State v. Maddox, 55191

Decision Date12 April 1971
Docket NumberNo. 55191,No. 1,55191,1
Citation465 S.W.2d 607
PartiesSTATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Billy Wayne MADDOX, Appellant
CourtMissouri Supreme Court

John C. Danforth, Atty. Gen., Gene E. Voigts, First Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.

Lester Watson, Richmond Heights, for appellant.

WELBORN, Commissioner.

Appeal by Billy Wayne Maddox from eight-year sentence, imposed under Second Offender Act, after jury found Maddox guilty of attempted burglary in the first degree.

The appellant's points on this appeal are all based on the contention that the evidence at the trial showed a completed offense of burglary and, therefore, he could not be convicted of an attempt. § 556.160, RSMo 1969, V.A.M.S.; State v. Gadwood, 342 Mo. 466, 116 S.W.2d 42; State v. Baker, Mo.Sup., 276 S.W.2d 131. The evidence on this issue came from the state's witness, Mrs. Fern Baisch.

Mrs. Baisch testified that, at around 10:00 A.M., May 9, 1968, while she was in her apartment in St. Louis County, she heard three loud knocks on the glass portion of the front door to the apartment. The front door was locked. She walked toward the door and could see through the glass upper half of the front door and a bamboo curtain covering the glass. She saw two men outside her door. One man near the door cupped his hands over his eyes and looked into the apartment. That man then waved the second man away and the second man went to the steps, watching toward the street.

The man near the door started trying to put something into the lock. Then the doorknob started to turn. Three or four efforts were made to open the door in this manner, but they were unsuccessful. Next Mrs. Baisch heard a metallic object inserted into the door jamb and pulled down past the lock. According to Mrs. Baisch: 'I got mad and I yanked the door open. * * * He fell in (head first) at my feet on the floor. * * * I * * * asked him what * * * he was doing there. * * * He says, 'I am looking for Paula.' * * * And I said, 'Well, there is no Paula, or nobody lives in these buildings like that, and you're a liar. '' The intruder got up and started to leave. Mrs. Baisch told him to wait until she had called the police, but he left.

When Mrs. Baisch's husband returned home that evening, the police were notified. Mrs. Baisch gave a description of the intruder which eventually led to the arrest of Maddox. Mrs. Baisch identified him at the trial.

Appellant's argument essentially is that the state's evidence showed an entry and therefore a completed burglary, not an attempt. The presence of any part of the burglar's body within the premises is a sufficient entry to provide that element of a charge of burglary. State v. Tierney, Mo.Sup., 371 S.W.2d 321; State v. Watson, Mo.Sup., 383 S.W.2d...

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4 cases
  • State v. Asberry
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • December 8, 1977
    ...an alleged burglar's body within the premises is enough entry to prove one essential element of a charge of burglary. State v. Maddox, 465 S.W.2d 607, 609(1) (Mo.1971); State v. Watson, 383 S.W.2d 753, 756(4) (Mo.1964); State v. Tierney, 371 S.W.2d 321, 323(3) (Mo.1963). Although there was ......
  • People v. Palmer
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • April 25, 1980
    ...commit a theft or felony, but rather on the disarray inside the office, which implied that a bodily entry had been made. In State v. Maddox (Mo.1971), 465 S.W.2d 607, the occupant of a house opened the front door while the defendant was picking the lock, and the defendant fell into the hous......
  • State v. Hulbert, WD
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • June 30, 1981
    ...burglary, namely, the entry into the structure. Some parts of the defendant's body must have intruded into the enclosure, State v. Maddox, 465 S.W.2d 607 (Mo.1971); State v. Johnson, 587 S.W.2d 636 (Mo.App.1979), and the presence of defendant's fingerprints on the inside surface of the glas......
  • State v. Miles, KCD
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • June 3, 1974
    ...of commission are the requisite elements of an attempted crime. State v. Miller, 368 S.W.2d 353 (Mo.1963). Defendant, in State v. Maddox, 465 S.W.2d 607 (Mo.1971), was convicted of attempted burglary in the second degree without any evidence of breaking, entry, or attempted entry. The attem......

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