Hathcoat v. State

• Decision Date: 27 November 1940
• Docket Number: A-9753.
• Citation: 107 P.2d 825,71 Okla.Crim. 5
• Parties: HATHCOAT v. STATE.
• Court: United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

107 P.2d 825

71 Okla.Crim. 5

HATHCOAT v. STATE.

No. A-9753.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

November 27, 1940

Syllabus by the Court.

1. Evidence corroborative of an accomplice need not directly connect the defendant with the commission of the crime; it is sufficient if it tends to connect him with its commission.

2. Evidence corroborating an accomplice and tending to connect the defendant with the commission of the crime need not be direct, but may be circumstantial only.

3. It is not essential that the corroborating evidence shall cover every material point testified to by the accomplice, or be sufficient alone to warrant a verdict of guilty. If the accomplice is corroborated as to some material fact or facts by independent evidence tending to connect the defendant with the commission of the crime, the jury may from that infer that he speaks the truth as to all. Such corroborating evidence, however, must show more than the mere commission of the offense or the circumstances thereof.

4. Where there is evidence in corroboration of an accomplice tending to connect a defendant with the commission of the crime charged, the sufficiency of such corroborating evidence is for the jury.

5. Where the sufficiency of the evidence to corroborate an accomplice is challenged, this court will take the strongest view of the corroborating testimony that such testimony will warrant, and, if it can say that there is corroborating evidence tending to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense, it will uphold the verdict.

6. Record examined, and evidence held sufficient to support conviction for larceny of domestic fowls.

Appeal from District Court, Mayes County; N. B. Johnson, Judge.

Efton Hathcoat was convicted of the larceny of domestic fowls, and he appeals.

Affirmed.

BAREFOOT J., dissenting.

Harry G. Davis, of Muskogee, for plaintiff in error.

Mac Q Williamson, Atty. Gen., and Jess L. Pullen, Asst. Atty. Gen for defendant in error.

JONES Judge.

Defendant Efton Hathcoat, J. B. Jackson and Clyde Rush, Jr., were jointly charged in the District Court of Mayes County with the crime of larceny of domestic fowls. The defendant Efton Hathcoat asked for a severance and was tried, convicted, and his punishment assessed at one year in the penitentiary; and he has appealed.

The assignments of error are all directed to the proposition that the evidence introduced by the State is not sufficient to corroborate the testimony of the accomplice, Clyde Rush, Jr., who testified against the defendant.

In considering this question, a brief review of the evidence is necessary. We shall first consider the testimony as given by the accomplice. Clyde Rush, Jr., testified that he was nineteen years of age and had lived in Pryor all of his life; that he, J. B. Jackson, and the defendant Efton Hathcoat were good friends and had run around together since they were kids. That on Saturday, May 7, 1938, he and J. B. and Efton were at the book store in the Post Office at Pryor; that in the conversation at that time, one of the codefendants asked the witness if he wanted to make some money. They did not tell him right at the time how the money was to be made, but he was to furnish the car. He tried to borrow his father's car, and he wouldn't let him have it. He then got his aunt's car and met the other two boys across the street from the First National Bank. After they started out of Pryor going west, one of the boys said that they were going to get chickens. The car was a 1936 Model Ford V8, blue in color. They turned north about three miles out of Pryor and drove three and three-quarters miles north. It had been raining that day, and the roads were slick and muddy. After they had passed Cohan's place about half a mile, the road was so slick that the car slid into a ditch. While they were stuck, Mr. Qualls and his family came along in the Qualls' pick-up. Mr. Qualls and his son got out and helped them for about thirty minutes; and finally they got out of the ditch. They drove up to the section line corner and turned around and started back south. Mr. Qualls' car was at the Cohan place, and they passed him. When they passed him, he started following them until they got to the paved road, where they turned west; and he turned east. They went about a mile west to a well the other side of the Osage School House, where they stopped and filled the car with water. One of the boys spoke up and said, "Let's go back to Qualls' and get the chickens." They then turned the car around and drove back down the highway east to the section line leading north to Mr. Qualls'. They drove to Qualls' place, went up the drive on the north side of the road, and turned around; came back and parked in front of the house; then they got out. Efton went to the barn to see if there was anybody at the barn. Rush got out and put mud on the license plate, and then went to the house and knocked to see if anybody was at home. He went to the well, washed his hands, and then went back to the car. He waited at the car while J. B. and Efton took three sacks and went after the chickens. They came back with chickens in the sacks. J. B. said that he could drive the car better than the witness, who then got in the back. J. B. and Efton got in the front seat. They went to Claremore. When they got to Seminole Street, Efton suggested that since they all three looked dressed up, that the produce man would get suspicious and that it would be better for one of them to get out and let the other two go on to the produce house and sell the chickens. They agreed, and Efton got out. J. B. and the witness went in and sold the chickens. When the witness started out the door, there was Mr. Wilson, the under-sheriff. He asked him what he had in the car, and then took him and put him in jail.

About two weeks after the chickens were stolen, the witness went to Tulsa with the defendant, during which trip the defendant said, "Puddle, I am supposed to inherit some money; and if you will take the rap, I will give you $3,000.00 when you get out." Another time he threatened to whip the witness if he told on him. The witness stated that he was testifying to the truth; and that he never did steal any chickens before and was never arrested and had never been in trouble before in his life. He was not promised immunity by the county attorney, who said it was up to the judge and jury to give him a sentence; but the county attorney did say he would recommend a lighter sentence if he told the truth.

P. F. Qualls, his wife and his son, Forrest Qualls, all testified. Their testimony, in substance, was that they left home on May 7, 1938, about two o'clock; that about one-half mile from their house they found the three defendants stuck in the ditch; and that they got out and helped them get their car out. While they were helping the boys, Mr. Qualls asked them where they had been. One of the boys spoke up and said they had been to Cohan's Lake fishing. During the conversation they were asked if they had had any luck; and another one of the boys said that they had caught some fish, but they did not have much luck. That they were suspicious of the boys' actions, and thought they were chicken thieves because they had had some chickens stolen the Saturday before, so they stopped at the Cohan place to see if the boys had actually been fishing there. That they learned that the boys had not stopped at Cohan's Lake. That while they were at Cohan's, the blue car in which the boys were traveling passed them, going back south; and they started following it and followed it to the pavement. That the boys turned west towards Claremore; and they turned east and went on to Pryor. That they went to the produce house at Pryor, called the sheriff's office, and told them about the boys. That Mr. Wilson, the under-sheriff, called Claremore and told them to look out for this car. That Qualls and Mr. Wilson got in the car and went to Claremore. They caught the defendant Clyde Rush, Jr., at the produce house; that the chickens he had just sold belonged to the Qualls, and had been stolen from them.

Willard Rose testified that he was drilling Sudan grass in the field north of the Qualls house at the time the chickens were stolen. He was about a quarter of a mile north of the house; and there was nothing between him and the house to obstruct his view. He related that he saw a car with three men in it drive up to the Qualls' yard gate. It came from the west; it started off after staying there a little while. It then came back and stopped at the gate. One boy went to the house; and he saw another boy coming from the barn. He just saw three persons. He started towards the house and was about two hundred and twenty yards away when they left. One of the boys stayed in the car while the other two came back, each with a sack in his hands. He was not close enough to identify either of the three boys.

Earl Lee testified that he lived about a mile from the Qualls farm. That he had heard the testimony of the other witnesses. That he saw the blue Ford, described by the witnesses, in which the three boys were traveling, four times that Saturday afternoon. This witness did not know any of the three boys riding in the automobile, but he saw the car pass his house going north, which fact according to the other testimony would have been just before it was stuck in the mud; he saw it a second time after it had been pushed from the ditch in which it was stuck and had turned around and started back south; he saw it a little while later pass his house and turn west towards the Qualls farm. The last time he saw the car it was coming from the west, which is from the direction of the Qualls farm, and turn south at the corner and pass his house. The...