State v. Roux, 89

• Decision Date: 02 March 1966
• Docket Number: No. 89,89
• Citation: 146 S.E.2d 654,266 N.C. 555
• Parties: STATE, v. Emory Joseph ROUX alias David Willard.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

Page 654

146 S.E.2d 654

266 N.C. 555

STATE, v. Emory Joseph ROUX alias David Willard.

No. 89.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

March 2, 1966.

Atty. Gen. T. W. Bruton and Deputy Atty. Gen. Harry W. McGalliard, for the State.

Milton C. Williamson, Greenville, for defendant appellant.

PARKER, Chief Justice.

In the record before us the State's evidence begins on page 5 and ends on page 73. It consists of the testimony of 28 witnesses. Defendant offered no evidence. Judge Fountain's charge to the jury is set forth in 24 pages of the record. The case on appeal was agreed to by counsel. It seems manifest from reading the evidence and the judge's charge as set forth in the record that defendant's counsel and also the solicitor for the State had a full and complete trial transcript of the entire trial as taken down by the court reporter in the preparation of the case on appeal.

Defendant assigns as error the denial of his motion for a judgment of compulsory nonsuit made at the close of the State's evidence. It is hornbook law in this jurisdiction that in considering a motion to nonsuit in a criminal action the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the State, and the State is entitled to every reasonable intendment thereon and every reasonable inference to be drawn therefrom. 1 Strong's N.C. Index, Criminal Law, § 99, and same section in his Supplement to Vol. 1.

The State's evidence shows the following facts: On Saturday, 25 October 1958, and prior to and subsequent to that date, John Lautares, his brother George Lautares, and their mother Pearl Lautares owned and operated as partners a retail jewelry business under the trade name of 'Lautares Brothers Jewelers' at 414 Evans Street, Greenville, North Carolina. Their store fronts on Evans Street, and at the rear of the store is an alley. On the night of 25 October 1958 they owned and had in this store a large stock of mounted and unmounted diamonds, other precious stones, rings, watches, bracelets, a large number of different types of jewelry like brooches, etc., silverware, crystal, chinaware, about $1800 in money, checks received from customers, and also had in their possession watches and other jewelry received from customers for repair work. In the course of their business they accumulated gold filings and small pieces of gold cut from repairing rings, etc., and gold dust, and other pieces of old gold which were kept in a small tin can in an iron safe in the rear of their store. John Lautares kept an inventory of the watches and gold in the store, and his brother George kept an inventory of the diamonds. On the night of 25 October 1958 there was in one compartment in the safe an envelope containing twelve $100 bills, and in another compartment one $100 bill, and in another compartment $400 or $500 in five, ten, and twenty dollar bills, placed there by George Lautares, and there was also in this safe watches in envelopes left for repair by customers. The twelve $100 bills were paid to George Lautares by a customer as the purchase price of a ring. One of these $100 bills had a turned-down corner; and another one of these $100 bills had on it the Great Seal of the United States different from any Great Seal of the United States George Lautares had ever seen on a bill. About 9:15 p. m. on 25 October 1958 John Lautares opened the door of the safe and put in it their diamonds, diamond watches, diamond jewelry, and other valuable articles of jewelry, locked the safe door, spun the dial two or three times, turned the lights off in the window of the store, and left for home. When he left the front and back doors of the store were locked and bolted, and the windows at the back of the store were down and fastened securely.

Later on that night a forcible breaking and entry was made into the store by a window or door in the rear. About 9:30 a. m. on 26 October 1958 John Lautares went back to his store. At that time the outside plate on the back of the safe had been cut off, and its inside plate had been cut and ripped off, and the back of the safe was open. Back of the safe were two tanks of oxygen, an acetylene cutting torch hooked up and in operating condition, an extra cutting torch, a sledge hammer, machinist hammers, a crowbar, wrenches, a punch, a drill, a pair of regular work gloves, a cap, a gas mask, a quantity of adhesive tape, and a tarpaulin in the rear of the safe covering the back window 'to cut out the glare.' Around the safe was a large quantity of empty watch boxes and empty envelopes of a type used by jewelers, and also the ripped-open envelopes which had contained watches left by customers for repair. Around the safe was a book of matches having on the back 'Gault's Motor Court and Restaurant; a nice place for nice people; 10 miles north of New Bern; air conditioning, television, Highway #17; phone Vanceboro 120.' About three-fourths of the matches had been ignited, but were still in the book. The diamonds, watches, jewelry, money, and the accumulated gold filings and small pieces of old gold, and watches left by customers for repair, which had been in the safe, had been stolen and carried away. The tin can holding the gold filings and small pieces of old gold was left and not carried away. Among the watches stolen from the safe was 'a Tissot,' an Omega ladies' watch with two diamonds on each side, which the Lautareses purchased from Norman M. Morris Corporation on 17 September 1957. The number on this watch is A-7668. The Norman M. Morris Corporation is the distributor of Omega watches. The customers' checks in the safe were not taken. Cigarette lighters, cuff links, and sterling silver were stolen from the show cases; inexpensive watches and jewelry and costume jewelry were not taken. The most valuable single piece of jewelry stolen was a diamond bracelet of the value of $1,500. The value of the property stolen was about $28,000. The articles stolen would weigh between 15 and 20 pounds, and could be carried away in a small bag or box. Of the watches stolen 50 could be carried away in a man's hand. The inventories kept by the Lautareses enabled them to determine the articles stolen. No book of matches bearing the name 'Gault's Motor Court' was in or near the safe when the store was closed on the night of 25 October 1958.

Gault's Motor Court is situate about 32 miles south of the city of Greenville and 10 miles north of the city of New Bern.

William Thomas Alligood, who lives in Washington, North Carolina, has known defendant about four years. He knew him by the name of Emory Joseph Roux, and he has known that the name David Willard was connected with him. In October 1958 defendant came to his house, and during a conversation between them defendant asked him would he be willing to get a room for him at Gault's motel, and if he would defendant would pay him $100. He agreed to do as defendant requested. Alligood, recalled as a State's witness, testified as follows: 'He offered me $100. Roux spent the night at my house Wednesday and he took me to work the next morning, which was Thursday morning. That was when the conversation about the $100 took place. He said he had a job to do, and he said that he had someone to go with him, but that if I could get him the room that he would keep me in mind on jobs after that one.'

Clarence Gault, who operated Gault's motel, testified in substance: On the night of Thursday, 23 October 1958, a man, who gave his name as David Willard, came into his motel, registered as a guest by that name, and was assigned room No. 10. He gave the license number of his Ford automobiles as Nevada C 35117. About 11:45 p. m. on 24 October 1958 the same man came to his motel, registered for the night, and was assigned a room. That was the last time he saw this man. On Saturday night, 25 October 1958, he had registered in his motel a man by the name of Thomas Alligood. He was shown State's Exhibit No. 16, which is the book of matches bearing the name of his motel, which was found near the broken-open safe of Lautares Brothers Jewelers. He purchased such matches bearing the name of his motel and placed them in the motel's rooms for advertising purposes, and did so during the month of October 1958.

On Saturday night, 25 October 1958, William Thomas Alligood and his brother Daniel came to Gault's motel. Daniel went in and rented a room, signing the register 'Thomas Alligood,' and paid for it. Then Thomas and Daniel went into the room. Thomas Alligood had an understanding with defendant that defendant would know what room he was in at Gault's motel by reason of the fact that he told defendant he would park his automobile in front of the room. A short time after they had entered this room, about 11:15 p. m., defendant accompanied by a man Thomas Alligood did not recognize, came into the room. Defendant and this man who accompanied him into the room engaged in a whispered conversation. Thomas Alligood heard just these words of the conversation uttered by defendant: 'Greenville' and 'a jewelry store.' Between 11:30 and 11:45 p. m. defendant and the man who came with him left the room. About 8:30 a. m. the following morning defendant and this man came back to the room in Gault's motel where Thomas and Daniel Alligood were. When defendant came back into the room, he was carrying a brief case and a leather bag. Defendant made the following statement: 'He said that everything was all right and that he had the darndest luck. When he had checked this place, the light was out and on this night it was on. He made a statement about a man by the name of Big Henry. Something about the jewelry and Big Henry in Providence, Rhode Island.' About fifteen minutes thereafter Thomas and Daniel Alligood left the room, leaving defendant and the man with him in the room. Defendant was driving a Ford automobile which had a Nevada State license. On the following Friday, Thomas Alligood saw defendant at a filling station in Washington,...