Opinion
November 20, 1951.
Appeal from the Criminal Court of Record for Dade County, Ben C. Willard, J.
Roberts, Holland Strickland, Miami, for appellant.
Richard W. Ervin, Atty. Gen., and Reeves Bowen, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
The appellant, Steve John Yarb, was informed against by the County Solicitor of Dade County, Florida, under the provisions of Section 849.09, F.S.A. The pertinent allegation thereof was to effect that on the 27th day of December, 1950, Yarb unlawfully had in his possession lottery tickets in a lottery yet to be played. He entered a plea of not guilty. Counsel waived trial by a jury, and the trial court, after hearing all the evidence, found the defendant guilty as charged and sentenced him to pay a fine of $750 and costs or in default thereof to serve a period of six months in the State Prison. Yarb appealed.
It is contended here that the State of Florida failed to carry the burden of proof required by law by establishing that the tickets in Yarb's possession at the time of his arrest represented an interest in a lottery yet to be played within the meaning of our holding in D'Alessandro v. State, 114 Fla. 70, 153 So. 95. We are forced to the conclusion, after a careful consideration of all the evidence adduced by the State of Florida to sustain the material allegations of the information, that this assignment has merit and must be sustained. See Pinder v. State, Fla., 53 So.2d 639.
Reversed.
SEBRING, C.J., TERRELL, J., and LEWIS, Associate Justice, concur.