Sanders v. State
| Decision Date | 05 October 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. CR,CR |
| Citation | 310 Ark. 510,838 S.W.2d 359 |
| Parties | Raymond SANDERS, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 92-552. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Robert N. Jeffrey, Sheridan, for appellant.
Cathy Derden, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
The appellant, Raymond Sanders, was found guilty of capital felony murder for the shooting death of Frederick LaSalle and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The murder occurred during the course of a robbery of LaSalle's bootlegging operation. At trial Sanders' accomplice, Byron Hopes, testified in detail as to the events of the night of the murder and robbery up until the men were arrested. Testimony of other witnesses and circumstantial evidence further supported Sanders' guilt.
On appeal Sanders contends that there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to corroborate the testimony of his accomplice, Hopes, or to prove robbery as the underlying felony supporting the capital felony murder conviction. We find the evidence more than sufficient.
Sanders' accomplice, Byron Hopes, testified to the following: He and Sanders were riding around together on the night of the murder when Sanders mentioned that a guy owed him money. Sanders told Hopes that he needed a gun in order to get the money back. Hopes had left his gun with Wanda Morgan, so Sanders and Hopes went by her home and picked it up. Then, the two men went to Hopes' house to get shells for the .22 rifle.
With gun in hand, Sanders, accompanied by Hopes, walked down the railroad tracks to LaSalle's small, tin building. The ground was wet, and both men were wearing tennis shoes. According to Hopes, Sanders walked to the side of the building, and Hopes heard a gunshot. Hopes walked around and witnessed Sanders reload the gun and shoot through the window at LaSalle, who was sitting up in bed. After this shot, LaSalle was on the floor and reaching for the telephone; Sanders shot him a third time, this time in the side of the head. Hopes and Sanders went around to the front. Sanders entered the building, telling Hopes to stand outside and keep a look out. Hopes heard a lot of "rumbling, racket and noise," after which Sanders came out and said he could not find anything but beer. Sanders unplugged an outside light, and Hopes stood outside while Sanders handed him six to eight cases of beer and several pints of alcohol which they left by the nearby railroad tracks. Sanders also took the victim's wallet but discarded it over a bridge while he and Hopes were walking up the tracks.
Upon reaching Hopes' house, they got his car and went back to pick up the beer and other alcohol. Then, the men went to get gas. Sanders removed his pants, revealing a second pair of pants underneath. A police car drove by, and the men got scared and pulled off behind a Sears store. Sanders threw his pants out the window.
Next, the two went to Sanders' house. Sanders' brother, James, was there and Sanders' girlfriend, Diane, came over. Sanders left them to sell the beer and returned with crack cocaine, which they all smoked. The four then went driving toward Arkadelphia. During this drive, Sanders asked his brother to throw his tennis shoes out the window, and he complied. They returned to their homes.
The next day, Hopes and Sanders were driving across the railroad tracks, near LaSalle's building, when the police stopped them and took them into custody.
Accomplice testimony must be supported by corroborating evidence:
A conviction cannot be had in any case of felony upon the testimony of an accomplice unless corroborated by other evidence tending to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense. The corroboration is not sufficient if it merely shows that the offense was committed and the circumstances thereof. Ark.Code Ann. § 16-89-111(e)(1) (1987).
Sanders argues that Hopes' testimony at trial was not sufficiently corroborated. On appeal "our inquiry is whether there is substantial evidence to support the jury's finding that the corroborating evidence was sufficient ... we need only consider testimony lending support to the verdict." Smith v. State, 310 Ark. 247, 837 S.W.2d 279 (1992).
In order to be sufficient, the corroborating evidence must connect the accused with the crime and be independent of the evidence given by the accomplice. Bly v. State, 267 Ark. 613, 593 S.W.2d 450 (1980); Johnson v. State, 303 Ark. 12, 792 S.W.2d 863 (1990). The test for determining the sufficiency of the corroborating evidence is whether, if the accomplice's testimony were eliminated from the case, the other evidence independently establishes the crime and tends to connect the accused with its commission. Andrews v. State, 305 Ark. 262, 807 S.W.2d 917 (1991). However, the corroborating evidence does not have to be sufficient to convict defendant of capital felony murder independently of the accomplice's testimony. Thrash v. State, 291 Ark. 575, 726 S.W.2d 283 (1987). Where...
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