Coombes v. State

Citations

• 17 Tex. Ct. App. 258
• 1884 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 211

Syllabus

<p>1. Practice — Proof of Character.— The defendant having assailed the credibility of a State’s witness by showing that such witness was under indictment for illegal branding, and that he, the defendant, was a witness against him, and that his feelings towards the defendant were unfriendly, the State had the right to prove that the general reputation of the witness for truth and veracity was good.</p> <p>3. Same — Intent — Charge OE THE Court.—In a trial for theft the court charged the jury as follows: “ If the defendant killed the cow without the consent of the owner thereof, with the intent to deprive the owner of the value thereof, and appropriate it to the use and benefit of the defendant, ' then this would constitute theft of said cow.” In view of the evidence in this case, and in view of the fact that another portion of the charge fully instructs the jury that, to constitute theft, the taking of the property must have been with a fraudulent intent, the paragraph quoted is not materially erroneous because it omits to instruct the jury that the killing of the cow was with a “fraudulent intent” on the part of the defendant,— the charge being, as all charges must be, construed as a whole.</p> <p>8. Theet —Cases Approved and Overruled.— Asportation is not, under the statutes of this State, necessary to constitute the offense of theft. Under the doctrine laid down in Hall’s case, 41 Texas, 287, and Madison’s case, 16 Texas Ct. App., 435, it is held that, the circumstances showing an intent to steal, the killing of the cow of another on the range, though the animal had never actually passed into the manual possession of the slayer, is sufficient to show such a taking as will support a conviction for theft of the animal. In so far as it announces a contrary rule, the case of Martin v. The State, 44 Texas, 172, is overruled.</p> <p>4. Evidence — Ownership.—An unrecorded brand is competent evidence of the identity of an animal on which it is found, when such identity b