Coughran v. State, F-76-882

• Decision Date: 31 May 1977
• Docket Number: No. F-76-882,F-76-882
• Citation: 565 P.2d 688,1977 OK CR 198
• Parties: Robert Wayne COUGHRAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

Page 688

565 P.2d 688

Robert Wayne COUGHRAN, Appellant, v.The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.

No. F-76-882.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma.

May 31, 1977.

John T. Elliott, Public Defender, Oklahoma County, Robert A. Ravitz, Asst. Public Defender, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma City, for appellant.

Larry Derryberry, Atty. Gen., Robert L. McDonald, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

OPINION

BLISS, Judge:

Appellant, Robert Wayne Coughran, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged, tried by jury in a bifurcated proceeding, and convicted in the District Court, Oklahoma County, Case No. CRF-75-4697, of the offense of Concealing Stolen Property, After Former Conviction of a Felony, in violation of 21 O.S.1971, § 1713.He was sentenced to serve five (5) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections, State of Oklahoma.From said judgment and sentence the defendant has perfected a timely appeal to this Court.

The State called four witnesses in its case in chief.The complaining witness, Freida Jackson, testified that on the 11th day of December, 1975, she left her home at approximately 8:00 a. m. to go to work.She stated that she always locked all the doors before leaving.At approximately 1:00 p. m., she returned home and discovered that the lock on the front door had been damaged, and the house had been broken into.She testified that several items were missing, including her camera, her husband's cuff links and tie bar, some bicentennial coins, and about twelve Christmas packages, which she was able to identify at trial.

The State's next witness was Officer David Enger of the Oklahoma City Police Department.He stated that on the 11th day of December, 1975, at about noon, he was approached by a passing motorist who stated that he had seen some suspicious individuals on South Pennsylvania Avenue, who were walking up and down the street and carrying a large number of packages.The officer went to that location and observed two young white males walking down the street loaded with packages.The officer further observed an automobile pull up to the curb and the two males get into the car.The officer followed the car, and upon observing its license tag to be unreadable pulled the vehicle over.The officer informed the driver of the automobile, later identified as the defendant, that he was going to be cited for improper tag display.The officer observed a large number of tagged Christmas packages, some statuettes, candy, jewelry, and a camera on the back seat of the car.He further stated that he observed no indication that the individuals were hitchhiking, because it appeared to him that they had just stepped into to the car and "dumped their loads out in the car."

The third witness for the State was Morris Ned, another officer of the Oklahoma City Police Department.He conducted a followup investigation of the incident, and confirmed that the door of Mrs. Jackson's house had been forced open and the house ransacked.

The state's final witness was Detective Steven Upchurch who stated that he had interviewed the defendant after informing him of his Miranda rights, and that the defendant had signed a waiver statement.The witness testified that the defendant told him he was on his way to Moore, Oklahoma, to look for a job when he observed the two boys hitchhiking, and stopped to give them a ride.When the boys got into his car, the defendant sold a cigarette to one of them in exchange for a 50 cent piece.Detective Upchurch stated he requested the defendant to take a polygraph test and even though the defendant agreed to do so, the test was not given.When the defendant was again questioned by Detective Upchurch, the defendant related that he had known the boys for awhile, and had agreed to take them to 59th Street and Pennsylvania on December 11, 1975, and to pick them up a short time later in exchange for $20.00.The State rested and the defendant offered no evidence.

The defendant raises as his first assignment of error that a jurisdictional defect occurred after the preliminary hearing, but prior to trial.Defendant alleges that an order assigning an appeal taken by the state after the magistrate, sitting at...