Varas v. State
Texas Supreme Court
Appeal from. Atascosa. Tried below before the Hon. John P. White. Vicente Varas was indicted for theft of “ a black and white-spotted sow hog,” the property of Jesse L. Ragsdale. On the trial Ragsdale testified that about October 1,1873, in Atascosa county, witness was returning home, and “ when within six or seven hundred yards of my house I heard my hogs making a noise off at one side of the road.
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Appeal from. Atascosa. Tried below before the Hon. John P. White. Vicente Varas was indicted for theft of “ a black and white-spotted sow hog,” the property of Jesse L. Ragsdale. On the trial Ragsdale testified that about October 1,1873, in Atascosa county, witness was returning home, and “ when within six or seven hundred yards of my house I heard my hogs making a noise off at one side of the road. I went to them and found the defendant with a black and white sow pig of mine in his arms, carrying it off. * * I asked the defendant what he was going to do with my pig, and told him to turn it…
1Opinion of the Court
Gould, Associate Justice.
The defendant was charged with the theft of a hog, and under the evidence the real issue was not whether he took it, but whether he took it fraudulently or under an honest claim that it was his own. There was evidence that he claimed the hog, and there was some evidence tending to show that his claim might have been honestly made. The court in its charge gave the statutory definition of theft, but did not otherwise instruct the jury as to the distinction between theft and trespass. In behalf of defendant, the following instruction was asked and was refused: “ The…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Isaacs v. StateTexas Supreme Court · 1867
- Smith v. StateTexas Supreme Court · 1859
3Cited by7 opinions
- State v. McCartyNorth Dakota Supreme Court · 1921
- State v. BaileyWest Virginia Supreme Court · 1908
- Downs v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1917
- Loza v. StateCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1877
- Sigler v. StateCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1880
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