Lindsey v. State

Citation671 P.2d 57
Decision Date17 October 1983
Docket NumberNo. F-81-624,F-81-624
PartiesTherold Dean LINDSEY, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
CourtUnited States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

Therold Dean Lindsey, appellant, was convicted of Robbery with a Firearm, in Oklahoma County District Court, Case No. CRF-80-5019. He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment and appeals. AFFIRMED.

William P. Smalley, Oklahoma City, for appellant.

Michael C. Turpen, Atty. Gen. of Okl., Hugh A. Manning, Asst. Atty. Gen., Oklahoma City, for appellee.

OPINION

CORNISH, Judge:

At about 4:30 p.m. on December 22, 1980, two armed men robbed Wilbert's World Coins in Midwest City, Oklahoma. As they fled, the proprietor of an adjacent business notified the authorities. Trooper Robert Knox of the Oklahoma Highway patrol received a radiogram concerning the crime advising him to be on the lookout for two Caucasion males in a tan-over-green, 1976 Oldsmobile with Alabama license tag number DKH-319. The trooper positioned his cruiser alongside Interstate Highway 40 near McLoud Road in Pottawatomie County, and within five minutes spotted a car matching the description. The car was stopped, and the appellant, Therold Dean Lindsey, and a companion were arrested.

A search of the vehicle and the occupants yielded several pistols, a gold necklace and chain, and two suitcases. The suitcases contained a large amount of silver and gold coins, which were used against appellant at trial. He was convicted of Robbery with a Firearm and was sentenced to ten years in prison.

On appeal, he asserts three assignments of error. He first contends that the search of the suitcases was unlawful. This contention is without merit on the record before this Court. It is manifest that the search of the car was justified by probable cause to believe that the robbers, carrying guns and the fruits of the crime, had fled the scene in the car. See, Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970). The same probable cause justified the search of every part of the vehicle and its contents that might conceal the object of the search. See, United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 102 S.Ct. 2157, 72 L.Ed.2d 572 (1982). The search of the suitcases was lawful.

He next contends that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the limitations of circumstantial evidence. However, such an instruction is only required when the State's evidence consists entirely of circumstantial evidence. Davis v. State, 634 P.2d 752 (Okl.Cr.1981). Appellant has failed to submit a complete transcript of the testimony at trial, hence we are unable to determine the character of the evidence against him. It is the responsibility of the defendant to present on appeal enough of the record to allow review of alleged error. McGaha v. State, 492 P.2d 1101 (Okl.Cr.1971).

Appellant suggests that the State necessarily relied wholly upon circumstantial evidence to establish one of the elements of the crime, i.e., felonious intent, thus requiring the instruction irrespective of the character of the other evidence against him. This suggestion is not well taken. It assumes that no admission of intent by appellant was in evidence at trial, see, Weimar v. State, 556 P.2d 1020 (Okl.Cr.1976), an assumption not supported by the record. It also incorrectly assumes that 'felonious intent', i.e., an intent to steal and permanently deprive the owner of the personalty taken, is an element of the crime of robbery in Oklahoma. See, Traxler v. State, 96 Okl.Cr. 231, 251 P.2d 815 (1952). If the act charged in the information was committed, there can be no issue of intent except intent to do the act charged. Id., Syllabus 15. Finally, it misconstrues the circumstantial evidence rule:

Intent, in practically all cases, must be shown by the inference arising from the facts shown. We do not think that, from a practical standpoint, it is correct to say that it is "a conviction on...

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4 cases
  • Anderson v. State
    • United States
    • United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
    • December 21, 2010
    ...proscribed by Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510, 99 S.Ct. 2450, 61 L.Ed.2d 39 (1979). See Lindsey v. State, 1983 OK CR 147, ¶ 6, 671 P.2d 57, 59. See also Birdine v. State, 2004 OK CR 7, ¶ 3, 85 P.3d 284, 285; Hunter v. State, 1987 OK CR 165, ¶ 6, 740 P.2d 1206, 1208. ¶ 10 In Proposition V......
  • State v. Fast Horse
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of South Dakota
    • May 29, 1992
    ...403 N.E.2d 828 (1980); State v. Kaufman, 265 N.W.2d 610 (Iowa 1978), State v. Moehlis, 250 N.W.2d 42 (Iowa 1977) *; Lindsey v. State, 671 P.2d 57 (Okla.Crim.App.1983); State v. Brooks, 631 P.2d 878 (Utah In Spears, supra, the defendant was convicted of assault with intent to kill and second......
  • Cole v. State, F-84-675
    • United States
    • United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
    • October 8, 1986
    ...This Court has found that the search of a suitcase within a vehicle, once probable cause had been established, was lawful. Lindsey v. State, 671 P.2d 57 (Okl.Cr.1983). This Court stated that "[t]he same probable cause justified the search of every part of the vehicle and its contents that m......
  • Rounds v. State
    • United States
    • United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
    • February 6, 1984
    ...given the State's necessary reliance upon wholly circumstantial evidence to prove criminal intent is not persuasive. See Lindsey v. State, 671 P.2d 57 (Okl.Cr.1983). V. Appellant's final proposition of error is that the judge erred in failing to instruct the jury that an essential element o......

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