Jefferson v. State, F-82-603
| Court | United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma |
| Writing for the Court | BUSSEY |
| Citation | 675 P.2d 443 |
| Parties | William Melvin JEFFERSON, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee. |
| Docket Number | No. F-82-603,F-82-603 |
| Decision Date | 23 January 1984 |
Page 443
v.
The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
Page 444
An Appeal from the District Court of Carter County; Woodrow George, District Judge.
William Melvin Jefferson, appellant, was convicted in Carter County, District Court, Case No. CRF-81-270, of Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon, Third Offense, and Murder in the First Degree, he was sentenced to twenty (20) years' and life imprisonment, respectively, and he appeals. The judgment and sentence on the Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon conviction is VACATED and REMANDED to the district court with instructions to DISMISS, and the judgment and sentence on the conviction for Murder in the First Degree is AFFIRMED.
Ezellmo Opio Toure, Asst. Appellate Public Defender, Norman, for appellant.
Page 445
Michael C. Turpen, Atty. Gen., John O. Walton, Asst. Atty. Gen., Deputy Chief, Crim. Div., Oklahoma City, for appellee.
BUSSEY, Presiding Judge:
The appellant, William Melvin Jefferson, was convicted in Carter County District Court, Case No. CRF-81-270, of Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon, Third Offense, and Murder in the First Degree, he was sentenced to twenty (20) years' and life imprisonment, respectively, and he appeals.
Succinctly stated, testimony was received at trial that the appellant, acting in concert with James Earl Cleaver, journeyed from Dallas, Texas, on October 20, 1981, and robbed Luke's Music Store in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Cleaver had entered the store on the pretext of desiring to purchase a .12 gauge "Coach" shotgun on a "lay away" plan. Cleaver left the establishment, having secreted two shotgun shells, and returned shortly thereafter. While Cleaver talked with Haskell E. Cox, a seventy-five (75) year old employee, the appellant entered and distracted Edward A. Luke, the seventy-two (72) year old proprietor. Mr. Luke testified that he saw Cleaver scuffling with Cox and the appellant hit him [Mr. Luke] with something on the back of the head. Appellant testified that Cleaver beat both Cox and Luke on their heads with the shotgun but that he did not hit either of the victims, although he did restrain Mr. Luke from assisting Mr. Cox when Cleaver initially attacked him.
Additionally, several witnesses testified that they observed the appellant acting suspiciously in front of the store immediately prior to the incident and also saw him leave the premises. Jefferson, who was shot in his right thigh during the attack, was captured by law enforcement personnel near Wynnewood, approximately forty-five (45) minutes after the crime, and Cleaver was found at a rest area of Interstate 35 where the appellant had left him.
I.
In his first assignment of error, the appellant claims that the information as amended was insufficient for him to be tried for Felony-Murder, because it alleged, in alternative Count II, that the homicide occurred "while engaged in the commission of the crime of Robbery First Degree," not "Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon" as specified in 21 O.S.1981, § 701.7.
This Court has previously held that a statement of the acts constituting the offense, in ordinary concise language, and in such manner as to enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended, is all that is required by 22 O.S.1981, § 701. The test of the sufficiency of an information is whether the defendant was in fact misled by it and whether a conviction under it would expose the defendant to the possibility of subsequently being put in jeopardy a second time for the same offense. Campbell v. State, 640 P.2d 1364 (Okl.Cr.1982), citing Holloway v. State, 602 P.2d 218 (Okl.Cr.1979).
In the instant case, the appellant and his co-defendant, Cleaver, were charged in separate amended informations with Robbery in the First Degree (21 O.S.1981, § 801), and Murder in the First Degree (21 O.S.1981, § 701.7), said informations reading in pertinent part as follows:
... [S]aid robbery being accomplished by said defendants with the use of a certain firearm, to-wit: 12 gauge shotgun, and which they used to menace and threaten the said Edward A. Luke and Haskell E. Cox with harm if they resisted, and by said assault, threats menace and beating and bludgeoning, did then and there put the said Edward A. Luke and Haskell E. Cox in fear of immediate and unlawful injury to their person and overcame all their resistance, and while so intimidating them did then and there...
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Walker v. State, No. F-84-795
...and judgment will not be disturbed by this Court." Johnson v. State, 556 P.2d 1285, 1289 (Okl.Cr.1976). See also Jefferson v. State, 675 P.2d 443 Turning to the merits of the appellant's due process claim, we find that it must be disallowed. The United States Supreme Court has set forth a t......
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Castro v. State, No. F-84-378
...with the robbery serving as the underlying felony, violated the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment. In Jefferson v. State, 675 P.2d 443, 447 (Okl.Cr.1984), this Court vacated a twenty (20) year sentence for Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon, where it served as the predicate for a f......
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Munson v. State, No. F-85-479
...U.S. 161, 165, 97 S.Ct. 2221, 2225, 53 L.Ed.2d 187 (1977); Castro v. State, 745 P.2d 394, 405 (Okla.Crim.App.1987); Jefferson v. State, 675 P.2d 443, 447 (Okla.Crim.App.1984). See also Walker v. State, 254 Ga. 149, 327 S.E.2d 475, 479 (1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 865, 106 S.Ct. 185, 88 L.......
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Diaz v. State, No. F-83-731
...and appellant has failed to show that he was in fact misled by it or that it would expose him to double jeoardy. Jefferson v. State, 675 P.2d 443, 445 Moreover, appellant's reliance on Morris v. State, 603 P.2d 1157 (Okl.Cr.1979), is misplaced. Morris held that an information alleging that ......
-
Walker v. State, No. F-84-795
...and judgment will not be disturbed by this Court." Johnson v. State, 556 P.2d 1285, 1289 (Okl.Cr.1976). See also Jefferson v. State, 675 P.2d 443 Turning to the merits of the appellant's due process claim, we find that it must be disallowed. The United States Supreme Court has set forth a t......
-
Castro v. State, No. F-84-378
...with the robbery serving as the underlying felony, violated the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment. In Jefferson v. State, 675 P.2d 443, 447 (Okl.Cr.1984), this Court vacated a twenty (20) year sentence for Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon, where it served as the predicate for a f......
-
Munson v. State, No. F-85-479
...U.S. 161, 165, 97 S.Ct. 2221, 2225, 53 L.Ed.2d 187 (1977); Castro v. State, 745 P.2d 394, 405 (Okla.Crim.App.1987); Jefferson v. State, 675 P.2d 443, 447 (Okla.Crim.App.1984). See also Walker v. State, 254 Ga. 149, 327 S.E.2d 475, 479 (1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 865, 106 S.Ct. 185, 88 L.......
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Diaz v. State, No. F-83-731
...and appellant has failed to show that he was in fact misled by it or that it would expose him to double jeoardy. Jefferson v. State, 675 P.2d 443, 445 Moreover, appellant's reliance on Morris v. State, 603 P.2d 1157 (Okl.Cr.1979), is misplaced. Morris held that an information alleging that ......