Webb v. Commonwealth

• Decision Date: 31 May 1927
• Citation: 295 S.W. 154,220 Ky. 334
• Parties: WEBB ET AL. v. COMMONWEALTH.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

295 S.W. 154

220 Ky. 334

WEBB ET AL. v. COMMONWEALTH.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

May 31, 1927

Appeal from Circuit Court, Kenton County, Criminal, Common-Law, and Equity Division.

Walter Webb and Robert Webb were convicted of robbery, and they appeal. Affirmed as to Walter Webb, and reversed, with instructions, as to Robert Webb.

Harvey Myers and Alex Howard, both of Covington, for appellants.

Frank E. Daugherty, Atty. Gen., for the Commonwealth.

McCANDLESS J.

In the month of January, 1926, the Boothe Memorial Hospital in Covington was in the course of erection. The appellants were employed by one of the contractors working on that building. Robert Webb was working on a hoisting engine, and Walter Webb was doing general work about the building. On Saturday January 23, 1926, two of the contractors went to bank for the purpose of procuring money for the pay rolls. They had Walter Webb drive them in a Ford coupé. On their way back from the bank with the money, and just before they reached the hospital Walter Webb turned the automobile suddenly into an alley, and there Alonzo Mason and Wade Edwards held up the two contractors and took from one of them the money he had for his pay roll. In the excitement attending the robbery of this contractor, the other contractor made his escape, thus saving his money. Mason and Edwards then seized the Ford coupé and made their escape. They were later arrested.

The police department of Covington, being convinced that Walter Webb was involved in this holdup, shadowed his home the rest of that day, and about 4 o'clock on Sunday morning following entered it and there arrested him and his brother Robert. Robert Webb during all of the Saturday morning when this robbery occurred had never left his position of duty at the hoisting engine. When Walter Webb was arrested, there was found under his pillow a large sum of money, and in the clothes press in his room two revolvers of the same kind used by Mason and Edwards in the holdup. One of these revolvers it is shown, had been given some two weeks prior thereto by its owner to Robert Webb for the purpose of sale. Both Walter and Robert were arrested, taken to police headquarters, separated, and then for over two hours each was plied with questions by different members of the police department. During all of this time, Robert Webb stoutly maintained his innocence. At 7 o'clock these boys were taken to the county jail, but later on during the morning they were returned to the police headquarters, again separated, and each of them again subjected to another hour or more of constant interrogation. All this is shown by the testimony of the police officers themselves, and the testimony of Robert Webb and Walter Webb on this score may be ignored. After this grilling of some four hours, both of these boys finally confessed to having had a share in this holdup; that of Robert Webb being the planning of the job. Robert Webb says that he confessed on the understanding that all the blame for this holdup was to be put on his shoulders and that he did this to save his brother, who was married and had a wife and child to support. This understanding is vigorously denied by the commonwealth's attorney. On the joint trial of both the Webbs, Mason, and Edwards, the last named, at the close of the commonwealth's case, changed his plea to that of "guilty," and the jury found both Webbs and Mason guilty. From the judgment...