The defendants were separately charged under the Second Offender Act with the second degree burglary of a supermarket. By agreement, they were jointly tried. Each was found guilty by the jury and sentenced by the court to ten years’ imprisonment. They filed a joint notice of appeal to the Supreme Court asserting that court had jurisdiction because of constitutional implications of the Second Offender Act (former § 556.280 RSMo) and its repeal. The Supreme Court transferred the appeals to this court “in which jurisdiction is vested”. Nevertheless, the defendants urge this court to return the appeals to the Supreme Court. This court declines to do so.
The defendants contend the evidence is insufficient to support their convictions. This requires a review of the evidence. In such review “[t]he facts in evidence and all favorable inferences reasonably to be drawn therefrom must be considered in the light most favorable to the state and all evidence and inferences to the contrary must be disregarded”. State v. Franco,
The store was closed by the assistant manager at the close of business on Wednesday, November 22, 1978. It was closed Thursday, which was Thanksgiving. At approximately 3:00 a. m. on Friday, as the result of a phone call, several units of the Joplin Police Department were dispatched to the scene. The first officers to arrive checked all of the doors, found them locked, and kept the premises under surveillance. There had been no entry through the roof. While the officers were waiting for a key, two men were seen running inside the store from a stock room on the north side toward the rear wall. While the officers could not from this observation identify the defendants, as no one entered or left the building except the defendants when they were captured, it is apparent these two men were the defendants. After the assistant manager arrived with a key,
Upon reaching the rear wall, one officer knelt by the hole and shouted the ambiguous command “freeze and come out”. The officer stationed outside heard a clicking, the motor room door opened, the defendants emerged and were promptly arrest. They were wearing gloves. There was a light amount of block debris on the floor in front of the shelves. There was a heavy amount of debris in the motor room along with several bottles of wine, a sledgehammer, a hammer, brace and bit, screwdriver and a punch. There were no fingerprints.
The defendants’ attack upon the sufficiency of the evidence is based upon the proposition the state’s case is based upon circumstantial evidence and the facts and circumstances must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of their innocence. They correctly assert that breaking out is not burglary, State v. Ewing,
This court cannot agree that the state’s case was based upon circumstantial evidence. Two men, obviously the defendants, wearing gloves, were seen in the store, which had a hole knocked in the back wall. State v. Stead,
Another point of the defendants is that a new trial should have been granted because the informations were uncertain as to whether the offense charged concerned the motor room or supermarket building so that the convictions fail to bar a further prosecution. To support this point they argue there were two buildings, the store building and motor room, and in so doing with remarkable forensic agility state “the evidence showed that there were actually forceable break ins with regard to separate buildings”, (emphasis added) They then argue that breaking into the motor room was not with the requisite intent to constitute that breaking and entering a burglary, citing State v. Watson,
The defendants’ next two points concern the effect of the adoption of the new criminal code, effective January 1, 1979, and the resulting repeal of the applicable prior laws. The offense in question took place November 24, 1978. The trial was held on January 29,1979. The defendants assert that under the prior law the maximum punishment for second degree burglary was 10 years’ imprisonment, but that under the new code the maximum punishment for such an offense is 7 years’ imprisonment. They then cite § 1.160 which in part provides: “that if the penalty or punishment for any offense is reduced or lessened by any alteration of the law creating the offense, the penalty or punishment shall be assessed according to the amenda-tory law.” They then contend they should not be sentenced. to more than 7 years’ imprisonment. This contention ignores the saving provision of the new criminal code § 556.031(3) which has been held to show “the clear intent of the General Assembly that the provisions of law relating to ‘proceedings’ and ‘substance’ in effect prior to the code would remain effective and applicable”. State ex rel. Peach v. Bloom,
The next two points of the defendants are that the trial court erred in not instructing on the allegedly lesser included offenses of trespass, § 560.447, and malicious destruction of property, § 560.395. The test for determining what is a lesser included offense was discussed and clarified in a recent case. The statutory element test was approved. That test is expressed in § 556.046(1) and has been stated: does the statute defining the greater offense include all of the statutory elements of the lesser. State v. Smith,
The defendants’ next point is that the trial court erred in failing to give MAI-CR 2.72. However, this point has not been preserved. At the trial the defendants offered an instruction which read: “You are to separately determine whether each defendant is guilty or not guilty by examining the evidence separately as to each defendant. All the evidence in the case is to be considered by you as to each defendant.” In their motion for new trial the defendants asserted error in the refusal of that instruction. No mention was made of MAI-CR 2.72. Former Rule 27.20(a) required that a motion for new trial must set forth “the specific grounds or causes therefor.” Or, restated “[t]he appellant cannot broaden the scope of his objection on appeal from the precise objection made at the trial.” State v. Blockton,
It is conceded by the state that MAI-CR 2.72 should have been given. However, the failure to give MAI-CR 2.72 setting forth the requirement of separate consideration for each defendant or MAI-CR 2.70 setting forth the requirement of separate consideration of each count of a multi-count charge is not necessarily reversible error. It is a question of whether or not in the absence of such an instruction the jury understood it was to consider each defendant or each count separately. The instructions are to be read together. State v. Arrington,
The fact that the defendants have been charged with an offense is not evidence, and it creates no inference that any offense was committed or that either defendant is guilty.
Each defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until, during your deliberations upon your verdict, you find him guilty. This presumption of innocence places upon the state the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt as to each defendant that he is guilty.
If the evidence in this case leaves in your mind a reasonable doubt as to a defendant’s guilt you must return a verdict of “Not Guilty” as to that defendant. (emphasis added)
The final joint point of the defendants is an attack upon the constitutionality of the Second Offender Act. The attack was first waged by the disjointed, conclusionary pro se motion of one defendant, later joined in by the other. This court has been admonished concerning consideration of such a point: “The point merits no further consideration. The statute and the procedure are valid for all purposes and against all such constitutional attacks. Such a point should be denied peremptorily in future cases.” State v. Maxwell,
Defendant Crow contends that the application of the Second Offender Act in this case upon the basis of a 1970 conviction and sentence was improper because the 1970 conviction was based upon a 1962 conviction under the Second Offender Act which was infirm because the 1962 conviction was improperly founded upon prior infirm convictions of attempting escape and stealing chickens at night. For the disposition of this point it is sufficient to observe that the judicial history involved is set forth in Crow v. State,
The judgment as to both defendants is affirmed.
Notes
. Also see Crow v. State,
