People v. Thomas

VALLÉE, J.—

Defendant was charged with assault with intent to commit murder. She was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon by the court sitting without a jury. She appealed from the judgment and sentence. As an appeal does not lie from the sentence, that appeal must be dismissed.

Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the judgment.

During the evening of June 16, 1950, a man named Mial, another named Holt, and Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were together. They visited several clubs where they drank beer. About 3 a. m. on June 17 they called at defendant's home. Defendant and a man named Perry were there. All parties then drank some whisky. Mrs. Bennett fell asleep in the liv

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ing room. Defendant and Mial went into the back bedroom. After a few minutes defendant eame out of the bedroom, went into an adjoining bathroom, and then into the living room. She returned to the back bedroom. Mial was still there. Defendant came out. shortly, went to the front bedroom, and came out with a gun in her hand. Bennett said to defendant, “There is no sense in all that ... I will get him out of here. ’ ’ Defendant said something to the effect ‘ ‘ I ought to kill him.” She then returned to the back bedroom. Mial ivas still there. Defendant pointed the gun at Mial and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit him. Bennett saw defendant pull the trigger, saw the shot fired, saw the shot hit Mial, but did not see the bullet come out of the gun. Mrs. Bennett was awakened by the shot and saw the gun in defendant’s hand. After she fired the shot, defendant returned to the living room and said “Don’t nobody have to leave, aint nothing happened, nobody has to leave.”

Mial, who Avas buttoning his shirt when the shot was fired, came out of the bedroom with his coat on his arm. Defendant, still holding the gun in her right hand, let him out the front door. Three or four minutes later the Bennetts and Holt left through the front door and found Mial lying on the lawn groaning. There was blood on his shirt. Bennett and Holt rushed him to a hospital where he was operated upon. He had been shot in the side and was in the hospital nearly three months.

The gun was found under the bed in the front bedroom of defendant’s house loaded with four live cartridges and one empty shell. The bullet was found on the floor in the back bedroom. There was a bullet hole in the north wall of the back bedroom about 26 inches above the floor.