State v. Thornton, 14286

• Decision Date: 27 January 1986
• Docket Number: No. 14286,14286
• Citation: 704 S.W.2d 251
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Joni THORNTON, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 251

704 S.W.2d 251

STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Joni THORNTON, Appellant.

No. 14286.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Southern District,

Division Two.

Jan. 27, 1986.

Scott B. Tinsley, Springfield, for appellant.

James K. Justus, Pros. Atty., Forsyth, for respondent.

CROW, Judge.

Joni Thornton ("defendant"), tried by the court without a jury, was found guilty of the class B misdemeanor of property damage in the third degree, § 569.120, RSMo 1978, ¹ and guilty of the class A misdemeanor of stealing, § 570.030, RSMo Cum.Supp.1984. ² She was sentenced to pay a fine of $500 on the property damage conviction (Count I), and to be imprisoned in jail for 90 days on the stealing conviction (Count II). Execution of the jail sentence was suspended and defendant was placed on supervised probation for two years, one of the conditions of probation being that she submit to a period of 15 days' detention in jail. § 559.026, RSMo 1978.

Defendant appeals, briefing four assignments of error. One of them (Point 4) maintains that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding of guilty of either count.

Under Rule 27.01(b), Missouri Rules of Criminal Procedure (16th ed. 1985), the trial court's findings have the force and effect of a jury verdict; consequently, appellate review is as though verdicts of guilty had been returned by a jury. State v. Giffin, 640 S.W.2d 128, 130 (Mo.1982). If there is substantial evidence to support the findings of the trial court, its judgment is to be affirmed. Id. In determining the sufficiency of the evidence, we accept as true all evidence in the record tending to prove defendant's guilt, together with inferences favorable to the State that can reasonably be drawn therefrom, and we disregard all contrary evidence and inferences. Id. at 130; State v. Hood, 680 S.W.2d 420, 423 (Mo.App.1984).

So viewed, the evidence establishes that the property that was allegedly damaged, and the items that were allegedly stolen, were located on an "acre and a quarter" tract of wilderness in the Hercules Glade area of the Mark Twain National Forest in Taney County. The tract lies adjacent to a field known as "Three Johns Field," named after a school located there in years past.

Richard B. Crouch testified that he and Clovis Moore own the 1 1/4 acre tract "jointly." Clovis Moore testified that "we" (otherwise unidentified) own the tract. The tract is used each year as a "deer camp."

Crouch, who resides at Blue Eye, recounted that on Friday, November 2, 1984, he, accompanied by an elderly neighbor, Al Illg, and a "Mr. Salari" (a bricklayer), went to the tract to "set up our deer camp." As the tract is in a "designated wilderness area" where no motor vehicles are allowed, materials and supplies are usually brought in by horse-drawn wagon from Clovis Moore's farm at Taneyville. The campsite, according to Moore, is "probably four and a half mile by wagon trail" from his farm.

Crouch explained that on November 2, because of "all the rain and the water and so forth the creek was too high to get through it with a wagon and team." Therefore, said Crouch, "We drove around to the backside to the southside of it and walked in." Crouch, Illg, and Salari were at the campsite "all day," during which they "cleaned it up" and built a fireplace at a cost of $25. They departed "right around dark," leaving behind a metal folding chair, a bow saw, and a hatchet, all belonging to Illg. They also left a lawn chair, three rakes, a shovel, an ax, and a "duffel bag" containing pots and pans.

Two days later, Sunday, November 4, Crouch returned to the site with his wife. To get there, they drove to the edge of the wilderness area and walked north from there "a good mile" to the camp, where they were planning to meet Illg and his wife, Floradell, and Clovis Moore and his wife, Nancy. The Illgs and the Moores were coming in from the Moores' farm north of the camp. Clovis Moore, Al Illg and Floradell Illg had begun the journey in a horse-drawn wagon, followed by Nancy Moore on horseback. En route, however, Floradell Illg, described by Nancy Moore as a "very fragile" 70-year-old woman, had gotten "pretty sore," so Nancy allowed Floradell to ride with Nancy on her horse, which was "just slowly walking."

As Richard Crouch and his wife were crossing Three Johns Field near the campsite, Crouch heard "some hammering or beating or something like either a hatchet or a hammer" coming from the area of the camp. As they got closer, Crouch saw a man "walking north away from our camp." Crouch had never seen this individual before. Crouch also saw "the leg of someone standing right back in the edge of the woods." Crouch heard someone "clear their throat real loud." Then, both individuals disappeared in the woods. Crouch saw neither individual again that day.

Crouch and his wife continued toward the camp, arriving there "[s]omewhere right around noon." According to Crouch, it had required "20, 25 minutes" to walk to the camp from where they had parked.

When Crouch and his wife reached the camp, it was "completely destroyed." Four trees "had been cut off about two to three foot above the ground and fell right in the middle of our camping area that we'd cleaned out." The lawn chair had been forced down over one of the stumps so that the top of the stump protruded through the chair fabric. The handle of one of the rakes had been broken, the fireplace had been destroyed, and the pots and pans were at the bottom of the fireplace beneath some stones. Upon closer examination, Crouch discovered a bullet hole in the duffel bag and the pans.

Two rakes, the shovel, and the ax were missing. Also missing were Al Illg's metal folding chair, bow saw, and hatchet.

Meanwhile, Clovis Moore and Al Illg were proceeding in the wagon along the trail toward the campsite. Moore testified that when they "were about 10 minutes out of camp coming in--we were going south coming in from the north from the farm," he and Illg "run head-on with three people." Moore identified the trio as (1) defendant, (2) Greg Thornton (defendant's husband), and (3) Mark Gideon. Moore added that he had known all three "[e]ver since I've been in the Taneyville area." Moore fixed the time of this confrontation as between 1:10 and 1:15 p.m.

According to Moore, defendant was carrying a rifle, and Greg Thornton "had a pistol strapped to his--on his hip." Greg Thornton, said Moore, "had the tools and the chair and the hatchet." Moore testified that Greg Thornton dropped those items "at the side of the road."

After Moore and Illg had proceeded "probably a hundred foot" farther, Illg, according to Moore, said, "That was my tools and chair." Moore attributed Illg's delay in mentioning this to the fact that Illg has "Parkinson's disease and he's a slow talker and it takes him awhile to get things out."

Illg corroborated Moore's testimony about confronting defendant, Greg Thornton, and Mark Gideon on the trail. Illg identified all three at trial, as did Moore. Illg testified he saw "a chair laying on the ground by the one with the holster and a hatchet." Illg recognized the chair and the hatchet as his property, explaining that at one time he had replaced the rubber caps on the chair legs because the caps had cracked and fallen off. Prior to November 4, the last time Illg had seen the chair and the hatchet was the day he had left them at the campsite. Illg confirmed that after he and Moore had "gotten down the trail a short distance," he (Illg) had told Moore the chair and hatchet were his.

Nancy Moore recalled that she and Mrs. Illg were on horseback at least 100 yards behind the wagon when defendant, Greg Thornton and Mark Gideon appeared. Nancy spoke to defendant, noticing that defendant was carrying a "deer rifle." Nancy also spoke to Greg Thornton, observing that "he was stooping over picking up a chair and a hatchet." At that time, Mrs. Illg told Nancy that the chair and hatchet belonged to Mr. Illg. Nancy thereupon said, "Greg, I'll be back to get those," thinking that the items had fallen off the wagon.

Greg Thornton, according to Nancy, responded, "They're mine."

Nancy pursued the matter no further with Greg Thornton, choosing instead to proceed toward the campsite.

Floradell Illg corroborated Nancy Moore's testimony, and identified defendant, Greg Thornton, and Mark Gideon as the three individuals she and Nancy had seen on the trail.

Richard Crouch testified that the Moores and the Illgs reached the campsite about 20 minutes after he and his wife had arrived. The Moores and the Illgs had come from the north. The two individuals Crouch had seen leaving the area as he and his wife had approached the camp had been walking north. The Moores told Crouch about seeing defendant, Greg Thornton, and Mark Gideon on the trail.

Clovis Moore, Nancy Moore, and Al Illg corroborated Richard Crouch's testimony about the destruction of the campsite.

After observing the damage, Clovis Moore, accompanied by Richard Crouch, walked south from the campsite to summon the sheriff. While they were gone, Nancy Moore rode back to the place where she had seen defendant, Greg Thornton, and Mark Gideon. There, Nancy saw two rakes and a shovel. Nancy left those items where they lay, rode back to the campsite, and waited for the sheriff.

Eventually, Deputy Sheriff Van Michel arrived. He and Nancy Moore rode Nancy's horse to the place where Nancy had seen the rakes and shovel. Deputy Van Michel retrieved those three items, and he and Nancy returned to the campsite.

Richard Crouch identified one of the rakes as his, explaining that it "had a little piece missing off of the left-hand edge of it." Crouch also identified the shovel as his, observing a hole that he had drilled to enable him to hang the shovel in his shed.

Crouch, who was unacquainted with Mark Gideon, was at Glen's Market in Forsyth with some companions about a week after the incident at the campsite. Crouch recognized an employee at...