Speegle v. State
| Decision Date | 23 November 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. F--76--551,F--76--551 |
| Citation | 556 P.2d 1045 |
| Parties | Seth Thomas SPEEGLE, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma |
Appellant, Seth Thomas Speegle, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged in the District Court, Tulsa County, Case No. CRF--75--523, with the offense of Manslaughter in the First Degree in violation of 21 O.S.1971, § 711. He was tried by jury and convicted, but the jury was unable to agree on a sentence. The court sentenced him to serve a term of fifteen (15) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections of the State of Oklahoma. From said judgment and sentence defendant has perfected his timely appeal to this Court.
The first witness called on behalf of the State was Leonard Collins, who testified that he had been employed as a police officer with the Collinsville Police Department, Collinsville, Oklahoma, for three years. He testified that he was working the night shift on March 6, 1975, and at approximately 1:00 a.m. he responded to a 'trouble call' at the Commercial Hotel. Officer Collins stated that he was met at Apartment No. 1 by Officers Coppedge and Kirkpatrick, and that upon entering the apartment he found a man on the floor next to a bed. Two men, identified as Bill Cohea and the defendant, were lying on the bed. Lee Nicholson was sitting in a chair by a table, upon which sat a nearly empty bottle of wine.
Officer Collins testified that he turned the man over who was on the floor, and upon seeing blood on the chest area of the man's shirt, tore open the shirt exposing what appeared to be a stab wound. The officer then called for an ambulance.
Officer Collins stated that Mr. Cohea appeared to be intoxicated, but the defendant did not. He further stated that Mr. Cohea had blood around his mouth and that the defendant had blood on his shirt. The officer testified that he knew that the deceased, Sam Jackson, carried a gun and that he worked at the Corner Bar. The officer further stated that he had investigated a shooting incident in which approximately seven shots were fired earlier that evening at the Corner Bar near the Commercial Hotel. No arrests were made, nor did the officer see any of the persons connected with the stabbing incident present at the bar.
The next witness for the State was Bob Randolph, a Deputy Sheriff of Tulsa County. He testified that he was on duty on March 6, 1975, and at 1:37 a.m. received a call to investigate a death in Apartment No. 1 of the Commercial Hotel. Upon arrival, Deputy Randolph found the scene essentially as Officer Collins described it. Randolph stated that a knife blade found at the feet of the victim appeared to be the stabbing weapon, and that the handle of the blade was found on the bed on which Mr. Cohea and the defendant were sitting. The deputy stated that there appeared to be blood on about three and a half inches of the blade, but tests run on it were not conclusive.
Deputy Randolph testified that Bill Cohea was intoxicated and was unable to give a statement until ten or twelve hours later. The deputy stated that no blood was found outside of the residence, nor in the area from the Corner Bar to the apartment.
The State next called James Lewis, who stated that he was a Tulsa County Deputy Sheriff. He testified that on March 6, 1975, he was called to the Commercial Hotel to investigate a homicide. Deputy Lewis stated that he returned to Nicholson's apartment the following day and removed a knife, which resembled the instrument used in the crime.
The next witness for the State was Bill C. Cohea, who testified that on March 6, 1975, about 5:00 p.m., he saw the defendant at the recreation hall in Collinsville, and together they went to the Corner Bar to have a beer. Mr. Cohea testified that he then went on alone to Red Nicholson's apartment, but that the defendant arrived there soon after he did. The three men then drank some whiskey before leaving the apartment to pick up the defendant's wife. Before returning to Red Nicholson's apartment they stopped to buy a half gallon of wine. Mr. Cohea stated that he soon left the apartment and went to his own house with the intention of spending the night there. However, upon finding the propane turned off, Mr. Cohea returned to Red Nicholson's apartment. He then testified that the defendant and defendant's wife had already gone to sleep on the hide-a-bed, and he also lay down in the bed next to the defendant. Mr. Cohea stated that as he got into bed he nudged the defendant with his elbow whereupon the defendant cried out, 'Get your elbow out.'
Bill Cohea testified that after he fell asleep he was awakened by some movement and woke up to see the defendant stabbing Mr. Jackson. The defendant's wife was no longer in bed. Mr. Cohea further testified that he did not see the actual stabbing, but saw the defendant reach around to Mr. Jackson's chest, whereupon Mr. Jackson fell to the floor. At that point, the witness testified that the defendant began hitting him in the face causing his nose to bleed. The witness stated that he thought the defendant had a knife in his hand. Mr. Cohea testified further that Red Nicholson came into the room and stopped the fight. He also stated that all the men had been drinking and that he himself was drunk.
The State's final witness was Robert Fogel, a pathologist. He stated that he had performed the autopsy on Sam Jackson and concluded that he died from a stab wound in the chest which penetrated into the heart and resulted in hemorrhage. The doctor further testified that the blade which appeared to be the murder weapon could be consistent with the stab wound. Dr. Fogel stated that the death would have been rapid, within five minutes, and he found only a moderate amount of internal bleeding. The alcohol content of Mr. Jackson's blood at the time of his death was high, indicating that he was intoxicated. The doctor testified that the victim had recent abrasions on the face which could have been the result of a fall or a blow to the face.
Dr. Fogel further testified that it would have been possible for the victim to walk across the street after infliction of the wound. Alcohol, Dr. Fogel testified, acts as an anesthesia and the victim's tolerance for pain is greater.
The State then rested.
The defense began its case by calling as its first witness Rae Speegle. She testified that she had been married to the defendant for one and a half years, and that he had met Mr. Cohea while in the hospital. On March 6, 1975, the defendant was still taking Medication. Mrs. Speegle stated that her husband knew Mr. Nicholson, but she did not think that he knew Mr. Jackson.
Mrs. Speegle substantially corroborated Bill Cohea's testimony as to the events which transpired from the time the three men picked her up until they returned to the Nicholson apartment. She stated that after her husband, the defendant, had gone to sleep on the hide-a-bed, she lay down beside him while Red Nicholson and Cohea were arm wrestling at the kitchen table. Later, Bill Cohea got into bed also and as he did he punched the defendant with his elbow. Mrs. Speegle testified that she told Bill Cohea to get out and that if he hit defendant in his stomach it would hurt him. She testified that Red Nicholson also called out to Bill Cohea. She stated that the defendant then turned over on his back and when she did likewise, she saw a man sitting on the side of the bed. She then crawled out at the foot of the bed, not knowing who the man was. Mrs. Speegle testified that she went to the kitchen to get some water and while there heard some 'c...
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...supports the allegations of a charge, a demurrer should not be sustained. Renfro v. State, 607 P.2d 703 (Okl.Cr.1980); Speegle v. State, 556 P.2d 1045 (Okl.Cr.1976). An examination of the facts presented herein reveals competent evidence to support the charge. The trial court properly overr......
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Renfro v. State
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Winrow v. State, F-81-382
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Johnson v. State, F--76--815
...tends to prove, all that can be said is that a suspicion of the defendant's guilt is created and as we stated in Speegle v. State, Okl.Cr., 556 P.2d 1045 (1976), this is not sufficient. In order to withstand the demurrer there must be competent evidence tending to sustain the allegations of......