Houston v. Commonwealth

Citations

• 87 Va. 257
• 12 S.E. 385
• 1890 Va. LEXIS 118

Syllabus

<p>1. Criminal Proceedings— Robbery—Definition—Va. statute.—The common law offense of robbery is “the felonious and forcible taking from the person of another of goods or money to any value, by violence or putting in fear.” The Va. statute does not define the offense, but only regulates its punishment.</p> <p>2. Idem—Indictment.—Indictment alleging the felonious and forcible taking by the accused from the person of another, of goods and money of a named value, by'violence and putting him in fear, and that'such goods and money were the property of such other person, is a sufficient charge of robbery at common law.</p> <p>3. Idem— Clerk’s charge to jury.—Where indictment charges accused with robbery by presenting of fire-arms, it is proper to charge the jury that if they find him guilty as alleged in the indictment, they should fix his punishment according to the provisions of the first clause of sec. 3674, Code 1887.</p> <p>•4. Idem—Instruction—Assumption of facts.—Instruction that if jury believe that defendant was present, aiding and. abetting C. in robbing M., then he is guilty as principal in the second degree, though he neither beat nor struck M., nor presented fire-arms “ at him, nor received any portion of the goods carried away by C., as the fruits of the robbery,” assumes that there was a robbery, and that C. committed it and carried off the stolen property, and was improper.</p>