Ragan v. State
Ragan v. State
Opinion of the Court
Eagan was convicted of a violation of the' prohibition law, and his motion for a new trial was overruled. The indictment against him (omitting the mere formal parts) charged that the defendant did “unlawfully, . . between the Moye Building and De Witt’s stables, in the town of Sale City, in said county and State, barter and sell, for valuable consideration, to one C. J. Merritt, alcoholic, spirituous, malt, and intoxicating liquors,” etc. In support of this allegation the State proved by C. J. Merritt that he went to the accused and asked him for whisky, and in reply the accused stated, that he did.not have any, but he
This was, in substance, the only evidence, and it is insisted that it is insufficient to show guilt. A motion was made to exclude that part of the testimony which referred to the first transaction between the witness and the accused, on the ground that the evidence did not show that this transaction took place between the Moye Building and De Witt’s stables, as alleged in the indictment, and that the State’s evidence must be confined to U sale, or sales, in the county and in the town of Sale City between the Moye Building and De Witt’s stables. The trial judge refused to exclude this evidence, and error is assigned on this ruling.
The evidence was sufficient to support the verdict. It comes squarely up to the repeated rulings of the Supreme Court and of this court as to what would make out a prima facie case against the accused, either as the seller or as being interested in the sale, in the absence of any proof that he had no interest in the sale, but was acting exclusive^ as agent for the purchaser. Holt v. State, 7 Ga. App. 77 (66 S. E. 279); Highsmith v. Waycross, 7 Ga. App. 611 (67 S. E. 677), and eases there cited.
The allegation in the indictment that the sale took place between the. Moye Building and De Witt’s stables in the town of Sale City was needlessly specific, unless the purpose of the pleader was to limit the locus of the offense in such manner as to prevent a plea of former jeopardy for another offense of a similar character committed by the accused in the same county. Having made the unnecessary allegation, howeyer, it would seem that the evidence of the
The court properly allowed the testimony, however, of the first conversation between the accused and the witness to- remain in evidence, for the reason that it tended to show that the accused was dealing in whisky. It was not evidence of another transaction, but, in so. far as it had any probative value at all, it tended to prove the subsequent consummated sale by the accused to the witness.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.