Walters v. State, 6 Div. 3.

• Decision Date: 23 June 1931
• Docket Number: 6 Div. 3.
• Citation: 24 Ala.App. 370,135 So. 600
• Parties: WALTERS v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Appeals

135 So. 600

24 Ala.App. 370

WALTERS v. STATE.

6 Div. 3.

Court of Appeals of Alabama

June 23, 1931

Appeal from Circuit Court, Jefferson County; H. P. Heflin, Judge.

Bob Walters was convicted of robbery, and he appeals.

Affirmed.

R. M. Montgomery, of Birmingham, for appellant.

Thomas E. Knight, Jr., Atty Gen., for the State.

BRICKEN P.J.

The offense charged in this case is robbery; the corpus delicti was fully proven by the evidence, and as to this there was no dispute or conflict.

The principal state witness was one G. W. Jackson, named in the indictment as the injured party. He testified in substance as follows: "My name is G. W. Jackson; I am a druggist; my place of business is 1530-11th, Avenue, North, Birmingham Alabama. On or about the 7th, day of June, 1927, I think the records show, I lost some money; it was about ten thirty at night. The clerk, Irby Trainum, was present at the time; I understand he is in California now. I was checking the register, when it happened. I usually close about ten-thirty and commence checking and taking the money out of the register, and I had the currency taken out and put in a long purse and sticking in my hip pocket; my coat was off. The clerk was cleaning the fountain on the other side of the store, and everybody was out except myself, and the delivery boy had gone, and a car dashed up in front of the store, and I looked and tried to see if they were coming in, and they didn't come in and I proceeded to finish checking the register, and just as I turned to count the money two men stepped in the door. They had guns under their arms, and they walked directly to me, and I was standing behind the cash register. They throwed their guns out and stood about two feet off this way; both of them had the guns this way. One turned and held a gun on the boy, Trainum, and told him to come out from behind there and carried him back behind the prescription counter on that side, and the other one took me and told me to go back behind the counter. They held the gun on me all the time, and lined both of us up back there, and turned our faces to the wall. One of them told the other one to clean out the cash register, and he reached in my hip pocket and pulled my purse out. I had everything-check and currency-except silver in there. I had about forty or fifty dollars on me in currency, and then I had some checks too the silver was in the cash register. One man stayed back there with me while the other one went back and he held the gun on us. He backed off and told us not to turn our heads. He had a 45 automatic pistol, in my best knowledge. I recognized the man that held the pistol on me; I saw him for the first time after this in the County Jail, about 3 days later. Two men went with me in the jail; I think Mr. Propst was one, I am not sure. I went inside. I am not familiar with the jail. This man was in the corridor, or bull pen. There were several men walking around there, and I recognized the two men that was in the store and held me up. I have since found out that their names were Bob Walton or Walters and Fred Bridges. This defendant, is one of them; he is the one that held the gun on me and carried me back to the rear, and Bridges turned from me and took the soda boy. No one pointed him out to me in the jail; I recognized him. It was on the 7th day of June, I think, and it took place at my store on the northside, at 1530 Eleventh Avenue, in Jefferson County. Yes, June I think, 1927, about ten-thirty at night."

Upon the trial of this case the paramount or controlling question was the identity of the person who committed the robbery complained of and about which there was no dispute. This appellant strenuously denied that he was the man. He admitted, however, that he was in the city of Birmingham and a guest of one of the leading hotels of the city on the night the crime was perpetrated. He testified his home was in Detroit, Mich., and that he was night manager in a certain business concern of that city. He explained his presence in the city of Birmingham by stating he was spending his vacation in said city and had driven from Detroit with one Fred Bridges, also stopping at the same hotel, and said Bridges was also arrested in connection...