Washington v. State
| Decision Date | 17 January 1955 |
| Docket Number | No. 39481,39481 |
| Parties | Jimmie WASHINGTON, v. STATE. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
W. S. Murphy, Lucedale, for appellant.
J. P. Coleman, Atty. Gen., Wm. E. Cresswell, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
The appellant, Jimmie Washington, was indicted, tried and convicted in the Circuit Court of Greene County, upon a charge of assault upon one Billy Joe Williams with a deadly weapon, to-wit, a shotgun, with intent to kill and murder, and was sentenced to serve 18 months in the state penitentiary; and from that judgment he prosecutes this appeal.
The alleged assault occurred in front of Clark's Gasoline Service Station in the Town of Leakesville on the night of April 9, 1954. Two witnesses, Billy Joe Williams and Billy Rae White, testified for the State. The witnesses testified that they drove up to the service station about 9:00 o'clock in a 1951 Ford automobile belonging to Billy Rae White. Two white boys, Vernon Bexley and Wilson Breland, had driven into the service station in a red jeep; and the appellant and two other Negroes, W. H. Moore and Jesse Packer, had arrived at the service station about the same time in the appellant's green Chevrolet. Just as Billy Joe and Billy Rae got out of their car the appellant asked Vernon Bexley why he didn't dim his lights, and a heated argument ensued between the appellant and Bexley. Abusive language was used and many curse words were uttered. Billy Joe Williams walked up and asked the appellant what was wrong. The appellant said, 'I will show you what's wrong.' The appellant then got back in his car and picked up a 16-gauge single barrel shotgun that was lying on the floor board of the car and placed the gun across his lap. The door of the car was open and the barrel of the gun was pointed toward Billy Joe Williams, who was standing three or four feet from the car door. The Moore boy, who had come to the service station with the Appellant, walked around to the side of the car, put his hands on the appellant's arm, and told him to put the gun down, he would get in trouble about it. The Moore boy then said, 'Let's go before we get in trouble.' The appellant laid the gun back on the floor of the car, and he and Moore and Packer left the service station. As they turned and drove away in the appellant's car, one of the occupants of the car hollered out the window, 'You sons of bitches come across the river and ask for Mr. Washington.' Billy Rae White stated that he could not identify the voice as that of the appellant. Billy Joe Williams stated that Jimmie Washington made the remark.
The first point argued by the appellant's attorney as ground for reversal on this appeal is that the court erred in overruling the appellant's demurrer to the indictment. The appellant's criticism of the indictment is that it does not state definitely the time at which the offense was committed, and that the indictment fails to state clearly and fully the nature of the accusation preferred against him. But we think there is no substantial merit in this criticism. The indictment was drawn under Section 2011, Code of 1942, and the language used in the indictment is substantially the same as the language used in the statute. There was no error in the action of the court in overruling the demurrer. Section 2451, Code of 1942; State v. May, 208 Miss. 862, 45 So.2d 728; Smith v. State, 152 Miss. 114, 118 So. 710.
The next point argued by the appellant's attorneys is that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and murder, and that the court erred in refusing to grant the instruction requested by the appellant peremptorily instructing the jury that they could not find the appellant guilty of assault with intent to kill and murder and limiting the charge against the appellant to a charge of simple assault.
We think that the refusal of the above mentioned instruction was error. Neither Billy Joe Williams nor Billy Rae White was involved in the heated argument that was going on between the appellant and Vernon Bexley over the dimming of their lights at the time Billy Joe and Billy Rae drove into the service station. No words had...
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Wells v. State
...the judgment is affirmed as a conviction of trespass, and the case is remanded for sentencing on that charge. See Washington v. State, 222 Miss. 782, 77 So.2d 260 (1955). (290 So.2d at 628-629). In a number of cases where defendants have been convicted of assault and battery with intent to ......
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