Thomas v. State, No. 43073

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Writing for the CourtDOUGLAS; Matthews
Citation458 S.W.2d 817
PartiesRichard Leon THOMAS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
Docket NumberNo. 43073
Decision Date14 October 1970

Page 817

458 S.W.2d 817
Richard Leon THOMAS, Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
No. 43073.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.
Oct. 14, 1970.
Rehearing Denied Nov. 10, 1970.

Dalton Gandy, Fort Worth, for appellant.

Frank Coffey, Dist. Atty., Truman Power, Ronald W. Quillin and Grant Liser, Asst. Dist. Attys., Fort Worth, and Jim D. Vollers, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.

OPINION

DOUGLAS, Judge.

The conviction is for robbery by the use of a firearm. The punishment was assessed by the jury at thirteen years.

The record reflects that on the 4th day of November, 1967, two men entered the Lilly Cleaners in Fort Worth and one of the men, armed with a pistol, forced the manager, Peggy Carley, her daughter and an employee to go to the back and lie face down on the floor. Approximately eighty dollars was taken from the cash register. A customer was robbed and was forced to lie down on the floor with the women.

From appellant's confession, the following is shown. Appellant and Robert Donald Hill decided to rob the Lilly Cleaners, and when they got there, Hill entered with a gun and appellant followed. Hill made the women lie down on the floor and then robbed a man who entered the store and made him lie down on the floor. When appellant could not open the cash register, Hill opened it, and they took some fifty or sixty dollars and left.

At the penalty stage of the trial, it was shown that appellant had served terms for three felony convictions.

Complaint is made that the court erred in admitting into evidence the confession of appellant without a showing that he knowingly and intelligently waived assistance of counsel.

Page 818

At the hearing on the motion to suppress the confession appellant testified that after he was arrested he refused to say anything, and he was slapped, hit, kicked and that his lip was 'busted,' and his nose bloodied. He testified that he signed a confession that had already been typed, without reading it, and that he did not give the information contained in the confession. He further testified that he did not waive the assistance of counsel.

Officer Hudson of the Fort Worth Police Department testified that he and Officers Sinclair and Sommers arrested appellant at 12:10 p.m. on December 13, 1967, and took him directly to Justice of the Peace W. W. Matthews who warned him as follows:

'You are charged with the offense of armed robbery. An affidavit charging you with this offense has not been filed in this Court.

'You have a right to hire a lawyer and have him present prior to and during any interview and questioning by peace officers or attorneys representing the State. If you are too poor to afford a lawyer, you have the right to request the appointment of a lawyer to be present prior to and during any such interview and questioning. You may have reasonable time and opportunity to...

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23 practice notes
  • Nash v. State, No. 44421
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • January 11, 1972
    ...not agree. McCandless v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 425 S.W.2d 636; Easley v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 448 S.W.2d 490; Thomas v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 458 S.W.2d 817. For all the reasons discussed above and in light of the record before us, we reject appellant's claims that the State failed to Page 564 p......
  • Johnson v. State, No. 499-83
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • November 16, 1988
    ...Moreno v. State, 511 S.W.2d 273, 276-77 (Tex.Cr.App.1974), cert. den. 419 U.S. 1115, 95 S.Ct. 794, 42 L.Ed.2d 813; Thomas v. State, 458 S.W.2d 817, 819 (Tex.Cr.App.1970). See also Williams v. State, 566 S.W.2d 919 (Tex.Cr.App.1978); Castro v. State, 562 S.W.2d 252 (Tex.Cr.App.1978); Johnson......
  • Watson v. State, No. 1052-86
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • December 14, 1988
    ...v. State, 511 S.W.2d 273, 276-277 (Tex.Cr.App.1974), cert. den. 419 U.S. 1115, 95 S.Ct. 794, 42 L.Ed.2d 813 (1975); Thomas v. State, 458 S.W.2d 817, 819 (Tex.Cr.App.1970); Phifer v. State, 651 S.W.2d 774 (Tex.Cr.App.1983); Wilkerson v. State, 657 S.W.2d 784 (Tex.Cr.App.1983); cert. den. 470......
  • Zavala v. State, No. 13-99-671-CR.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas
    • September 12, 2002
    ...that a crime was committed, the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator may rest alone with his confession. Thomas v. State, 458 S.W.2d 817 (1970). In support of his argument, appellant cites Coleman v. State, 704 S.W.2d 511 (1986, pet ref'd), and Hanson v. State, 781 S.W.2d 445 (1989,......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
23 cases
  • Nash v. State, No. 44421
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • January 11, 1972
    ...not agree. McCandless v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 425 S.W.2d 636; Easley v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 448 S.W.2d 490; Thomas v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 458 S.W.2d 817. For all the reasons discussed above and in light of the record before us, we reject appellant's claims that the State failed to Page 564 p......
  • Johnson v. State, No. 499-83
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • November 16, 1988
    ...Moreno v. State, 511 S.W.2d 273, 276-77 (Tex.Cr.App.1974), cert. den. 419 U.S. 1115, 95 S.Ct. 794, 42 L.Ed.2d 813; Thomas v. State, 458 S.W.2d 817, 819 (Tex.Cr.App.1970). See also Williams v. State, 566 S.W.2d 919 (Tex.Cr.App.1978); Castro v. State, 562 S.W.2d 252 (Tex.Cr.App.1978); Johnson......
  • Watson v. State, No. 1052-86
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • December 14, 1988
    ...v. State, 511 S.W.2d 273, 276-277 (Tex.Cr.App.1974), cert. den. 419 U.S. 1115, 95 S.Ct. 794, 42 L.Ed.2d 813 (1975); Thomas v. State, 458 S.W.2d 817, 819 (Tex.Cr.App.1970); Phifer v. State, 651 S.W.2d 774 (Tex.Cr.App.1983); Wilkerson v. State, 657 S.W.2d 784 (Tex.Cr.App.1983); cert. den. 470......
  • Zavala v. State, No. 13-99-671-CR.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas
    • September 12, 2002
    ...that a crime was committed, the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator may rest alone with his confession. Thomas v. State, 458 S.W.2d 817 (1970). In support of his argument, appellant cites Coleman v. State, 704 S.W.2d 511 (1986, pet ref'd), and Hanson v. State, 781 S.W.2d 445 (1989,......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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