Cox v. State
Cox v. State
Opinion of the Court
The appellant was charged with the crime of “attempt to commit robbery while armed” and inflicting physical injury in an attempt to commit robbery. He was found guilty of the attempt to commit robbery while armed and not guilty of the second offense and sentenced accordingly.
The only questions raised on appeal are the contention that the appellant is not guilty as a principal, but as an accessory after the fact, and the further contention that there was no evidence that the person attempted to be robbed had any money on him, nor is there any evidence of ownership of any money.
A brief review of the evidence shows that there is no substance to either of these contentions. Briefly, the evidence shows that one Johnny Meadows, dressed as a woman, drew a pistol on one Huskisson behind the
With this evidence the triers of the fact had sufficient grounds to believe that the appellant participated actively in the alleged offense; that he had knowledge of it before it occurred and collaborated in arranging for Meadow’s escape.
“ . . . presence of one at the commission of a felony and companionship with another engaged therein, and a course of conduct before and after the offense, are circumstances which may be considered in determining whether aiding and abetting may be inferred.” Roberts v. State (1964), 245 Ind. 185, 197 N. E. 2d 304, 306.
Appellant contends that there is a failure of proof in that there is a failure to prove any money was taken and the ownership thereof. This scarcely needs an answer when it is pointed out that the crime charged here is that of an attempt to commit a robbery. There is evidence of physical violence here and a threat to take property, made by Meadows. Under the circumstances, in our opinion this is sufficient to show an attempted robbery. The intent to commit robbery was made plain by Meadow’s own statement at the time. The' crime charged was amply proved. 77 C. J. S., Robbery, §63, p. 525; 8 I. L. E., Criminal haw, §10, p. 87; Barrick v. State (1954), 233 Ind. 333, 119 N. E. 2d 550.
On appeal, only the evidence most favorable to the State will be considered, as well as all reasonable and logical inferences that may be drawn therefrom. In our opinion, the State proved its case. Baker v. State (1964), 245 Ind. 129, 195 N. E. 2d 91; Tait v. State (1963), 244 Ind. 35,188 N. E. 2d 537.
Judgment affirmed.
Achor, C. J., and Myers and Landis, JJ., concur.
Jackson, J., dissents with opinion.
Dissenting Opinion
Dissent
I cannot agree with the majority opinion on two counts.
Lacking that proof, the conviction of appellant cannot be affirmed as the State did not establish the guilt of Johnny Meadows of the crime of attempted robbery, hence the finding and judgment of the court convicting appellant is contrary to law. Scott, Burton v. State (1958), 238 Ind. 667, 154 N. E. 2d 107; Coughlin v. State (1950), 228 Ind. 393, 92 N. E. 2d 718; Shonfeld v. State (1942), 219 Ind. 654, 40 N. E. 2d 700; Murphy v. State (1915), 184 Ind. 15,110 N. E. 198.
-Second, the doctrine enunciated by the majority opinion
“. . . presence of one at the commission of a felony and companionship with another engaged therein, and a course of conduct before and after the offense, are circumstances which may be considered in determining whether aiding and abetting may be inferred. Roberts v. State (1964), 245 Ind. 185, 197 N. E. 2d 304.
is foreign to the criminal code of this State and is predicated on a minority rule relied on by other jurisdictions. The rule in Indiana is that guilt must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Without further extending this dissent, it is sufficient to say the judgment of conviction should be reversed and the cause remanded to the trial court with instructions to grant the motion for a new trial.
Note. — Reported in 201 N. E. 2d 693.
Reference
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- Cox v. State of Indiana
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