Williams v. State

• Decision Date: 30 April 1913
• Citation: 156 S.W. 938
• Parties: WILLIAMS v. STATE.
• Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

156 S.W. 938

WILLIAMS v. STATE.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.

April 30, 1913.

Appeal from District Court, Morris County; P. A. Turner, Judge.

Noah Williams was convicted of burglary, and he appeals. Reversed and remanded.

Rolston & Rolston and Ward & Ward, all of Mt. Pleasant, for appellant. C. E. Lane, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

DAVIDSON, P. J.

Appellant was convicted of burglary; his punishment being assessed at two years' confinement in the penitentiary.

The evidence discloses that Wood and another negro named Harris were using a certain house for the purpose of storing cotton which they were gathering. The house consisted of two rooms, a north and south room. Harris controlled one of the rooms and Wood the other. Harris kept his room locked; Wood did not use a lock on his. The evidence in regard to this room discloses that Wood had placed his cotton in it on Thursday and had closed the door and latched it. It was latched by using a nut on the inside of the door, which could be manipulated through a hole in the door from the outside of the room. It seems to be an undisputed fact, from all the evidence in regard to this door, that the nut would easily turn when shaken by the wind or from any cause, and, when it did so the door, to use the expression of the witnesses, "would spring open." Wood's testimony goes to the effect, also, that he had been missing cotton, and to detect the thief he had sharpened his knife and cut some paper and scattered it around in his cotton for the purpose evidently of ascertaining who got his cotton if it was taken. There is some intimation in the record, as we understand it, that this was a newspaper. There is some evidence that in some cotton appellant subsequently carried to the gin two or three pieces of paper were found. The witnesses indicate that it was a coarse paper probably without printing on it, and may have been torn instead of cut. This is not very satisfactorily shown. Wood left the house closed Thursday evening and did not return to it until Saturday morning. He testified he did not know whether the house was opened during his absence or not, but that it would come open if shaken by the wind or from any other cause. Harris testified that he and his wife were picking cotton near by and had a three year old child; that they were at the house Friday evening putting away some cotton, Harris himself going in the room controlled by him for the purpose of getting a sack in which to carry corn from his field for the purpose of feeding his hogs; that he got the sack and did carry the corn home for the indicated purpose; that this was late Friday evening. At that time the door of the Wood room was open. Wood testified when he was there Saturday morning the door was open. Appellant, as did his mother, testified that on Friday night appellant was at home the entire night; that appellant's little brother, one of his mother's youngest sons, was accustomed to having spasms, and on this particular night he had spasms through the night, and appellant stayed at home with his mother for the purpose of assisting her with this child; that when the spasm come on it was a little difficult to control and hold him. They both concur in the testimony, and there is no conflict that he was at home the entire night, in so far as their evidence indicates, and that neither he nor his mother lay down or slept during the night on account of the condition of the younger boy. They also testified, and it seems to be an undisputed fact, that the father of the boy and husband of the mother of appellant was a negro Baptist preacher and was away at the time in his ministration to his brethren at some point in his capacity as...