Shipley v. State

Henderson, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. It is contended on this appeal that the verdict of the trial court, sitting without a jury and finding the appellant guilty of violating the lottery law, was clearly erroneous. It was stipulated that on July 16, 1954, Ser ⁶⁴ geant McKay and his colleagues, armed with a proper search warrant, arrested the accused and searched his automobile. They found no lottery slips or tapes, but found on his person four paper bags, containing various sums of money, and another paper bag in the glove compartment of his automobile, containing $20.78, all having the amounts contained in the bags marked on the outside.

In one of his pockets they found $160.00 in bills and $19.89 in change; in another $113.00 in bills. One of the paper bags had written on it the numeral “83”, another bag the letter “B”, and still another the letter “B” with a circle around it. Sergeant McKay, produced by the State and qualified as an expert, testified without objection that “from my past experience, I believe the numbers on those bags to be lottery code numbers, money that is talien from different writers, and turned over to a pickup man. From my past experience, one man carries the money today, and the other carries the slips to headquarters.

They don’t do like they used to, carry the slips and money together, but now they carry them separately. If they get caught, they will lose either the money or the slips.” The appellant took the stand and testified that he operated a confectionery store and the money in the bags had been collected in connection with that business. He did not attempt to explain the notations. At the time of the trial he was serving a sentence for another lottery conviction, and