158 Iowa 191 | Iowa | 1913
It appears from tbe record in this case that on the 10th day of January, 1912, tbe grand jury returned the following indictment against tbe defendant: ‘ ‘ The grand jury of county of ■ Story and state of Iowa accuse Major Waltz of tbe crime of maliciously injuring a building and fixtures, committed as follows: Tbe said Major Waltz on December 17, 1911, in Story county, Iowa, did maliciously and willfully injure and deface a certain building and fixtures attached thereto in city of Nevada, in said county, the depot of C. N. W. Ry. Co., by then and there willfully, forcibly, unlawfully, and maliciously breaking and tearing up a certain gum machine attached to the floor of said building, and by then and there willfully, unlawfully, and maliciously breaking and tearing down a certain light fixture attached to said building, contrary to a statute made and provided,” etc.
The statute under which the defendant was indicted is 4822 of the Code of 1897, as amended by chapter 161 of the Acts of the 31st'General Assembly, which reads as follows: “If any person maliciously injure, deface, or destroy any building, or fixtures attached thereto, the property of another, he shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not more than five years or in the county jail not more than one year or be fined not exceeding $500.00.” The evidence in this case establishes beyond question and beyond all reasonable doubt that the defendant did the things charged in the indictment to have been done by him, and the verdict of the jury is amply sustained by the evidence submitted in the case. It appears from the undisputed evidence and beyond any reasonable doubt that on or about the time stated in the indictment, defendant entered the depot of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company at Nevada, Iowa, in an intoxicated condition; that he used abusive and profane language, and sought personal encounter with others in the depot at the time; that he tore from the floor of the depot building a certain gum machine, attached by means of screws, and tore a certain light globe from its fastenings and cast it from him.
„ „ 1. Malicious evidence • manee. Defendant complains of the action of the court in admitting, over his objection, the evidence tending to show that he used abusive and profane language, r do: 011 ^he theory that it did not in the least tend t0 connect the defendant with the acts charged as constituting the crime for which he was indicted. One of the essential elements of the crime charged is malice, and this evidence was admitted by- the court simply for the purpose of showing the mental condition of. the defendant at the time it is charged that he did the things complained of,
As to whether the intoxication of defendant at the time was such as to render him incapable of understanding or appreciating his act and its consequences, or such as to make him incapable of entertaining malice, is a question for the jury under all the evidence, and was fairly and correctly left to the jury.
Thus modified, the case is Affirmed.