State v. Stroud

• Decision Date: 31 October 1886
• Citation: 95 N.C. 626
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE v. JOHN L. STROUD.

95 N.C. 626

STATE

v.JOHN L. STROUD.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

October Term, 1886.

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

This was a CRIMINAL ACTION, tried before Clark, Judge, at the August Term, 1886, of the Superior Court of LENOIR county.

The indictment contained two counts, one for stealing a hog, and the other for receiving the same, knowing it to be stolen. The defendant was indicted with one Howard. They were both convicted, the verdict being general, and after sentence, the defendant Stroud only appealed.

There was no evidence offered on the part of the defendants. That introduced by the State was as follows: Timothy Spence testified, that Stroud told him to get Howard and go on a certain night and get the hogs out of Uzzel's pen; that he did so, and reported the fact the same night to Stroud, who said--“kill them and put them in my smoke-house”; then he (Stroud) said--“there would be a search warrant out, and to put the meat under a hogshead in an old still-house,” which was back of Stroud's house and near the line of Stroud's land, but there was conflicting evidence as to which side of the line the still-house was situated; that he carried the meat, in company with Pat Stewart, and put it in the still-house, as directed by Stroud; that since this indictment, Stroud told him that he had heard that he (witness) would turn state's evidence, and to keep his mouth shut.

Pat Stewart testified, that he saw the hogs knocked down and stuck; it was at night, and they were carried to the field back of Stroud's; the next night Spence met him there coming from the direction of Stroud's house, and told him to carry the meat to the still-house, and he carried it there in a cart.

Charles Holland testified, that a week or two after that, Stroud was complaining that some meat he had at the still-house was gone, and wanted to know if he knew what had become of it; that Spence said the meat was gone, and he would give one hundred dollars to know what had become of it.

James Hardy testified, that Stroud came to his house after the indictment was found, and said that he understood that Spence had turned state's evidence about Uzzel's hogs, and if he had, he would ruin him, because Spence knew all about it. Afterwards, in same conversation, Stroud said he would not mind it if Spence would tell the truth.

Bryant Rouse testified, that he heard Stroud say that he knew the barrel at the still-house that the meat was in. Stroud then charged that Charles Holland had stolen the meat out of the still-house.

Walter Spence testified, that he went with his father the night the hogs were stolen, and saw Howard and Stewart kill them; the next night he went with his father to Stroud's, and in going met Richard Rouse on the road. Stroud first told his father to carry the meat to Charles Holland's, but after studying awhile, he told him to carry it to the old still place. They went to the place where the hogs were, and told Pat Stewart what Stroud said, and together they carried the meat in a cart to the still-house as directed by Stroud. The hogs were stolen and cleaned on Tuesday night, and on the next night they were carried as directed by Stroud to the still-house.

Richard Rouse testified, that he met Timothy Spence and Walter Spence going towards Stroud's at night, and the next day, attracted by the flight of some buzzards, he saw where some hogs had been cleaned, at the place described by the other State's witnesses as the place where the hogs had been cleaned, and he also saw a cart tract going thence towards the still-house.

There was also evidence that the general character of James Hardy was good.

The defendant's counsel asked for several special instructions to the jury, to-wit:

1. That to convict the defendant of larceny, the jury must be satisfied that he was present at the time of the commission of the offence, or so near by that he could give aid and comfort to the party actually doing the stealing; that the jury cannot convict the defendant under this bill of indictment, unless they find as a fact that he was present at the commission of the offence.

The Court declined to give this instruction, and instead, charged that all persons aiding, counseling and abetting a larceny, whether present at the commission of the offence or not, are principals, and equally guilty with the party actually committing the larceny, and if the jury believe beyond a reasonable doubt, that Stroud counseled and procured the hogs to be stolen, he was as guilty, though not immediately present.

To this charge and refusal to give the charge as requested, the prisoner excepted.

2. At the request of the prisoner the Court charged: That to convict him of receiving stolen goods, he must actually have received the goods, and known at the moment of receiving them that they were stolen. But the Court added, that “if the prisoner Stroud directed the meat to be carried to a certain place near his home, knowing that it was stolen meat, and it was so carried and put there by his orders, it was a receiving in law.” To this modification the prisoner excepted.

3. The prisoner asked the further instruction, that the jury ought not to convict upon the unsupported testimony of an accomplice.

This the Court refused to give, and charged instead: “That the jury ought to be cautious and careful about convicting upon the unsupported evidence of accomplices; but they were the sole...