State v. Hunt
| Decision Date | 19 May 1943 |
| Docket Number | 654. |
| Citation | 25 S.E.2d 598,223 N.C. 173 |
| Parties | STATE v. HUNT et al. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Criminal prosecution upon indictment charging defendants with the capital offense of rape of one Eldora Hinson Eason.
Defendants pleaded not guilty.
While the transcript of the evidence offered by the State is long and in detail, the following is a narrative of what it tends to show:
On the afternoon of Tuesday, 27 October, 1942, around 5:30 5'clock, defendants Harvey Hunt and Purcell Smith Indians, appeared at the place of business of Ball Cab Company in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and "wanted a cab" to take them to Rockfish Creek, which is located about four miles from Fayetteville on the Fayetteville-Lumberton highway. In a few minutes George Harrell, taxi driver operating a 1941 Plymouth, four-door sedan, on which the name and telephone number of the Ball Cab Company appeared, left with them, defendant Hunt sitting in front seat with the driver, and defendant Smith in the back seat. When they approached the Rockfish Creek bridge defendants told the driver to "stop here", or "park here". And as he was in act of stopping Smith struck the driver in the side face with a blackjack or sand bag, and Hunt "stuck a gun" in his side. They took control of the car, robbed him of his pocketbook and contents, including about sixty-one dollars, and made him get in the back seat with his face down. Defendant Smith held him in that position at point of a gun while defendant Hunt drove the car. After passing through the town of St. Pauls and at a point about two miles below that town, Hunt turned the car into a dirt road that leads to and by the residence of Joseph Allen. The car was stopped beyond the Allen house, and Harrell was forced to get out and lie down. Defendant Smith got astride of him and, with gun in his stomach, held him there for about thirty minutes. In the meantime defendant Hunt turned the car around and drove away toward the highway. He was next seen when he overtook Mrs. Eldora Hinson Eason and her sister, Mrs. Elberta Hinson Capell, as they were walking on the highway from St. Pauls in direction of Lumberton and toward the home of their father, where they resided. He was driving a car on which name of Ball Cab Company appeared, and was coming from direction of St. Pauls toward entrance to this side road where he had left Harrell and defendant Smith. Mrs. Eason and Mrs. Capell had been to see another married sister, who was sick, and whose home was at St. Pauls. They left her home about 6:30 o'clock "dusk dark", after having prepared supper for her and her family. Upon overtaking them defendant Hunt asked if they wanted a ride, to which they replied "No"; one saying "We don't live very far, we will walk". Whereupon Hunt turned the car "cater-cornered across the white mark in the road", stopped opposite them, jumped out, and, over their protests and pleadings, and with pistol in hand, forced them around, and to enter the front
seat of the car--Mrs. Eason in the middle and Mrs. Capell next to the door. He then "slammed the door *** ran around *** got in on the other side *** started up the car" and, with pistol still pointed at Mrs. Eason and her sister, who were protesting and begging to be let out, drove by their home and onto the said side road into which he turned and drove to and stopped within seventy-five yards of the Joseph Allen home, near where he had left Harrell and defendant Smith. When the car came and stopped there Smith "got off", released Harrell and told him "to back off", which he did and "took off", as he expressed his leaving there. Smith then came to the car and got in the back seat, and, as he did, Hunt handed to him the gun and said: "Here, hold this on them". At this moment Mrs. Capell jumped out of the car and ran to the home of Joseph Allen. Hunt chased her a part of the way and returned to the car, and while Smith sat in the back seat, holding gun against the back of Mrs. Eason, Hunt backed the car out to the highway, and, headed away from St. Pauls, drove some distance. He then turned off the hard surface into a side road and, after going some distance thereon, stopped the car. There, as she pleaded and begged them "not to bother" her, they forced her to get out of the car, take off her step-ins and lie down in the road. Whereupon, with Smith standing there with the pistol on her, Hunt had sexual intercourse with her against her will. And, immediately thereafter, in the face of her continued pleading and begging, Hunt held the pistol on her while Smith had sexual intercourse with her against her will. She says: "I begged and pleaded like a dog". Then they took her to a highway, put her out of the car and left. From there she made her way to a nearby filling station, and got some Indian boys there to take her home. She then told her mother what had happened to her.
In the meantime, Harrell having reported his experiences to people living near, and to officers, and Mrs. Capell having reported to Joseph Allen and others at his home, to her father, and to officers her experience and the carrying away of her sister, Mrs. Eason, a search was begun. As a result, both defendants were arrested that night, in connection with which the taxi was retaken. Defendants were placed in jail. Later Harrell identified them as the men who robbed him and took the taxi. Mrs. Eason and Mrs. Capell identified defendant Hunt as the man who forced them into the car on the highway. And Mrs. Eason identified both defendants as the men who carried her away and had sexual intercourse with her against her will, as detailed by her. Also, after defendants were put in jail, upon examination that night by a doctor, the person of each defendant bore evidence from which State contends it may be inferred that each had had recent sexual intercourse.
Defendants offered no evidence.
The verict of the jury is: "The defendants are guilty as charged".
The...
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