Hemby v. StateHemby v. State
- Reporters:
- Before:
- Baker
Thе appellant was convicted in the criminal district court of Harris еoun- ’ ty for the offense of robbery, and his punish-. ment assessed at five years in the penitentiary.
The record discloses three bills of exception. The first bill complains of the action of the court in permitting the state to ask the prosecuting witness, Bird, the following question; “When you got to this рlace that you describe, did you see Hargraves and this man sitting over thеre, called Willie Hemby?” Appellant objected to said question for the reason that it was leading. We are of the opinion that the question was not leading.
Bill No. 2 complains of the refusal of the court to permit the defendant to prove by the witness Leon Westergren that prior to the alleged robbery Henry Graves, a code-fendant, had аccess to the guns and ammunition owned by said witness, which, the defendant cоntended, would have a tendency to explain why he (the defendant) had the pistol cartridges in his possession when he was arrested for this offеnse. The court, in signing said bill, states that the testimony referred to in said bill was introduсed in evidence before the jury, which statement is borne out by the reсord.
In bill of exception No. 3, complaint is made to the actiоn of the court in striking out that portion of the verdict of the jury wherein they recommended that the sentence be suspended. The bill discloses thаt when the verdict was returned assessing defendant’s punishment at 5 years in the рenitentiary and recommending that the sentence be suspended, thе trial judge informed the jury that there could be no suspension of the sentеnce in a robbery ease of this kind, and that he would ignore that portiоn of the verdict and correct same by eliminating such recommendаtion, and that the judge then polled the jury, and they all stated that the verdict as corrected was their verdict. Article 696 (773-774) of Vernon’s C. C. P. 1925, states;
“If the verdict of the jury is informal, their attention shall be called to it, and, with their consent the verdict may, under the direction of the court, be reduced tо the proper form.”
In the case of Whitley v. State, 103 Tex. Cr. R. 413, 281 S. W. 544, this court, speaking through Judge Berry, and in passing upon a similar question, after citing Barnett v. State, 74 Tex. Cr. R. 619, 170 S. W. 143; Speer v. State, 75 Tex. Cr. R. 348, 171 S. W. 202, and other authorities, stated that, where there was no application for a suspended sentence, the trial court was authorized to receive the verdict making a recommendation for same, but had the right to disregard that pоrtion of said verdict and treat it as surplusage. The record discloses that there was no application for a suspension of sentеnce in this case, and in robbery eases .of this kind the defendant is not entitled to the benefit of the suspended sentence *1100law. After a carеful examination of this bill, we have reached the conclusion that thеre was no error in the action of the district court in correcting the verdict by eliminating the recommendation for the suspension of sentence.
The appellant contends that the evidence is insufficiеnt to warrant his conviction. We have carefully examined the statement of facts, which discloses an issue between the state and the defendant as to his being the guilty party, and, the jury having resolved the issue against thе appellant, with sufficient facts to authorize their conclusion, wе are unauthorized, under the law, to interfere with the finding of the jury thereon.
Finding no error in the record, we are of the opinion that the judgment of thе trial court should be in all things affirmed, and it is accordingly so ordered.
PER CURIAM.The foregoing opinion of the Commission of Appeals has been examined by the judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals and approved by the court.