Vaughn v. State, 5709

Decision Date08 May 1972
Docket NumberNo. 5709,5709
Citation479 S.W.2d 873,252 Ark. 505
PartiesJohn Edward VAUGHN and Bobby Dean Wilkins, Appellants, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.
CourtArkansas Supreme Court

William M. McArthur, Louis W. Rosteck, Little Rock, for appellants.

Ray Thornton, Atty. Gen. by Henry Ginger, Deputy Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.

GEORGE ROSE SMITH, Justice.

The appellants, Vaughn and Wilkins, were charged with burglary and grand larceny. The State alleged that on the night of January 21, 1971, they broke into a laundry pick-up station in Little Rock and carried away a safe. They appeal from a judgment finding them guilty and sentencing them to the penitentiary. Wilkins questions the sufficiency of the evidence; Vaughn argues other points for reversal.

First: Wilkins' appeal. A witness who lived near the pick-up station heard a noise at about 11:15 p.m., looked out, and saw two or three persons pushing an object down the street. The witness dressed hurriedly, got in his car, and was able to note the license number of another car as it left the scene. The police were called, who found that the station had been forcibly entered and a safe taken away. The officers ascertained by radio that the suspected car was owned by Bertha Jean Wakefield. They arranged for her house, some miles away, to be watched until the car returned. Within about an hour the arrival of the car was reported.

A number of officers went to Mrs. Wakefield's house, entered with her permission, and searched the premises. They found Wilkins under a bed and Vaughn hiding in a closet. The car was searched, but no trace of the missing safe was discovered. Mrs. Wakefield testified that she had lent the vehicle to Vaughn that afternoon. Vaughn, accompanied by Wilkins, brought the car back at about 12:30 that night. The men had whiskey and hot sandwiches with them.

Upon the foregoing proof we cannot sustain Wilkins' conviction. All that the State proved was that Wilkins was with Vaughn in Mrs. Wakefield's car more than an hour after the crime and that Wilkins hid himself when the officers came in the house. No witness identified Wilkins as having been at the scene of the burglary. In our opinion the evidence, wholly circumstantial, falls short of establishing anything more than a strong suspicion of Wilkins' guilt. In Washington v. State, 251 Ark. ---, 473 S.W.2d 157 (1971), we set aside a conviction based upon somewhat similar evidence, although there the State's proof was slightly stronger than it is here. Thus Wilkins is entitled to a new trial.

Second: Vaughn's appeal. Vaughn does not question the sufficiency of the evidence, not only because the suspected car had been in his possession but also because his confession of guilt was received in evidence. Vaughn relies instead upon asserted procedural errors.

He first contends that the trial judge should have sustained the defendants' request that the prospective witnesses be excluded from the courtroom during the trial. A dozen witnesses testified. When the State had concluded its direct examination of its first witness, a defense lawyer asked for the rule of exclusion, explaining that he had not been aware that all the witnesses were in the courtroom. The court denied the request on the ground...

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18 cases
  • Tucker v. State
    • United States
    • Arkansas Supreme Court
    • April 25, 1977
    ...a voluntary confession, but is a circumstance to be considered. Length of interrogation will not invalidate a confession. Vaughn v. State, 252 Ark. 505, 479 S.W.2d 873. But this is another circumstance to be considered. Persistent questioning based upon the interrogating officer's assumptio......
  • Williams v. State
    • United States
    • Arkansas Supreme Court
    • June 10, 1999
    ...alone, however, is not determinative. We found twelve hours of intermittent questioning to not be coercive in Vaughn & Wilkins v. State, 252 Ark. 505, 479 S.W.2d 873 (1972). A critical consideration in this interview was that the focus of the officers was on finding Stacy Errickson, who at ......
  • Rouw v. State
    • United States
    • Arkansas Supreme Court
    • May 21, 1979
    ...over a period of three days while Rouw was in "protective custody." The length of the interrogation is a factor. Vaughn & Wilkins v. State, 252 Ark. 505, 479 S.W.2d 873 (1972). The sheriff ordered Rouw in for questioning; his parents were advised that they were holding him for "protective c......
  • Cassell v. State, CR
    • United States
    • Arkansas Supreme Court
    • June 1, 1981
    ...accused with a crime is his association with a participant at a time and place remote from the offense. E. g., Vaughn and Wilkins v. State, 252 Ark. 505, 479 S.W.2d 873 (1972), distinguished in Redman v. State, 265 Ark. 774, 784, 580 S.W.2d 945 (1979). Here the proof of joint participation ......
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