Tellis v. State, 5859

Decision Date15 December 1969
Docket NumberNo. 5859,5859
PartiesMelvin TELLIS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Nevada, Respondent.
CourtNevada Supreme Court
OPINION

MOWBRAY, Justice.

A jury found Melvin Tellis guilty of the crime of burglary. He has appealed, asserting that insufficient evidence was adduced at the trial to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We reject this contention, and we affirm the judgment of conviction.

It has been well established that where there is substantial evidence in the record to support the verdict of the jury, it will not be overturned by an appellate court. Cross v. State, 85 Nev. ---, 460 P.2d 151 (1969); Criswell v. State, 84 Nev. 459, 443 P.2d 552 (1968); Crowe v. State, 84 Nev. 358, 441 P.2d 90 (1968); Henry v. State, 83 Nev. 194, 426 P.2d 791 (1967).

Tellis and a codefendant, James Eason, were charged by Information with burglarizing the Weiss Liquor Store in Clark County. 1 The record shows that Roy A Weiss, owner of the store, locked it at the close of business on October 2, 1968. Other than Weiss, no one had access to a key to the premises except the agents of Alarmco Inc., who had installed an alarm system in the building. Later in the night, about 11 o'clock, the alarm was tripped and went off. Police officers from the City of Las Vegas soon arrived and observed Tellis standing outside near the rear door of the building. Tellis started fumbling with his trousers and walked toward one of the officers, declaring that he had just answered a call of nature. The officers searched but could find no evidence of the 'call.' In the meantime, Eason, who had been in the building, suddenly exited via small window in the men's rest room, proclaiming at once to the officers that Tellis was not with him and that Tellis was not involved in any way. Upon examination of the building, the officers found that entry had been made through the window in the men's rest room, from which Eason had taken his leave. One of the metal bars that had secured the window had been sawed away. The window was 5 feet from the ground. Once inside the rest room, the burglar knocked a hole through the plasterboard of the rest room and entered the main storeroom. Five cases of beer,...

To continue reading

Request your trial
13 cases
  • Azbill v. State, 6122
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Nevada
    • April 7, 1972
    ...will disturb it. McGuire v. State, 86 Nev. 262, 468 P.2d 12 (1970); Lamb v. Holsten, 85 Nev. 566, 459 P.2d 771 (1969); Tellis v. State, 85 Nev. 679, 462 P.2d 526 (1969); Criswell v. State, 84 Nev. 459, 443 P.2d 552 (1968); Crowe v. State, 84 Nev. 358, 441 P.2d 90 We find that although there......
  • Anderson v. State, 6042
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Nevada
    • December 10, 1970
    ...proof of his guilt. Under those circumstances in the record, the verdict of the jury will not be overturned on appeal. Tellis v. State, 85 Nev. 679, 462 P.2d 526 (1969); Brandon v. Travitsky, 86 Nev. ---, 472 P.2d 353 (1970). It was for the jury to decide what evidence it believed and what ......
  • Dearman v. State
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Nevada
    • July 1, 1977
    ...evidence in the record to support the verdict of the jury, it will not be overturned by an appellate court." Tellis v. State, 85 Nev. 679, 680, 462 P.2d 526, 527 (1969). See also, McGuire v. State, 86 Nev. 262, 468 P.2d 12 "In this state it is well-recognized that in a prosecution for murde......
  • Adler v. State
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Nevada
    • May 10, 1979
    ...evidence in the record to support the verdict of the jury, it will not be overturned by an appellate court." Tellis v. State, 85 Nev. 679, 679-680, 462 P.2d 526, 527 (1969). Although appellant attempted to explain his actions and denied any culpable intent, the jury was free to accord to hi......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT