.
There was evidence that Cameron, who occupied one of the rooms, died or committed suicide the day before the trial, and, shortly before his death, stated to officers that defendant had nothing to do with the liquor found in the house, but that it was all his.. Defendant, likewise, denied having any knowledge of the presence of the whisky in the house. Defendant, of course, had a right to make this defense, but the jury was not bound to believe him. We consider the evidence sufficient to sustain the verdict.
We have carefully examined the record and find no error in the instructions. The verdict, " finding the defendant guilty of possessing intoxicating liquor as charged in the...
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...in her possession, the case was properly submitted to the jury. State v. Scheeler, 300 S.W. 318; State v. Hagen, 299 S.W. 83; State v. Chambers, 286 S.W. 744; State v. Briggs, 281 S.W. DAVIS, C. In an information filed in the Circuit Court of Pemiscot County by the prosecuting attorney, def......