Thomas v. Commonwealth

• Decision Date: 18 April 1922
• Citation: 239 S.W. 776,194 Ky. 491
• Parties: THOMAS v. COMMONWEALTH.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

239 S.W. 776

194 Ky. 491

THOMAS v. COMMONWEALTH.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

April 18, 1922

Appeal from Circuit Court, Hart County.

Joe Thomas was convicted of uttering a forged instrument, and he appeals. Reversed and remanded.

C. B Larimore, of Munfordville, and C. H. Hatchett, of Glasgow for appellant.

Chas I. Dawson, Atty. Gen., and Thomas B. McGregor, Asst. Atty Gen., for the Commonwealth.

CLAY J.

Joe Thomas was convicted of uttering a forged instrument, and his punishment fixed at two years' confinement in the penitentiary. He appeals.

On January 23, 1920, there was presented to W. F. Murphy, cashier of a bank at Horse Cave, a check for $640, drawn on the Trigg National Bank of Glasgow, payable to the order of D. O. Green, and purporting to be signed by J. O. Martin. The party presenting the check stated that he wanted to deposit it to his credit in the Horse Cave bank. While making out the deposit slip he changed his mind, and stated that he wanted $240 in cash and the remainder deposited to his credit. After some delay, during which he ascertained of the party that he lived about eight miles this side of Glasgow and was moving to Horse Cave and needed the money to buy stuff with which to go to housekeeping, Murphy finally consented to the arrangement, and gave the party $240, together with check book, and placed the balance to his credit. When the check was presented to the Trigg National Bank, payment was refused on the ground that it was a forgery. From that time on, Murphy was on the alert to discover the party who presented the check, and about a year later he identified appellant as the man. This he was able to do, because he took particular notice of appellant when the check was presented, and appellant had on the same clothes at the time of identification. While J. O. Martin admitted that others sometimes drew checks on his account, he testified that the signature to the check was not his, and that in his opinion it was not signed by anybody else for him. He also admitted that, after stating that the check was not signed by him, he returned to the bank for the purpose of examining the check, as he did not want to get anybody into trouble. It was shown by G. C. Holman, agent of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company at Horse Cave, that on December 23, 1920, a person representing himself to be W. E. Owen came to the freight office, and procured an anvil and forge, consigned to W. E. Owen & Co., and signed a receipt for it. He further identified appellant as the person who signed the receipt. Maud Totty, assistant cashier of the Citizens' National Bank at Glasgow, testified that she had had transactions with appellant, not as Joe Thomas, but as W. E. Owen, and that in November, 1920, he presented a check for $430, payable to W. E. Owen, and purporting to be signed by W. E. Hatcher. Appellant indorsed the check as W. E. Owen, and the check proved to be a forgery. A. Trigg, the cashier of the Citizens' National Bank at Glasgow, testified that on the day following the deposit of the check of $430, appellant came to the bank, and presented a check for $270, signed by W. E. Owen, and the money was paid to him. The check so drawn, as well as the identification card written at the time the check was presented, were introduced in evidence.

On the other hand, Thomas denied presenting the check for $640 to the bank at Horse Cave on January 23, 1920, and stated that he was at the home of his father about eight miles away. He also denied being at the railroad office or at the Citizens'...