State v. Sterling
| Decision Date | 10 December 1930 |
| Docket Number | 274. |
| Citation | 156 S.E. 96,200 N.C. 18 |
| Parties | STATE v. STERLING et al. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Appeal from Superior Court, New Hanover County; Cranmer, Judge.
Lancey Sterling and another were convicted of murder in the first degree, and they appeal.
No error.
Conflicting evidence of identity of defendants accused of murder held for jury.
The defendants in this action were tried on an indictment in which they were charged with the murder of John Brown deceased.
The evidence for the state tended to show that shortly before 11 o'clock, on the night of January 4, 1930, two men--one a tall yellow negro, the other a small black negro--entered a store in the city of Wilmington, N. C., for the purpose of robbery. The only person in the store when they entered was John Brown, who was employed therein as a clerk. His father William Brown, was the owner of the store. When the men entered the store, John Brown was behind a counter, near the money drawer.
Miss Georgia Brown, a sister of John Brown, testified that she went into the store at about 11 o'clock to speak to her brother. The only persons in the store at this time were John Brown and the two negro men. She saw the tall yellow negro standing in front of her brother, with a pistol in his hand. The counter was between them. The small black negro was behind the counter, walking in the direction of the money drawer. When she realized the situation, Miss Brown exclaimed to her brother, "John, what is the trouble?" Before he could reply, the tall yellow negro shot him with the pistol. Miss Brown then ran to her brother, saying "John, have they hurt you?" He replied, "Yes Georgia; run before they shoot you." When the pistol was fired by the tall yellow negro, the small black negro ran from behind the counter and out of the store. As Miss Brown started to the telephone in the store, the tall yellow negro followed her, with a bag in his hands. Apprehending that he was about to assault her, she screamed, and he ran out of the store. Both men escaped, and Miss Brown called the police headquarters over the telephone. When the officers arrived at the scene, they found that John Brown had been mortally wounded. They took him to the hospital, where he died soon after his arrival there. His death was the result of the wound, caused by the pistol fired by the tall yellow negro while the small black negro was behind the counter, going in the direction of the money drawer.
Miss Brown testified that she had never seen either of the men whom she saw in the store at the time her brother was shot before the night of the homicide. However, while testifying at the trial, she identified the defendant, Lancey Sterling, as the tall yellow negro, who shot her brother. She said, "I now identify the defendant, Lancey Sterling, as the man who shot my brother."
This defendant was arrested on Sunday morning, between 8 and 9 o'clock, because of the description given to the officers by Miss Brown the night before, immediately after the homicide, of the man who shot her brother. When she first saw the defendant in the custody of the officers, at the jail, she hesitated to identify him positively, because he did not then have a beard. She had stated to the officers, and so testified at the trial, that the man who shot her brother had a beard, apparently of three or four days' growth, on his face. There was evidence tending to show that the defendant went to his home on the night of the homicide after 12 o'clock, and that between this time and the time of his arrest the next morning he had shaved himself. One of the officers, who arrested the defendant at the home of his mother, testified that his face, at the time of the arrest, "appeared to be the face of a man who had taken a hasty shave with a dull razor in cold water."
Miss Brown testified that she could not identify the defendant George Davis as the small black negro whom she had seen behind the counter, going in the direction of the money drawer, when she went into the store on the night of the homicide, and who ran out of the store when the pistol was fired. She had never seen this man before, and could only testify that he was a small black negro.
Ben Johnson, a witness for the state, testified that he had known the defendant George Davis for about fifteen years--for about three years in the city of Wilmington, and prior to that time in South Carolina and Georgia. He saw the defendant on Sunday morning after the shooting of John Brown on Saturday night. The defendant then told the witness that Mr. Brown's son, John, had been shot and killed in his father's store the night before. The witness next saw the defendant in Wilmington on the following Wednesday evening at about 6 o'clock. On this occasion, the defendant told the witness that he was in the store when John Brown was shot; that he had met a man on the street near the store that night; that in consequence of his agreement with this man he went with him to the store; that the man held up John Brown with a pistol, and that he had started behind the counter to get the money from the money drawer; that then the girl came in, the man fired his pistol, and he got scared and ran out of the store.
Joe Nick Byrd, a witness for the state, testified that he had known the defendant George Davis for about two months before the homicide; that on the night of the homicide the defendant was at his store from about 8 o'clock until some time after 10 o'clock; that soon after 8 o'clock the defendant went to Mr. Brown's store, which is near the witness' store, on an errand for the witness; that he returned to witness' store and remained there until about 10 o'clock; that about 10 o'clock defendant went on another errand for witness, and returned at about 11:30; and that he remained at his store for several hours after his return. The witness first heard of the homicide at about 12:30 that night. The witness could not say whether or not the defendant was at his store when some men came in and told about the homicide; he could not remember as to this.
The defendant George Davis was arrested at a lumber camp several miles from the city of Wilmington on Wednesday or Thursday night after the homicide. The arrest was made because of information received by the officers as to his statement to Ben Johnson. After the arrest, the defendant was taken to the jail in the city of Wilmington where a warrant charging him with the murder of John Brown was served on him. The officer who served the warrant testified that, after he had read it to the defendant, the defendant said, "My God, Mr Tindall, what do you think they are going to do with me?" The officer replied that he did not know. The defendant then said, "I didn't kill...
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