Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1942

Chronister v. State

Chronister v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma · Decided January 21, 1942 · Barefoot, Jones, Doyle
121 P.2d 617; 73 Okla. Crim. 402; 1942 OK CR 12; 1942 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 186 (Pacific Reporter, Second Series)

Chronister v. State

Opinion of the Court

BAREFOOT, P. J.

Defendant was charged in the court of common pleas of Oklahoma county with the crime of unlawful possession of intoxicating liquor, to wit: “Ten (10) Pints of tax paid liquor”, was tried, convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of $50 and to serve 30 days in the county jail.

This is a companion case 73 Okla. Cr. 367, 121 P. 2d 616, this day decided by this court. The questions raised are identical and the evidence on the motion to suppress are the same. The only difference in the evidence is that in the instant case ten pints of tax paid liquor were found in the icebox of defendant. The evidence revealed that defendant was present at the time the officers searched the premises. Officer J. M. Mabe testified as follows:

“Q. And did you have any conversation with the defendant about this liquor? A. Yes. Q. Tell us about that, please, sir? A. Well, we went there and searched a long time, and he kidded us and said, T am sorry, boys, you won’t find nothing’, but we went ahead and went in there and found in the icebox he had a nice little plant, and found ten pints of whisky. Q. What did Chronister have to say about it then? A. Well, he laughed and said ‘you found it.’ ”

This evidence was corroborated by Officer McGuffin.

Defendant testified and admitted the liquor was found in his kitchen and in the refrigerator or icebox. *404 He testified as to the arrangement of the house, hut did not deny the ownership or possession of the liqnor found.

The judgment and sentence was to run concurrently with the sentence in case No: A — 9894 this day decided by this court. The judgment and sentence of the court of common pleas of Oklahoma county is affirmed.

JONES and DOYLE, JJ., concur.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.