London v. State

• Decision Date: 12 October 1942
• Docket Number: 4269
• Citation: 164 S.W.2d 988,204 Ark. 767
• Parties: LONDON v. STATE
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

164 S.W.2d 988

204 Ark. 767

LONDON v. STATE

4269

Supreme Court of Arkansas

October 12, 1942

Appeal from Mississippi Circuit Court, Chickasawba District; Neil Killough, Judge; affirmed.

Affirmed.

Claude F. Cooper and T. J. Crowder, for appellant.

Jack Holt, Attorney General, and Jno. P. Streepey, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

OPINION

GRIFFIN SMITH, C. J.

June 8 1941, "Chick" Collier and "Whitey" Guthrie robbed Norwood Hedge of approximately $ 500 and valuable jewelry. Hedge, who occupied an upstairs apartment in Blytheville with his wife, was forced at pistol-point to surrender his property. The house was searched for additional money, Guthrie and Collier having been told that Hedge (operator of a drinking place known as "Sailors' Bar") ordinarily carried $ 14,000 in a money belt.

When apprehended, Guthrie and Collier confessed and subsequently entered pleas of guilty. Appellant was also charged with the crime, but denied complicity. He appeals from conviction and a judgment of three years in prison. Sufficiency of the evidence and an instruction are challenged.

Prior to the robbery Guthrie "cased" Hedge's place having been driven by Parker Morgan from Sikeston, Missouri to Blytheville.

Guthrie, who at odd times had worked for London as a taxicab driver, testified that on the day Hedge was robbed he (Guthrie) called London at Sikeston directing contact with Collier at Dexter, and that they procure "artillery" and join him at Caruthersville. Guthrie's statement to London was that he "had something good" and wanted it attended to. London and Collier reached Caruthersville between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. A "forty-four" and a "thirty-eight" pistol were in the cowl compartment of London's car when he reached Caruthersville. Parker Morgan and Guthrie had discussed all phases of the proposed robbery, and in London's presence Guthrie told Collier what Morgan had said. The agreement was that after deducting ten percent for Morgan the remainder would be divided three ways--between Guthrie, Collier, and London. Other testimony given by Guthrie further connected London with the crime.

It is argued that Collier denied London's participation. While Collier's purpose was to shield his associate, his testimony condemned more than it protected. He admitted London informed him Guthrie called on the telephone, directing the rendezvous at Caruthersville. His explanation is that after contacting Guthrie, the latter remarked that they would "take a drive to Blytheville." Collier contends that at that time he did not know what Guthrie's purpose was. On the way to Blytheville the Hedge robbery was mentioned, and the witness (Collier), after consenting to the plan when told it would yield $ 10,000, urged that the stick-up be consummated at Sailors' Bar "because I had been informed Hedge was married, and I always make it a practice not to steal from women."

After the three had eaten at a Blytheville restaurant, Guthrie went to a telephone booth. Hedge was pointed out to Collier, and thereafter they "killed time" until after dark. When Hedge finally left the bar in an automobile Collier told London, who was driving, to follow. Hedge drove to his home. Collier and London went back to town and got Guthrie. The three returned to a point near the Hedge home and the taxicab was parked in a side street. London remained with the cab while Guthrie and Collier robbed Hedge. Guthrie was then taken to Caruthersville and Collier "went home." "We divided the money in the car. . . . The man (presumably Hedge) told me that he had five hundred dollars. Guthrie wanted the money belt. I figured we got $ 200. Hedge said Guthrie stole some money and Guthrie handed me some. . . . I got in the back seat, with Guthrie in front."

There was the further explanation that at the time Hedge was robbed, Guthrie took all the money. The first time Collier saw the "take" was when Guthrie began dividing. Guthrie's pistol was in the front seat beside him. Collier testified that in apportioning proceeds, Guthrie "would take so much and give me so much." Question: "Did London get some?" Answer: "I wouldn't say. . . . I got in the back seat [and kept] looking back to see if any cars were following us." Question: "Did Guthrie hand your money to you over the back seat?" A. "Yes." Q. "Were you confident that when [Guthrie] took a twenty you would get a twenty: did he tell London that, too?" A. "I didn't hear that. He probably got it. I saw money transferred from London to Guthrie. London asked for money. . . ." Q. "If you could hear [the statement that Morgan, the 'finger man'] ought to get ten percent, London could hear it?" A. "Yes."

Otto Scrape, a young farmer residing near Blytheville, testified that he was working in his father's tractor shed near Highway 61 when a 1941 Chevrolet automobile with Missouri license number 165,275 parked on the roadside between 6:30 and 7:00 o'clock the evening of June 8. It was good daylight. Thinking the car contained a "petting pair," the witness decided to ask them to move on. He approached by way of a low fence, shielded by bushes stopping about ten feet from the Chevrolet:--"When I got within hearing distance they were talking about the police. I kept hidden to hear what they were saying. . . . The man under the wheel (later identified by Scrape as London) was listening and the others were talking. . . . One of the men was Guthrie. . . . The men 'outside' were talking. The only one I saw in the car was Jack [London], and I figured they were talking to him." Question: "What...