State v. Mares

• Decision Date: 26 April 1948
• Docket Number: 7092
• Citation: 113 Utah 225,192 P.2d 861
• Court: Utah Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE v. MARES

192 P.2d 861

113 Utah 225

STATE v. MARES

No. 7092

Supreme Court of Utah

April 26, 1948

Appeal from District Court, Third District, Summit County Joseph G. Jeppson, Judge.

Eliseo J. Mares, Jr., was convicted of murder in the first degree and he appeals.

Affirmed.

McCullough Wilkinson & Boyce, of Salt Lake City, for appellant.

Brigham E. Roberts, Dist. Atty., of Salt Lake City, P. H. Neeley, Co. Atty., of Coalville, Grover A. Giles, Atty. Gen., and A. John Brennan, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent.

Latimer, Justice. McDonough, C. J., and Pratt, Wade, and Wolfe, JJ., concur.

OPINION

Latimer, Justice.

The defendant Eliseo J. Mares, Jr., was convicted of the crime of murder in the first degree, and stands sentenced to death by shooting. He appeals from the judgment and sentence as pronounced by the trial court.

The evidence which deals with the events leading up to the meeting of the deceased and the defendant is not in dispute. We accept the version as given by the defendant which was substantially as follows: On or about April 29, 1946, the defendant, who had been previously inducted into the army, left his station at Gieger Field, Spokane, Washington, without permission, and after wandering about the country for a short time he returned to his home in Antonito, Colorado; defendant's father, who was a deputy sheriff, advised him to return immediately to his station; defendant left Antonito and upon arrival in Denver, Colorado, he stole a 1937 Packard sedan and started his journey to the west; he found a .32 calibre automatic pistol in the glove compartment of the car; defendant drove along U. S. Highway No. 30 until he reached a place about seven miles east of Sinclair, Wyoming. At this point the car developed motor trouble and it was discovered that a connecting rod had been broken; the car was towed into the town of Sinclair and a garage mechanic informed defendant the car could not be repaired; about one-half hour after defendant arrived at the garage a Ford car belonging to Jack Derwood Stallings was brought into the garage; the defendant struck up an acquaintanceship with Stallings, and the latter agreed to transport defendant to Ogden, Utah, if the defendant would help in repairing Stallings' automobile.

From this point up to the time deceased's body was placed in a ditch, the evidence for the most part consists of two versions of the same story, both versions having been detailed by the defendant. The evidence produced by the state consisted of the version given by the defendant to certain peace officers and the second version is the one recounted by the defendant while he was on the witness stand. The state's version will be detailed first.

According to the story given the peace officers by defendant, Stallings was driving the car from Evanston towards Ogden, Utah; when the car was at or near the Utah state line, Stallings awakened the defendant and told him they were about to enter the State of Utah; the defendant had previously opened his suitcase, changed his shirt, and taken the gun out of his bag and laid it on the back seat of the car; when the car reached a point approximately one and one-quarter miles past the town of Echo, Utah, Stallings, intending to rest for awhile, pulled the car off to the side of the road and got out; prior to this time, defendant had made up his mind to kill Stallings; after Stallings got out of the car he bent over to fix his shoe lace, or to look at a tire; while Stallings was stooping over, the defendant took the gun, put his arm through the opened rear window of the car, took aim and shot Stallings; the projectile struck Stallings in the head and he fell to the ground; defendant then got out of the car, placed Stallings' body in the seat of the car, threw deceased's jacket over his head, turned the car around and drove it to a place known as Judd Hill; at this point, the car stopped and as there were a number of cars passing defendant who claims he was frightened that a car would stop and some of the occupants might come over and find Stallings' dead body in the car, took the body out of the car and placed it in an irrigation canal.

Defendant's version on the witness stand was substantially as follows: That between Sinclair, and Evanston, Wyoming, he and deceased had consumed a considerable quantity of whiskey; upon leaving Evanston, he was riding in the front seat of the Ford automobile beside Stallings, who was driving the car; that he had had too much to drink and fell asleep; the next thing he remembered was when Stallings awakened him at a roadhouse or tavern in Echo Canyon just before they got to the Utah state line; the car was stopped a little west of the tavern as there were five or six cars parked in front of the tavern; he and Stallings went in to buy some beer to take out, but the bartender refused to sell them any beer and told them that they had too much to drink already; Stallings then went outside and the defendant stayed on the inside for some time arguing with the bartender; defendant then left the tavern and when he got outside discovered Stallings was having a fight withsome fellows on the outside; Stallings was on the ground and a "big guy dressed like a cowboy with Levis and boots on" was kicking him; the defendant tried to stop the fight and one of the fellows threw him out of the fracas; the defendant went to the car, picked up a tire iron, came back to the scene of the fight and struck the fellow over the head with the tire iron; the fellow fell down and the defendant thought he had killed him; defendant was about to hit another of Stallings' attackers when he was hit over the head and knocked unconscious; the next thing he remembered he was going down Echo Canyon riding in the front seat beside Stallings; Stallings was bleeding on the left side of his face; he had a wild look in his eyes, and was driving the car very rapidly down the canyon; that Stallings' appearance and actions indicated that he was out of his head, due either to his drinking or the beating he had just received or both; defendant tried to get Stallings to stop the car but he got no response and Stallings kept driving the car faster and faster down the canyon; the defendant started hollering for help as the car careened down the canyon road; defendant then kicked Stallings' foot off the accelerator in an effort to slow down the speed of the car; in kicking Stallings' foot off the accelerator, defendant finally slowed the car down and when it came to a turn he grabbed the steering wheel and turned it off the road where it came to a stop against a bank, about a mile and a quarter west of the town of Echo; Stallings had a wild look on his face and defendant jumped into the back seat; Stallings then slid out from under the wheel and started toward defendant with a tire iron in his hand muttering that he would kill him; Stallings tried to get into the back seat to hit defendant with the tire iron; defendant pushed Stallings' hands off the seat twice, and when he could no longer resist him, defendant took the gun off the seat and fired a bullet through the space caused by the open right rear window; defendant did not think he hit Stallings with the bullet; Stallings crumpled on the ground in an unconscious condition; defendant picked Stallings up and put a Navy blouse or jacket around his neck and set him in the front seat; defendant intended to take Stallings to a hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, so he turned the car around and drove back to the junction of the highways or underpass, to go down the Coalville road as he had noticed a sign indicating the direction to Salt Lake City when they passed the junction; when they got to the little town of Hoytsville, the engine quit and the car stopped near a canal bridge; defendant felt for Stallings' heart beat and came to the conclusion that Stallings was dead; defendant then put the body in the canal ditch which at the time was not being used for carrying water.

From the time defendant placed the body in the ditch until he was given a preliminary hearing, the following detailed events transpired; as to these matters there is very little dispute, except as to whether or not defendant read a certain document signed by him and made certain admissions or confessions to the officers.

Before leaving the body in the canal, defendant searched the body and removed all means of identification; he then proceeded down Parley's Canyon into Salt Lake County; he apparently became confused in his directions and drove into Emigration Canyon; while in this canyon he throw away the gun, the deceased's clothes, identification bracelet and ring; he retained deceased's Navy discharge papers, billfold containing other identification papers and certificate of title to the car; defendant then proceeded through Salt Lake City and onto Ogden, Utah, where he went to a used car lot and attempted to sell the car. He encountered a short delay and while waiting, sauntered into a bicycle shop and discussed the sale of the car with the owner of the shop. A sale price was agreed upon and so the defendant and the purchaser proceeded to the Police Station where the officer on duty had the defendant execute an assignment of title. Defendant, to accomplish the transfer of title, forged deceased's name to the certificate and identified himself as the deceased by exhibiting the papers he had retained defendant then sold the bicycle found in the back of the car for the sum of $ 5, and signed Stallings' name as seller to a certificate required by Ogden City; after transacting this business, defendant went over to the Western Union and claimed the $ 35 which had been wired there for Stallings and obtained the money by use of the identification papers and by...