State v. Shannon, 55698
| Decision Date | 12 April 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 55698,No. 2,55698,2 |
| Citation | 467 S.W.2d 4 |
| Parties | STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Larry SHANNON, Appellant |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
John C. Danforth, Atty. Gen., John W. Cowden, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.
Eugene J. Gabianelli, Lawrence Alan Waldman, Lewis, Rice, Tucker, Allen & Chubb, St. Louis, for appellant.
PRITCHARD, Commissioner.
The principal issue in this case is whether the state proved that appellant exhibited, as charged, 'a dangerous and deadly weapon in a rude, angry and threatening manner, namely, a knife, in violation of Section 564.610, RSMo 1969' beyond a reasonable doubt. Appellant was also charged as a second offender, but waived trial by jury. The court found appellant guilty and sentenced him to five years imprisonment in the Department of Corrections.
On November 23, 1969, a Sunday, Arthur Yaeger was a guard at the City Jail of the City of St. Louis. About 1:10 p.m. he was on duty on the second floor of the jail and answered a call from Tier 3. Appellant asked him for a bucket and Yaeger opened the tier door and gave him a bucket. As soon as he did, appellant 'grabbed for me with his right arm around my belt and put the knife in my belly.' Appellant told Yaeger to keep his mouth shut and step back, and ordered him to open the door of Tier 2--4. The knife which appellant had was a regular pocketknife with a two and a half inch blade. When appellant and Yaeger were at the door, Hastings (another guard) was going to push the alarm button. Appellant said, 'If you push the alarm button, I will rip him open.'
On cross-examination Yaeger testified that after he gave appellant the bucket that appellant grabbed him with his right hand and placed his left hand against his stomach with the knife, the blade of which was open. The knife did not cut or wound Yaeger, or cut his shirt. There was pandemonium and noise at the time.
Columbus D. Hastings was working with Yaeger and one Floyd Atwood as a guard on the day of the occurrence. His testimony was that appellant and John Bibbs overpowered Yaeger as he opened the door to put in a bucket. They let other inmates out of the tiers and attempted a jail break. They 'held Arthur Yaeger hostage at knife-point.' Appellant had the knife, which Hastings could not describe other than its having a blade about two and a half or three inches long. Appellant had the knife against Yaeger's stomach when he first came out and then when he pushed him over against the 2--4 tier door he had it a little higher on the abdomen. As Hastings reached down and was going to punch the button appellant said, 'Don't do it, man; I will open him up.'
Floyd Atwood heard the jail disturbance and went over to find out what it was. He saw appellant holding his hand against Yaeger's stomach, but did not see anything in appellant's hand. Atwood was knocked down two or three times and finally got down to where Yaeger was standing, then got up with the '4--2 key' and got out. What he saw in appellant's hand looked like a piece of tape around it.
The evidence is substantial and shows beyond a reasonable doubt, as the court could and did find, that appellant grabbed Yaeger, the guard, and placed a knife against his person. The blade of the knife was visible to Yaeger and Hastings, both of whom heard appellant threaten to rip Yaeger open or 'open him up' if Hastings pushed the alarm button.
Section 564.610 provides in part for punishment if any person shall, 'in the presence of one or more persons,' exhibit 'any kind of firearms, bowie knife, springback knife, razor, metal knucks, billy, sword cane, dirk, dagger, slung shot or other similar deadly weapons * * * in a rude, angry or threatening manner * * *.' (Italics added.) It is true as appellant states in his brief that State v. Sebastian, 81 Mo. 514 holds that it is unnecessary to allege that...
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State v. Wood, 38074
...the trial court that a knife of the type carried by defendant, under the circumstances, was a dangerous and deadly weapon. State v. Shannon, 467 S.W.2d 4 (Mo.1971); State v. Ellinger, 549 S.W.2d 136 (Mo.App.1977.) The defendant also contends that the search for weapons was an illegal search......
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State v. Ellinger, KCD
...(1966). Second and most importantly, the defendant has overlooked the statutory language, "or other similar weapons," and State v. Shannon, 467 S.W.2d 4 (Mo.1971) which construed the language in the context of an ordinary jackknife being by the "manner of its use" a deadly weapon. Shannon f......
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Shannon v. State, 57615
...a written waiver of his right to trial by jury, and he was found guilty by the court. The judgment was affirmed on appeal. State v. Shannon, 467 S.W.2d 4 (Mo.1971). In his first point appellant alleges that he was denied the right to trial by jury because his waiver 'was not an intelligent ......