Stewart v. State
| Decision Date | 04 October 1977 |
| Docket Number | 6 Div. 42 |
| Citation | 350 So.2d 764 |
| Parties | Richard Wayne STEWART v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
James S. Garrett, Birmingham, for appellant.
William J. Baxley, Atty. Gen. and G. Daniel Evans, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
Robbery; ten years.
This opinion which follows, except for the last twelve paragraphs, was prepared by a retired circuit judge on special assignment, but was not accepted by the majority of this court.
We have read and examined the record in the case and the facts detailed below are substantially correct and more than sufficient for the purpose of this opinion.
Appellant-defendant was convicted of robbery pursuant to an indictment therefor. He entered a plea of not guilty. The jury fixed punishment at ten years imprisonment in the penitentiary. The trial court entered judgment in accordance with this verdict and denied appellant's motion for new trial. Hence, this appeal.
While on his way home from work in the late evening of October 18, 1974, the victim of the robbery, Irvin Reginald Darty, stopped by "Rose's Place" for some late night refreshment. Rose's Place was described by Darty as a "beer joint on old Highway 78, West (in Jefferson County)," and during the hour and a half he spent in this night spot, Darty consumed two beers while watching some other customers shoot pool. Darty left Rose's Place around 1:00 A.M. (October 19), and as he was walking across the parking lot to his pickup truck, he noticed an automobile that "nearly (had) a flat (tire)." As to what then transpired, we quote Darty's testimony from the record.
Darty did not know the names of any of these individuals, but he recognized them as the persons he had just been watching shoot pool in Rose's Place. The four individuals (three men and a girl) drove off ahead of Darty in their automobile, and Darty quickly lost sight of them. After Darty had traveled about a half mile from Rose's Place down a "cutoff road" which led to "new highway Seventy-eight," he spotted the automobile parked on the shoulder of the road with its hood raised. Darty pulled in behind the parked automobile to render assistance and noticed that the three males (one of whom was positively identified at trial as the appellant) were standing outside of the car, and their female companion was seated inside. Again quoting Darty's trial testimony:
Also taken during the robbery was Darty's 1972 GMC pickup, his billfold containing four dollars, his boots, and paycheck. Darty sustained severe injuries around the head and face as a result of this assault, but was able to walk about a mile to the "Allstate Club" where he was then taken to his home by a woman and small boy. Several days after the incident in question, Darty learned from the proprietor of Rose's Place that the names of the individuals whom he watched shoot pool and whom he alleged later robbed him were, Wayne Stewart (appellant), Joe Richards, Donnie Stewart, and Patty Stewart.
Appellant presented an alibi defense and through the testimonies of himself, his sister, and his brother-in-law, he sought to establish that on the night in question he was in Bessemer at his sister's home repairing his automobile. Appellant admitted that he knew Joe Richards and Donnie Stewart. In fact, Donnie Stewart was appellant's brother, and Joe Richards was his nephew. Appellant also stated he had been in Rose's Place on several occasions, but he emphatically denied that he was there on the night of October 18, 1974.
I
Appellant contends that the trial court erred in overruling his motion for a new trial which challenged the sufficiency of the evidence. He asserts that the evidence presented by the State proved no more than that he was present at the scene of this roadside robbery and had the "opportunity to commit a crime."
It is well settled that corpus delicti as well as an appellant's guilty agency may be established by circumstantial evidence. James v. State, 22 Ala.App. 183, 113 So. 648; Butler v. State, 54 Ala.App. 468, 309 So.2d 505; Stiles v. State, Ala.Cr.App., 315 So.2d 609; Howell v. State, Ala.Cr.App., 339 So.2d 138; Chatom v. State, Ala.Cr.App., 348 So.2d 828.
Also, it is well settled where legal evidence exists, from which the jury can by fair inference find the defendant guilty, this court has no right to disturb the verdict. Whether such evidence exists is a question of law, but its weight and probative value is for the jury. Bolton v. State, 21 Ala.App. 373, 108 So. 631; Haggler v. State, 49 Ala.App. 259, 270 So.2d 690.
Overruling the appellant's motion for a new trial was not error because a sufficiency of evidence existed upon which to submit the case to the jury. Young v. State, 283 Ala. 676, 220 So.2d 343.
In the instant case, the victim, Darty, spent approximately an hour and a half in Rose's Place, during which time he had a conversation with the group that he saw in the parking lot. In his testimony concerning the events in the parking lot, Darty said when he "hollered back and told them that somebody had a flat," the appellant and three more asked him to follow them to the Allstate Club, to which he agreed. During the trial, he indicated that one of the group was the defendant by saying "I'm talking about this boy here, (indicating the defendant) and three more."
Darty testified that when they left the parking lot, the group was in front of him but he lost sight of them. He said that...
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Hayes v. State, 6 Div. 2
...before the jury, at the time the motion was made, from which the jury could by fair inference find the accused guilty. Stewart v. State, 350 So.2d 764 (Ala.Cr.App.1977). In deciding this question we are required to view the evidence presented in the light most favorable to the State. Bass v......
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...the jury, at the time the motion was made, from which the jury could by fair inference find the defendant guilty. Stewart v. State, 350 So.2d 764 (Ala.Cr.App.1977)." Thomas v. State, 363 So.2d 1020, 1022 (Ala.Cr.App.1978). The state's evidence regarding the elements which Gainer insists wer......
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Miller v. State
...the jury could by reasonable and fair inference have found appellant aided and abetted in the robbery of Ms. Starling. Stewart v. State, Ala.Cr.App., 350 So.2d 764. The jury could have considered appellant's presence in connection with her companionship, as well as her conduct before, durin......
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Johnson v. State
... ... State, 455 So.2d 260 (Ala.Cr.App.1984): ... "The standard of review in determining sufficiency of evidence is whether evidence existed at the time appellant's motion for acquittal was made, from which the jury could by fair inference find the accused guilty. Stewart v ... State, 350 So.2d 764 (Ala.Crim.App.1977); Hayes v. State, 395 So.2d 127 (Ala.Crim.App.), writ denied, Ex parte Hayes, 395 So.2d 150 (Ala.1981). Stated differently, the test is 'whether the jury might reasonably find that the evidence excluded every reasonable hypothesis except that of ... ...