State v. Thurston
| Decision Date | 12 December 1927 |
| Docket Number | 27553 |
| Citation | 300 S.W. 485 |
| Parties | STATE v. THURSTON |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
North T. Gentry, Atty. Gen., and H. O. Harrarwood, Sp. Asst. Atty Gen., for the State.
On June 16, 1926, in the circuit court of Clay county defendant was found guilty by a jury of transporting corn whisky, and his punishment fixed at two years in the penitentiary. A judgment followed from which he appealed.
The evidence showed that on the night of May 13, 1926, the defendant, a negro, with two other negroes, drove a Dodge car from Kansas City toward Excelsior Springs, and at some point on the road was met by a Ford coupe belonging to Willard Bothwell, and driven by a companion. When they met the Dodge car, which was coming very fast, they pulled over as far as they could on the shoulder, but the Ford was struck by the Dodge and both cars quite severely battered up. No one was hurt. Bothwell testified that the negroes appeared to be drunk and all smelled of liquor. They presently jumped over a fence carrying under their coats something which they got out of the car; that was the last he saw of them. Relief came and finally the deputy sheriff. Broken bottles smelling of liquor were found all around on the ground, a broken jug smelling of liquor was inside the fence, and a blanket soaked with liquor.
The state might have had some difficulty in establishing the corpus delicti, having nothing but the smell, the broken bottles, and the saturated blanket, but for a freakish effect of the collision. A fender of the Dodge was dented and cupped in such a way as to hold a quantity of liquor, which was later scooped up by Frank Farrar, deputy marshal of Liberty and put in a bottle. This liquor was delivered to Dr. H. C. Parker, professor of chemistry in William Jewell College, for examination. He was first qualified as an expert and testified that on analyzing it he found it to contain 48.6 per cent. of alcohol by volume; that it was crude whisky, sometimes called hootch, white mule or moonshine, distilled liquor, and capable of being used for beverage purposes.
The defendant admitted he owned the car, but claimed that one Carroll Johnson, another negro who was riding with him, was driving it and defendant knew nothing about the liquor in it. On this evidence he was convicted as stated.
The only errors properly assigned in the motion for new trial are as follows:
I. It is...
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