State v. Singleton

• Citation: 243 S.W. 147,294 Mo. 346
• Decision Date: 08 June 1922
• Docket Number: No. 23386.),23386.)
• Parties: STATE v. SINGLETON
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Missouri

243 S.W. 147

294 Mo. 346

STATE v. SINGLETON

No. 23386.)

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 2.

June 8, 1922.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Livingston County; Arch B. Davis, judge.

William Singleton was convicted of feloniously shooting a named person, and he appeals. Reversed, and defendant discharged.

On March 4, 1921, the prosecuting attorney of Livingston county, Mo., filed an information in the circuit court of said county, charging defendant with having feloniously, etc., shot one Leo Ramsey in said county, on December 31, 1920. Defendant was duly arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty. He was tried before a jury, and on April 5, 1921, the latter returned into court the following verdict:

"We, the jury, find the defendant guilty as charged in the information and assess his punishment at four (4) years' imprisonment in the state penitentiary. "A. E. Cox, Foreman."

State's Evidence.

As defendant is strenuously insisting here that his demurrer to the evidence at the conclusion of the whole case should have been sustained, we will set out fully the testimony as shown by the record:

Alec Cleveland testified, in substance, that he had known Leo Ramsey about a year, and Ramsey's wife 5 or 6 years; that on the afternoon of December 31, 1920, about 4 or 5 o'clock p. m., Leo Ramsey came to the residence of witness at Bedford, in Livingston county, Mo., and had been there 3 or 4 hours before he was shot; that Ramsey and wife ate supper with witness, and as soon as the meal was over they commenced playing a game of "pitch"; that four of the parties were sitting in a square, playing cards; that Ramsey was facing southwest; that witness was facing Ramsey, and the wife of witness was facing Mrs. Ramsey on the west side; that said game was started shortly after 7 o'clock, and they had been playing 5 or 10 minutes, before Ramsey was shot; that the explosion came from the front door, in the southeast corner of the house; that the wife of witness was leaning over, and the shot passed over her shoulder, striking the back of her rocking chair, and part of the shot struck Leo Ramsey in the full side of his face; that the shot tore a hole through the screen of the door, about 2 inches in diameter; that the room was about 17 feet 6. inches long, and about 14 feet 8 inches wide; that it was a dark, foggy night, had been raining some, and the ground was very muddy and soft; that several people soon gathered at the house of witness, after the shooting; that 16 of the shot went through the back of the chair, and they looked like No. 6 shot; that defendant was not at the house of witness that evening; that after the shooting, as witness went to town, he passed defendant's house and did not see any light, nor did he see defendant.

On cross-examination, witness said the main part of Bedford was southeast from his house; that the latter was located on the north side of a street running east and west, and the river was right north of the house; that the front door of his house was about 30 or 40 feet from the street; that there was a picket fence and gate next to the street, and a concrete walk running from the gate to the house; that the river was about 100 feet north of the house, and the banks along same were high; that there was a chicken wire fence between the house and river on the north, and there were two small gates, opening through same; that it was about 300 feet from his house to the Grand river bridge on the east; that there was a roadway between the house of witness and the main road that crosses said bridge; that the street is open to the river, but is not traveled much; that there was a barbed wire fence on the east side of his house; that the ground east of the house had been plowed, and was not frozen on December 31st; that the shooting occurred between 7:20 and 7:30 p. m.

On re-examination, witness testified that Norris' house was east and on the same side of the street as his own, and both face south; that defendant lived across the street from Norris, and on the east side of the street running south from the bridge; that, if his wife had not leaned forward, some of "the shot would have struck her.

Leo Ramsey testified that he lived at Kansas City, Mo.; that defendant was the stepfather of witness' wife; that they had been married a little more than a year; that they were living at Salina, Kan., when married; that he got to Bedford on the afternoon of December 31st, about 3:30 o'clock, that he had been in Bedford about three weeks before, to see his wife; that he was only slightly acquainted with defendant; that he did not see defendant on the day of the shooting. Witness corroborates the testimony of Cleveland as to what occurred at the latter's house, and in regard to the surroundings up to the time of the shooting. He testified that one eye was shot out, his face sprinkled with shot, etc.; that on his former visit to Bedford he was at defendant's home a few minutes; that his wife, mother, and children were there.

Ike Jamison, the constable of the township where Bedford is located, testified that he had known defendant about 25 years; that prior to December 31st he had talked with him twice; that about 2 weeks before the shooting he went to defendant's house at the latter's request, and while there appellant told him he was expecting Ramsey and wife, defendant's wife, and the Greenwall children, to come and take his furniture from the house; that he expected them to come with a writ of replevin, or by force, and, if they came, he wanted witness to come to his house and keep the peace; that he did not want them there, was going to keep them off, and wanted to know if witness would come down and keep the peace; that witness agreed to come if it was handy; that defendant told him a good deal about his wife's troubles and his own.

Over the objection of defendant, witness was permitted to testify that defendant said "that d___ outfit was giving him a whole lot of trouble and giving him h___ awhile," and he wanted to give them a little now. He said, if they came with a writ of replevin, to be d___ sure they had a good bond, because he was going to file him a case; that he told Ashby he bad a good poker and could use it. He said Ramsey's wife had showed his wife some bad pictures. He said that d— s___ of a b___ was trying to get his wife and her two daughters to go with him somewhere and set up an ill-fame house, and that, if he could get the women to go with him, he would have slick sliding without work; that at the instance of defendant, about one week later, witness went to the home of appellant, where he, defendant, and the latter's father, were alone. He said defendant asked him what that s___ of a b___ wanted at the house of witness that evening (speaking of Leo Ramsey), and witness told him Ramsey was not there; that defendant and his father said it was a d___n "ornery" outfit, and they all ought to be run out of the country; that defendant's father said they ought to take a shotgun and blow their d___n heads off and Cleveland's wife that defendant said that is just what ought to be done; that on January 1st defendant called him to his fence, as witness was passing by, and asked him how Ramsey was; that he told. defendant Ramsey was in bad shape, and defendant asked him if they had any clue as to who did it, and witness told defendant the evidence would be pretty strong against him; that defendant said it didn't surprise him a d___n bit. Witness then went in the house, and with the consent of defendant examined the latter's gun; that he went away, and came back to defendant's house, where the latter's father asked witness who they suspicioned, and he told him they suspicioned this defendant; that witness, with the consent of defendant, then put a shell in the gun, shot it off, and kept the shell; that defendant furnished him this shell; that it was a single-barrel Stevens shotgun, No. 12 gauge. (The above gun was 'Produced at the trial.)

Witness further testified that after the shooting he passed defendant's house, saw no lights, and did not see anybody around there; that he went to Cleveland's house, and found the snapped yellow shell, 5 or 6 feet from the front door; that it was called a NuBlack shell; that it was a No. 12 shell and was loaded; that he did not remember trying this snapped, yellow shell in defendant's gun; that the shell and the gun of defendant were both No. 12; that he got a blue shell from defendant after the shooting, numbered 12; that the next morning after the shooting he saw some tracks in the garden east of the house; that they appeared to be a man's tracks; that they came in to the east side of the house, and then around to the south side; that he traced these tracks across the block into the street; that one was coming and one was going; that they looked like the same tracks; that the tracks appeared to have been made by a No. 8 or 9 shoe, something like that; that the tracks were kind of round at the toe; that he saw Cooper Anderson measure the tracks with a stick, and he compared that with shoes found in defendant's house; that nobody else lived in defendant's house but himself. Over the objection of defendant, the witness was permitted to testify that the tracks which he examined looked like they were made by defendant's shoes.

On cross-examination witness testified that sometimes he wore a No. 8 and sometimes a No. 9 shoe. He declined to have his shoes measured, but admitted they were like those produced in court, which he said were taken from defendant's house; that he could not swear said shoes belonged to defendant; that the tracks he measured were in soft mud; that the shoes produced in court were clean when found at defendant's house, and were still in that condition at the time of trial; that he did not put the shoe in the track to see if it would fit; that he saw an automobile track near the bridge the next morning after the shooting; that it was 30...