State v. Leonard
State v. Leonard
Opinion of the Court
From a judgment of conviction of the offense of assault with a dangerous weapon, and from an order denying a new trial, defendant appeals. On the evening of August 14, 1929, defendant was reclining in the back seat of a Ford car on a farm in Tripp county and displaying a loaded automatic revolver. Evidence on behalf of the state shows that James McGrew came up to the car and told defendant to put away the revolver as he might hurt somebody, or he would take it from him and beat him over the head with it. Further words passed between them which one witness calls “chewing the rag,” which terminated by defendant shooting at McGrew with the revolver, the bullet grazing McGrew’s shoulder. There was evidence on behalf of defendant to the effect that McGrew came toward defendant, who told him to stand back, but that he kept on coming and took hold of defendant by the foot, which was hanging over the edge of one side of the car when defendant shot. Defendant denied any intent to kill or injure McGrew, but said he shot only to scare him.
The information charged defendant with shooting with
There was testimony to the effect that twO' jugs of whisky were right back of the Ford- car and that they were in the car when defendant got ready to go, and in the course of the trial four jugs.of whisky were brought into the courtroom. Whether these were brought into the courtroom in preparation for some other trial, or were intended to be used on the trial of appellant, does not appear. They were not offered in evidence and defendant’s counsel asked the court to admonish the jury to disregard those articles, whereupon the court said to the jury: “You should not consider as evidence the bottles or jugs that have been brought to the court room and not introduced in evidence. In the opinion of the Court they are not any evidence to be considered by you upon the question involved in this case.” The record discloses no objection or exception to the presence of these articles in the courtroom, and since the court fully complied with appellant’s request as to instructing the jury to disregard them and informed the jury that they must not consider such articles as any evidence in the case, appellant’s attempted assignment of error on this episode cannot be sustained. Appellant complains of the court’s refusal to give an instruction requested by him to the effect that if the jury should find that the assault by defendant was committed under reasonable apprehension of danger to himself, and that defendant used no more force than appeared to him to be necessary, they should find defendant not guilty. The court instructed the
The judgment and order appealed from are affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE v. LEONARD
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published