Vaughn v. State
| Decision Date | 16 September 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 52352,No. 2,52352,2 |
| Citation | 139 Ga.App. 565,228 S.E.2d 741 |
| Parties | Gentry VAUGHN v. The STATE |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
M. Gene Gouge, Dalton, for appellant.
Samuel J. Brantly, Dist. Atty., Dalton, for appellee.
Vaughn appeals his conviction of violations of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act in that he possessed marijuana on one occasion and sold a quantity of marijuana on another occasion, each amount being more than one ounce. He was sentenced to pay a fine of $1,000 on each count and to serve two years on the possession offense concurrently with a three year sentence on the sale count. His motion for new trial was denied and this appeal followed. Vaughn enumerates as error the denial of his motion for new trial on the general ground that the verdict is contrary to the evidence; the denial of his motion for a directed verdict of not guilty based upon the lack of corroboration of an accomplice's testimony; and the giving of a charge on flight. Held:
1. The first two enumerations of error attack the same alleged weakness, the lack of corroboration of the accomplice's testimony. One Whitener (the alleged accomplice) was the lessee of an apartment in the City of Dalton. That apartment was raided, and, utilizing a search warrant, the police seized almost six pounds of marijuana packaged for sale. There were four persons in the apartment at the time of the raid, none of whom was Vaughn. Whitener ultimately was tried and convicted of drug abuse offenses and sentenced to serve two years. After his sentencing, Whitener volunteered to 'tell all.' For the first time he identified Vaughn as the source of the marijuana confiscated from his apartment. His testimony indicated that Vaughn furnished five pounds of marijuana on August 16, 1973, by delivering it to the apartment. All of this marijuana was sold between August 16th and 21st except for one-half a pound. On August 20th, Whitener testified, Vaughn brought five more pounds for sale, left that quantity at the apartment and accepted payment for the five pounds of marijuana left with Whitener on August 16th. The August 16th quantity was the subject of the count on sale and the August 21st quantity (which was seized before sales could occur) constituted the basis for the possession count. Other than the testimony of Whitener there is absolutely no testimony in this record placing the marijuana found in Whitener's apartment at any time in Vaughn's possession or connecting Vaughn with any sales from Whitener's apartment.
As pertinent, Code § 38-121 provides:
The transcript provides the following corroborative evidence. Whitener testified he knew Vaughn and that Vaughn had been in Whitener's apartment on several occasions including the two times when the marijuana was delivered. One Rice testified he had seen Vaughn in Whitener's apartment sometime in July or shortly after June 30th, but did not connect Vaughn with any marijuana in the apartment. Vaughn admitted having been in Whitener's apartment on two occasions, not otherwise specified, but denied ever possessing marijuana or delivering any to Whitener. There was testimony from at least three witnesses, including Whitener that Vaughn and Whitener had been in each other's company on several occasions at a service station. Whitener alone alleged that it was at this service station that Vaughn first importuned him to sell marijuana. There was evidence that the day following Whitener's arrest, Vaughn visited him in jail. Whitener testified that this visit was to convince him to make bond and flee. Vaughn testified that he went with another person and not expressly to visit Whitener. That same day Vaughn visited Whitener's parents and sought to convince them to procure bond for their son's release and indicated to the parents that he, Vaughn, was aware that Whitener was using drugs and that the son should be urged to seek help in a drug rehabilitation center. There was evidence that Vaughn and Whitener had been seen together in Whitener's car earlier in August. Other than the testimony of Whitener, there was no indication that these meetings in the several locations involved the marijuana allegedly possessed by Vaughn at the time of delivery of Whitener on August 21st or allegedly sold for him by Whitener between August 16th and 21st. Also admitted by the trial court was evidence indicating a witness named Rice had also sold marijuana for Vaughn at a different time and under different circumstances. This evidence was admitted for the limited purpose of showing intent and state of mind, not, as the trial court observed, to prove the truth of the marijuana transactions involved. Too, there was evidence that after Whitener's conviction in late November, 1973, attempts were made to arrest Vaughn from early December until his eventual arrest in March, 1974. Vaughn's testimony stands unrebutted that he obtained a job in Kentucky and moved his family there in October, 1973, a month before authorities were aware of Vaughn's alleged...
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Smith v. State, 59023
...State, 215 Ga. 455, 457, 111 S.E.2d 70 (1959). Accord, Gunter v. State, 243 Ga. 651, 654-655, 256 S.E.2d 341 (1979); Vaughn v. State, 139 Ga.App. 565, 228 S.E.2d 741 (1976). Eliminating the testimony of the accomplice in this case, all that remains is the fingerprint evidence and evidence t......
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Spencer v. State, A89A1367
...Ga. 209(1), 42 S.E.2d 742 (1947). A confession is sufficient corroboration for the testimony of an accomplice. Vaughn v. State, 139 Ga.App. 565, 568(1), 228 S.E.2d 741 (1976); Wade v. State, 195 Ga. 870, 876(2), 25 S.E.2d 712 (1943); Schaefer v. State, 93 Ga. 177(1), 18 S.E. 552 Defendant a......
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Shumake v. State, 61620
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Lewis v. State
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