State v. Miles

• Court: Missouri Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: PER CURIAM
• Citation: State v. Miles, 282 S.W.2d 542 (Mo. 1955)
• Decision Date: 10 October 1955
• Docket Number: No. 1,No. 44748,44748,1
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Bob MILES and Ancel Shepard, Appellants

Page 542

282 S.W.2d 542

STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Bob MILES and Ancel Shepard, Appellants.

No. 44748.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

Oct. 10, 1955.

Tom A. Shockley, Waynesville, for appellants.

John M. Dalton, Atty. Gen., Grover C. Huston, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent.

HOLMAN, Commissioner.

Appellants, Bob Miles and Ancel Shepard (hereinafter called defendants), were convicted of felonious assault under the provisions of Section 559.190 (all statutory references herein are to RSMo 1949, V.A.M.S.). The punishment of Miles was fixed by the jury at six months' imprisonment in the county jail and a fine of $250. Shepard was assessed a fine in the same amount and imprisonment for three months.

The evidence presented on behalf of the State justifies the following statement of facts. At about one o'clock on Saturday afternoon, July 31, 1954, Jay White, the prosecuting witness, parked his car on the main street of Edgar Springs, in Phelps County, Missouri. After eating lunch he began to contact persons in the business district in the interest of his campaign for re-election to the office of prosecuting attorney of that county.

Louis Miles, the father of defendant Bob Miles, had operated a tavern in Edgar Springs prior to June 1, 1954. He apparently was unable to obtain a renewal of the license which expired on that date. It may be inferred that certain of the interested parties, including Bob Miles, were of the opinion that Jay White had been instrumental in causing the tavern to be closed. Miles, Robert Hart and two other men were seated in an automobile parked next to Jay White's car. White approached this car and began distributing campaign cards. Miles and Hart then got out of the car and Miles engaged Mr. White in a conversation about closing the tavern.

The prosecuting witness described the assault and the events immediately prior thereto as follows: 'I handed out a card and Bob Miles refused to take it and immediately jumped out of the car, and he said, 'Damn you, I want to talk to you about this tavern.' So I walked around behind my car, to get in my car. Miles ran around the front end of my car and got around to the door. Bobby Hart ran around the Mercury and around my car and followed me in and had me cornered between Mr. Joe Hill's truck and my car. Bob Miles did all of the talking. He said, 'We have got a score to settle with you and we are going to do it.' And he repeated that several times. When I reached for the door, he said, 'Don't get in your car.' And at the same time he said that, Hart was standing there, more or less behind me, and he had one hand kinda back behind him. Miles had his fist drawn on me, and every time that Miles would come a little closer, why Hart would step up a step or two nearer. So I told both of them, Miles and Hart both, 'that I didn't want any trouble with them, that I was just the man that tried to enforce the law in the county, that I didn't know them.' And he, Miles, said to me, 'It won't do you any good to try to talk us out of this.' And every time I would try to open the door he would take a step or two toward me as though he were going to hit me, with his fist drawn. I took ahold of the door and started to open the door to get in my car, and Bob Miles struck at me, and just as he did that, I felt a heavy blow on the back portion of my head. And just as I went down, I struck or shoved at Miles. I don't remember when they struck me in the face. The next thing I remembered was I did feel someone hanging on to my legs, and I remember calling for help. And finally I got loose from them, and I saw Ancel Shepard just leaving me.'

After Miles and Hart began beating White, defendant Shepard (the father-in-law of Miles) came from across the street and grabbed White around the legs. He contended at the trial that he did this in order to break up the fight, but it is perhaps significant that while he was holding him, the other two continued to beat White. Shortly after Shepard grabbed him, Mr White fell to the ground and the evidence indicates that thereafter Miles and Hart engaged in kicking him.

Witness Boyd testified that while Bob Miles was seated in the car with the other men he overheard him say, 'This is White's car. We know where he is at and that is the son-of-a-bitch we are looking for. He caused us to pay a fine of $100, without a warrant, and busted up the tavern.'

Bob Hart (a son-in-law of Louis Miles) apparently fled after the occurrence we have described and had not been apprehended at the time of the trial. Jay White was severely injured in the affray but was able to drive back to his home in Rolla. Dr. Harry H. Davis, who examined him that afternoon, described his injuries as 'laceration over the occipital region; that is the back part of the head. The eyes were dark, bloodshot, swollen, more especially the right; there was a laceration above the right eye. It took six sutures in the occipital wound to close it, took seven over the eye. His head was discolored and swollen throughout the entire portion of the head. His right shoulder was swollen and discolored. This man was in bed when I made this examination.'

In the trial of this case Jay White, the prosecuting attorney, disqualified himself because he was the prosecuting witness and the State was represented by Grover C. Huston, Assistant Attorney General, and J. Ben Searcy, Special Assistant Attorney General.

Defendant Bob Miles presented evidence to...