State v. Wilson

• Decision Date: 26 May 1921
• Docket Number: No. 22665.,22665.
• Citation: 231 S.W. 596
• Parties: STATE v. WILSON.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

231 S.W. 596

STATE v. WILSON.

No. 22665.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 2.

May 26, 1921.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Jackson County; E. B. Porterfield, Judge.

Lewis Wilson was convicted of murder in the second degree, and he appeals. Affirmed.

The information was as follows:

"Now comes Hunt C. Moore, prosecuting attorney for the state of Missouri, in and for the body of the county of Jackson, and upon his oath informs the court that Lewis Wilson, whose Christian name in full is unknown to said prosecuting attorney, late of the county aforesaid, on the 16th day of April, 1919, at the county of Jackson, state of Missouri, in and upon one Charlie Wing, then and there being feloniously, wilfully, premeditatedly, on purpose and of his malice aforethought did make an assault, and a certain revolving pistol, which was then and there loaded with gunpowder and leaden bullets, and by him the said Lewis Wilson in his hands then and there had and held, he, the said Lewis Wilson, did then and there feloniously, wilfully, premeditatedly, on purpose and of his malice aforethought, discharge and shoot off at, upon, and against him the said. Charlie Wing, and he, the said Lewis Wilson, with the leaden bullets aforesaid out of the pistol aforesaid then and there, by force of the gunpowder aforesaid, by the said Lewis Wilson shot off and discharged as aforesaid, then and there, feloniously, wilfully, premeditatedly, on purpose, and of his malice aforethought, did strike, penetrate, and wound the said Charlie Wing in and upon the body of him, the said Charlie Wing, thus and thereby then and there feloniously, wilfully, premeditatedly, on purpose, and of his malice aforethought, giving to him, the said Charlie Wing, with the leaden bullets aforesaid, so as aforesaid discharged and shot off out of the pistol aforesaid, by the said Lewis Wilson, one mortal wound, of which said mortal wound the said Charlie Wing on the said 16th day of April, in the year aforesaid, the said Charlie Wing at the county of Jackson and state of Missouri, died; and so the prosecuting attorney aforesaid, upon his oath aforesaid, in the manner and by the means aforesaid, feloniously, wilfully, premeditatedly, on purpose, and of his malice aforethought, did kill and murder, against the peace and dignity of the state."

On May 26, 1919, the prosecuting attorney of Jackson County, Mo., filed, in the criminal court of said county, a verified information, in which defendant was charged with feloniously killing one Charlie Wing, on the 16th day of April, 1919, in the county and state aforesaid, with a revolving pistol loaded with gunpowder and leaden bullets.

On May 31, 1919, defendant was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty.

On defendant's application a change of venue was awarded and the cause transferred to division 2 of the criminal court of said county.

On September 15, 1919, the trial of defendant was commenced before a jury.

State's Evidence.

The evidence on the part of the state shows substantially the following facts: That Charlie Wing, a Chinaman, whose name in the Chinese language was Chen Young Shung, was, at the time of his death, about 78 years of age, and was the owner of a laundry at 20 East Missouri avenue, in Kansas City, Mo.; that his brother, Harry Wing, whose Chinese name is Chin Me Shung, was working with him at the laundry on the 16th day of April, 1919, the day of the killing; that deceased was working in a rear room in the laundry, and his brother was working in the front room; that about 9:30 to 10 o'clock at night two negroes came into the front ream, and one of them grabbed hold of Harry Wing from behind, and the latter screamed; that deceased came out of the back room, and appellant, who had grabbed Harry Wing, shot and killed Charlie Wing; that after the shot was fired deceased kept going towards appellant, traveling 13 or 14 feet; that appellant hit him four or five times before going away; that Harry Wing recognized the appellant in the room that night; that he had been there before to borrow some money; that Harry Wing recognized defendant as the man who shot and killed Charlie Wing; that he recognized him by his size, by a scar on his face, and by the color of his clothing; that defendant came hack to the laundry a few days after the killing; that Harry Wing then saw him, again recognized him, and went to find some one who could speak English, in order to have him arrested.

A Chinese association of Kansas City, Mo., offered a reward of $500 for the conviction of the man who did the killing.

The testimony of Harry Wing was given to the court and Jury through an interpreter named Willie Tot

Defendant's Evidence.

Appellant testified, in substance, that he had lived in Kansas City ever since 1898; that he was a common laborer, enlisted in the army in 1911, and was discharged in 1914; that he was taken into the army under the Selective Draft Act (U. S. Comp. St. 1918, U. S. Comp. St. Ann. Supp. 1919, §§ 2044a-2044k); that he had never been convicted of any offense; that he never, on the night of April 16, 1919, or at any other time, entered the laundry of a couple of Chinamen on Missouri avenue, and held them up or attempted to hold them up; that he had nothing to do with the hold-up of that place, or the shooting of the Chinaman, and knew nothing about it; that he knew the women who worked at the laundry, Bertha Davis, Mollie King, and a girl named Gussie; that on the evening of the hold-up, April 16, 1919, he was at 1219 Baltimore avenue, helping a fellow in a cigar store and pool hall whose name was Turner Brown; that he commenced work that day about 5:30 to 6 o'clock, and worked until 12 or 12:30 at night; that he, Turner Brown, and Lackey then walked to Walnut street; that he (defendant) caught a car and went east; that Brown caught a Vine street car; that he (defendant) lived at 923 Michigan street, and had lived there about two months; that he worked at the pool hall when he did not have a steady job; that when arrested he was working at the Albany Hotel, Ninth and Charlotte, and had been working there about two weeks; that he heard about the killing of the Chinaman the next day; that after he heard of the killing he went to the laundry to pay a colored woman, named Bertha Davis, a dollar which he owed her; this was the following evening after the murder.

On cross-examination defendant testified, in substance, that he read about the killing in the Kansas City Post on April 17, 1919. It said a Chinaman was killed on Missouri avenue; that he was killed by two big yellow negroes; that after this he went down to the laundry and paid the girl the dollar he owed her; that she told him Charlie got killed, and he told her he saw it in the paper; that he had been down at the laundry about one week before the killing; that he had been there thousands of times before the killing, because he worked at Armour's, knew the girls, and walked by there; that he knew Bertha Davis, Mollie King, and Gussie; that he borrowed money from the girls, but not from the Chinaman; that he went down to the laundry the next evening after the killing, and saw the brother of deceased there at that time; that he and the brother spoke; that he (witness) had a heavy scar on his face; that it had been there some time; that it was there two years before the trial; that Felix Payne owned the barber shop, where defendant was working and Turner Brown was manager.

On re-examination defendant testified that in 10 minutes he could go out and get 100 colored persons who have scars on one or both sides of their necks.

Turner Brown testified, in substance, that on April 16, 1919, he was manager of the pool hall and cigar stand at 1219 Baltimore avenue; that he knew defendant, and the latter worked for him when he was not employed elsewhere; that he usually commenced work about 5:30 to 6 o'clock, and worked...