CHARLES J. FREED, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, DEFENDANT IN ERROR

Fla. | 1930-10-18
Terrell, C. J., and Whitfield, Ellis, Strum, Brown and Buford, J. J., concur.
100 Fla. 900 Florida Supreme Court (1930) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed a conviction for maintaining a gambling room. The court found sufficient evidence that the defendant owned and operated the room, and that evidence of prior similar activities at the same location was admissible because the offense could be a continuing one.


Holding

The court held that the evidence was sufficient to establish the defendant's control and operation of the gambling room. The court also held that evidence of prior similar activities was admissible because the offense of maintaining a gambling room can be a continuing offense.


Key Quotes

“‘Well, it’s my stuff. There is no use in snagging everybody.’ He says, ‘I am responsible for it myself,’”

This quote establishes the defendant's admission of ownership and responsibility for the gambling operation.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Charles Freed was convicted of maintaining a room for gambling. The prosecution presented evidence that Freed admitted responsibility for the gambling…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
Per Curiam.

Per Curiam.

— In this case the defendant was convicted under an information charging him with the violation of Section 5499, Rev. Gen. Stats., 7657 Comp Gen. Laws, the specific charge being:

‘ ‘ That the said Charlie Freed of the County of Dade and State of Florida, on the 4th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine, in the County and State aforesaid, did then and there unlawfully and feloniously have, keep exercise and maintain a room located in a certain place known as the Ambassador Club, located at No. 3400 Northwest 27th Avenue, City of Miami, Dade County, Florida, for the purpose of gaming and gambling for money and other thing of value, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Florida. ’ ’

The plaintiff in error contends that the judgment should be reversed because of a variance between the allegata and probata in that the record shows that the room was in a house leased by a person other than the accused and because the proof failed to show that the accused was in possession of control of the room.

We find from an inspection of the transcript of the record that the witness who is alleged to have made the arrest of the accused in the room referred to in the infor*902mation stated as a witness that when he made the arrest the following conversation occurred:

‘ ‘ Charlie asked me what it was all about. He says, ‘Are you going to take us all down?’ and I replied and told him that I was not in charge of the raid and it would be up to the man who was in charge of the raid. Yenno was in charge of the raid and was in the room along with other deputy sheriffs, and. we were all in there, and it was up to the man in charge as to what he saw fit to do. I went ahead and helped take down this gambling paraphernalia, get it ready to move, and Charlie says to me, says, ‘Well, it’s my stuff. There is no use in snagging everybody.’ He says, ‘I am responsible for it myself,’ and he turned and walked on off. I says, ‘You will have to talk with the other man; he is in charge, ’ and he turned and walked on over to where the other deputies were and I went ahead and helped him take the stuff down to get it ready to move.”

The defendant denied this statement attributed to him by this witness. Again, the witness, Venno, testified that at the time the raid was made which culminated in the information against the accused, the accused was present in the room where paraphernalia such as roulette wheel, crap tables, poker tables and poker chips were in evidence and where some ten or fifteen persons were congregated and were seen putting money into their pockets as the officers entered- the room, the accused told him, Venno, that he, the accused, was the owner and operator of the room. This was substantial evidence to support the verdict and if taken with the circumstantial evidence the jury believed this statement to be true they were warranted in returning the verdict as recorded.

*903The further contention is made that evidence introduced in regard to other raids made at the same place at different times and at which the accused was present was inadmissible and was erroneously admitted over the objection of the defendant. The cases of Suarez v. State, 95 Fla. 42, 115 So. R. 519, and of Boyett v. State, 95 Fla. 597, 116 So. R. 476, are relied upon to support this contention.

Each of these cases are properly differentiated from the case at bar. The case of Suarez v. State involved the larceny of an automobile. The ease of Boyett v. State involved the breaking and entering of a store building. Neither of the offenses involved in those cases constituted what is known as a continuing offense, while -the charge here under consideration may be committed by a single act or it may be committed by successive acts of the same character extending over a period of time not exceeding the statute of limitations.

It, therefore, follows that although the information charged the specific act to have been committed on the 4th day of April, evidence tending to show that the accused had, shortly prior to the date alleged, been engaged in keeping and maintaining the idéntical room for the purpose of gaming and gambling was properly admissible unless the record showed that the defendant had either been convicted or acquitted upon a charge involving the other alleged operations.

We find no reversible error disclosed in the record; therefore, the judgment should be affirmed and it is so ordered.

Affirmed.

Terrell, C. J., and Whitfield, Ellis, Strum, Brown and Buford, J. J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Perlman v. State, 269 So. 2d 385 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972)
    …f the place maintained by him. For this reason, proof of the use of premises for gambling prior to the dates specified as the date of the crime is admissible to show purpose and intent on the dates specified in the information. Freed v. State, 1930, 100 Fla. 900, 130 So. 459. In their reply brief, appellants modify their argument slightly by suggesting that the state was in the position of necessarily proving that the crime occurred on a day other than that supplied by the information and the bill of partic…
  • Moldorah v. State, 195 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed on the authority of Freed v. State, 100 Fla. 900, 130 So. 459 (1930); Knight v. State, 94 Fla. 868, 114 So. 665 (1927).…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw