105 S.E.2d 330
20194.Supreme Court of Georgia.SUBMITTED SEPTEMBER 9, 1958.
DECIDED OCTOBER 10, 1958.
HEAD, Justice.
While the evidence to support the conviction of the defendant as a principal in the second degree is not entirely satisfactory, this court can not say as a matter of law that the State’s evidence, considered with the defendant’s statement, was not sufficient to authorize the verdict rendered.
Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.
SUBMITTED SEPTEMBER 9, 1958 — DECIDED OCTOBER 10, 1958.
Robbery by use of an offensive weapon. Chatham Superior Court. Before Judge Harrison. May 2, 1958.
Ralph L. Crawford, for plaintiff in error.
Andrew J. Ryan. Jr., Solicitor-General, Eugene Cook, Attorney-General, Rubye G. Jackson, Deputy Assistant Attorney-General, contra.
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Harry P. Williams was jointly indicted with Freddy D. Way and Joseph Rego in three counts for the offense of robbery by force and intimidation, by sudden snatching, and by use of an offensive weapon. Williams was tried separately and was convicted of robbery by use of an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to a term of not less than four and not more than ten years. His motion for new trial on the general grounds was denied, and the exception is to this judgment.
The State’s evidence showed: Ernest E. Woods, an employee of the Howard Johnson Motel, testified: On March 11, 1958, at some time between midnight and 12:30 a. m., he and his wife were in the office of the motel. Two men came into the office; they had stockings over their faces; one had on a hat, and the other was bareheaded. The men had pistols, one an automatic, and one a revolver. One said, “This is a stick-up; give me all the money you got.” The witness handed over five $1 bills and some cash. He later identified Rego as being one of the men. He did not see the defendant.
Mrs. Ernest E. Woods gave substantially the same account of the robbery, and stated that she identified Rego and Way as the two men. She did not see the defendant.
J. P. Fountain, of the Savannah Police Department, testified: On March 11, 1958, at approximately 12:25 a. m., he and Officer Green received a call on their radio stating that there had been a “hold-up” at the Howard Johnson Motel. They were at Montgomery and Anderson, and they saw a car going east on Anderson at Montgomery. They stopped the car at Bull and Anderson. This was a routine check because of the report they had. The defendant was driving the car, and Way and Rego were in the front seat with him. When they first stopped the car the defendant jumped out of the car and said, “I haven’t done nothing,” and threw up his hands. On searching the car they found two pistols fully loaded, one an automatic and one a revolver, two stockings in a hat, and two pairs of white gloves. These articles were underneath the front seat on the extreme right side. They took $5.75 from Rego. There were five $1 bills.
George J. Bouchea, of the Chatham County Police Department, testified: Officers Fountain and Green turned over to him Rego,
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Way, and the defendant. They made the arrest at 12:35 a. m., and brought them in the office about 15 minutes later. Mr. and Mrs. Woods identified Way and Rego as the two men who had been in the motel. The defendant had some ammunition for a 38-caliber revolver. He refused to talk to them at all.
The State introduced in evidence a 38-caliber pistol, ten 38 bullets, an automatic pistol, a clip for the automatic with six bullets, two pairs of white gloves, a knife, two silk stockings, a gray hat, a wire, five $1 bills, and 80 cents in coins.
No evidence was introduced by the defendant. He made the following statement: “I knocked off work and went around to Harris Street and met Rego and Way; they were eating supper; and we thought we’d ride around to a couple of bars, so I did; I rode them to Colonial Garden; while they were in there they’d been drinking pretty heavily. Rego gave me five bullets and told me to keep them for him; I said, `What are these for?’; he said to just [keep?] them for him and `I’ll take them back later.’ I was working and making $1.55 an hour. I didn’t have anything to do with this. I was working for Mr. Seckinger.”