Appellant was convicted in a justice of the peace court of unlawful possession of intoxicating liquor. On appeal to the circuit court, he was again found guilty and sentenced. The facts disclosed by the record are as follows: On search of appellant’s residence, a four-room house, under authority of a search warrant, officers found two and a half pints of whiskey in an open cabinet in the back room or kitchen. Appellant was not at home at the time. The warrant was served on “the lady there in the house”. Just before the officers left, appellant came up, and asked what kind of bond they wanted him to make. In defense, appellant testified that he knew nothing about the whiskey, that he was not at home the day of the search, that it was not his whiskey, that he did not put it there, and that he had never seen the bottles until the day of the trial. He stated on cross-examination that he was the head of the family, that
It is first argued by appellant that the verdict was contrary to the great weight of the evidence, that the lower court should have sustained his motion for a new trial, and that the evidence was insufficient to make an issue for the jury. These points will be considered together. The proposition has been stated in City of Jackson v. Gordon,
In Williamson v. State,
In Goss v. State,
We have examined the authorities relied on by appellant and conclude that they are not in conflict with the views above stated. Hansbrough v. State,
When intoxicating liquor is found on search of the residence of an accused who is the head of the family residing in the home, a prima facie presumption of possession by him arises, as stated in the Williamson case, whereby the issue of guilt or innocence is for the jury, in the absence of any explanation by the accused other than a general statement that it is not his whiskey, that he knows nothing about it, and that he did not place it in his home, which-was the substance of the testimony in defense in this case. Each case of this character must be decided according to the particular facts and circumstances, which are never quite the same. We have concluded that the evidence in defense is not, under the circumstances of this case, sufficient to warrant a reversal. But this decision is not to be construed as a modification of the doctrine of the Hansbrough case and other similar eases cited by appellant.
. Appellant also assigns as error the admission of the evidence resulting from the search of the premises upon the claim that there is a fatal variance between the affidavit and the search warrant in the description of the place to be searched. Reliance is placed upon Morton v. State,
In the case at bar the facts on this part of the case are as follows: The affidavit described “the residence, outhouses, barns,” etc., of appellant on certain described land and also referred to the place to be searched as “dwelling, outhouses, and barn”, of appellant on said-land. The search warrant, in reciting the place to be searched as described in the affidavit, stated “in the residence, outhouses, barns” etc. of appellant at the designated location and also “dwellings and outhouses and barn” of appellant at said location. The search warrant then commanded that the officer executing the same shall “search said above described places, or any of them”. It will be noted that the claimed variance is that the affidavit refers to “residence” or “dwelling” whereas the search warrant refers to “residence” or “dwellings”. The testimony in the case presented in the absence of the jury on the matter of the validity of the search warrant shows that the officer making the search had no trouble in finding the place, and that he could have found it by use of the search warrant if he
It has been stated that “any description in the affidavit for a search warrant and in the search warrant issued thereon, that points with reasonable certainty to the premises to be searched, is sufficient. Any description of the place or thing to be searched that will enable the officer making the search with reasonable certainty to locate such place or thing is sufficient.” Borders v. State,
Although a search warrant is void if it attempts to describe a place to be searched which is not described in the affidavit for the search warrant, as pointed out in the cases- relied on by appellant, yet it does not follow that there must be an exact uniformity between' the two instruments. The rule is based upon the necessity of having the affidavit designate the place to be searched as a basis for issuance of the warrant. It must not be carried to the technical limit, ignoring the proposition that the purpose of the affidavit and of the search warrant is to point out with reasonable certainty the premises to be searched. We conclude that on this record the fact that the search warrant referred in one place to ‘ ‘ dwelling's ’ ’ does not invalidate it, although the affidavit used the term in the singular. The residence actually occupied by the appellant was searched and the liquor was therein found. The fact that the search warrant attempted to authorize also the search of some other residence located on the land owned by appellant does not invalidate the search.
Affirmed.
