Johnnie Lee McLendon, Jr. was convicted in the county court of the unlawful sale of intoxicating liquor. From the verdict and judgment therein, he appealed to the circuit court, where judgment was affirmed. He has appealed to this Court.
Two witnesses, Sheriff Bob Waller and Dеputy Sheriff Willie Oubre, testified for the State. They said that they secured a pickup truck with a covered body on the rear through which they cut peepholes and arranged them in such a way that they could see all occurrences on the outside, but persons on thе outside could not see the officers on the inside. They took two trusties from the Forrest Cоunty jail to act as driver and front seat passenger and proceeded to Smith’s Drive-In, in the county, for the purpose of purchasing some whiskey. When they arrived at this place, the trusty, driver of the truck, inquired of the defendant if he could buy some whiskey. The defendant repliеd that he could, went into the building, and shortly returned with a half pint of whiskey for which the driver paid him $2.50, that had already been furnished by the sheriff. The officers saw the transaction in its entirety and testified fully tо what transpired.
Several assignments of error were filed, but only one has been argued, namely, that the conduct of the sheriff and the deputy amounted to entrapment.
In French v. State,
The Court, in affirming the action of the trial court, cited a numbеr of cases from other jurisdictions. It referred to an exhaustive note appended to the case of Butts v. U. S., 18 A. L. R. 143, where, at p. 162, the author laid down this headnote: “The great weight of authority supports the view that a person making an unlawful sale of liquor is not excused from criminality by the fact that the sale is induced for the sole purpose of prosecuting the seller”, citing cases from eighteen states, as well as a number of federal cаses. The opinion went on to say: “There is proof abundant in this case to show every еlement of a completed sale. Appellant is not charged with a crime involving- the personal or property rights of individuals, such as theft, burglary, trespass, rape, and kindred оffenses, where the consent of the person or owner might be an element of the оffense. It is made a crime against the state to sell whisky; and it will not avail defendant to say, ‘I hаd no intention of violating the law. ’ A sale of intoxicants is a violation
In McLemore v. State,
See also Averitt v. State,
It follows therefore that the judgment of the circuit court must be, and it is, affirmed.
Affirmed.
