Walker v. State

• Decision Date: 26 September 1927
• Docket Number: (No. 181.)
• Citation: 298 S.W. 20
• Parties: WALKER v. STATE.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

298 S.W. 20

WALKER v. STATE.

(No. 181.)

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

September 26, 1927.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Polk County; B. E. Isbell, Judge.

Roy Walker was convicted of grand larceny, and he appeals. Reversed and remanded.

H. W. Applegate, Atty. Gen., and Jno. L. Carter and Darden Moose, Asst. Attys. Gen., for the State.

MEHAFFY, J.

The appellant, Roy Walker, was charged by the grand jury of Polk county with the crime of grand larceny, was tried, found guilty, and his punishment fixed at imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a period of one year. Appellant filed his motion for a new trial, which was overruled. An appeal was prayed and granted to this court.

George Petty, a witness for the state, testified that he had lived in Mena, Ark., for 26 years, and that he owned a car, which was stolen from him. It was stolen from him about the 19th of March, 1927. He left it in the garage and discovered the next morning about 9 that it was gone. It was a Ford coupé and worth about $400. He recovered the car later from the sheriff at De Queen. At the time the car was stolen it had two gallons of gas in it. He paid the sheriff $50 for the recovery of the car. It was eight or nine days after it was stolen before he recovered it. He investigated but did not find anywhere where they had filled up the tank.

Roy Hooper testified that he was sheriff and collector of Sevier county, and that he had received information that a car had been stolen at Mena, and he was told that a car of that description was in the south end of the county. Witness got hold of Roy Walker and with him went to the south end of the county for two days. They found where a car had been hidden but it had been taken out. On the third day witness got Mr. Flannigan to go with him, and they found the car five miles west of Gillham. It had some bushes cut and piled around it. It was locked and witness had to break a window to get into it. The bushes were about all pine bushes. Roy Walker was with witness two days, and he had also helped him to locate stolen property two or three times before this. The car was found 18 or 19 miles from De Queen and had something like three gallons of gas in it.

D. A. Burge testified that he lived three miles west of Gillham, and that some time about the middle of March two coupés came by his place, one black and one brown. One of the cars had a lady and gentleman in it, and the other had a man. In an hour or two the brown car came back with two men and one woman in it. This was three or four days or a week before the car was recovered that was stolen. When the two cars passed, they were about as far apart as across the room, and witness did not recognize anybody in the cars. The place where the car was parked was the Greathouse Place, which was halfway between witness' place and Gray's.

Roy Hooper, being recalled by the state, testified that Roy Walker went with them in search of the car but did not go with them the time they found the car. They were told that a person had been there with a car of that description, and witness found the car, and then Flannigan went with him to get it.

G. F. Bickle testified that he lived at Mena, was sheriff of Polk county, and had been for three years, and went in company with Mr. Hungate to the place they were told the car was hidden and found a lot of bushes there; that defendant was arrested and brought up to De Queen, at which time he had a chocolate colored coupé. They looked in the car and found an axe, which was offered in evidence.

W. E. Hungate testified that he was deputy sheriff and lived at Mena and made an investigation of the place where it was reported that Petty's car had been found.

G. F. Bickle was recalled, and stated that he went to the place where he was told that the car was found, and the bushes were supposed to be standing up there to hide the car. The axe was introduced in evidence. He showed the axe and saplings to the jury and let them examine them. He also testified that the axe had never been struck in anything and the sticks had never been moved only to his house. When he found the bushes they were scattered about and had been taken off the car and were on the ground. The car had been removed. The bushes looked like they had been cut at the same time. Witness did not know when they were cut. He said there was nothing unusual about seeing an axe with gaps in it. Witness testified that he got the axe out of defendant's car, a Ford coupé, and its color was chocolate brown.

George Petty was recalled and testified that when he recovered his car the license tag was gone; that he had a license tag when it was lost; and that he had paid his taxes.

R. A. Elkins testified that he remembered hearing that Mr. Petty lost a car; that he had seen Petty's car on the streets of De Queen, and that he had seen it in the courthouse grounds that morning; that shortly after he had heard the car was stolen two fellows drove into his station and woke him up between 12 and 1 at night; one was in a car of this description, and another drove a Ford roadster. They got gas and oil and went north from his station. The next morning they came through in the Ford roadster and Walker was not one of them. They did not have a tag on the car in front. The time of night caused him to pay attention to the car. He did not know it was the same car as Petty's, but it was the same kind of car.

Ted Feutrell testified that the car he saw the night it was at his place did not have any tags and had a big spark plug and a big horn; that the car does not look this morning like it did that night; that it looked like a black car to him that night. Two well dressed men were in it and they wanted to sell it. He did not know the two men, but Roy Walker was not one of them.

Mrs. Effie Masters testified that she was acquainted with Roy Walker and that she remembered the occasion that Mr. Petty lost his car; that her sister came up on the 19th to spend Sunday with her, and that they went to the show and returned home at 11 and that Roy drove in ahead of them and her husband chained the two cars together, as he did not have a garage. Roy went to bed and was there the next morning and left for De Queen about 11 or 12 o'clock. He returned later with her niece. Witness testified that Roy Walker was driving a brown Ford coupé that night. Witness is a sister of appellant's wife.

Estelle Weims, a witness for the defense, testified that she remembered the occasion of Mr. Petty's car being stolen on Saturday, March 19, and that she remembered it because Mr. Walker and her aunt came over to take her to De Queen; that they all went to the show Saturday night, then to the drug store, and then home; that Walker drove in before Mr. Masters and that their cars were chained together; that they went to bed about 11:30 or 12, and that Roy Walker was there next morning about 7 o'clock and remained until about 11:30 or 12, and she went home with him. Witness was a niece by marriage of appellant.

Joe Clark testified that he lived at Mena, and that on the evening and night of March 19 appellant was at the house next to his place, and that he saw him there about dark; that his car was there the fore part of the night and was there next morning about 7 o'clock, and that he left for De Queen about noon; that Roy Walker owned a brown colored Ford coupé that he went with Roy Walker to De Queen after the car was stolen, but was not positive when it was.

Roy Walker, the appellant, testified: That he did not steal the Ford coupé from George Petty on March 19 or any other time. That he was in Mena Saturday night, the 19th day of March, had supper with the Masters, went to a show, then to the Rexall, and back home, where he parked his car between where they lived and where the Clarks lived. That Masters chained his car to appellant's car. They went to bed about 11:30 or 12, got up at 7, and left for De Queen at 11:30 or 12; the hatchet he got in West Texas, and up until the time just before he was arrested Gathan Flannigan came to him and asked him to let him have the hatchet, and witness loaned it to him, and he kept it until two days before he was arrested. That he had never had possession of George Petty's car and knew nothing about it being stolen except what he had heard. Witness testified that the axe was his and that he gave it to Mr. Bickle, the sheriff. That Mr. Bickle asked him for it and he gave it to him. When asked where the axe was at the time of the trial he said it was in his car; that he had a Ford coupé, a brown looking car; that his wife was an heir to the Greathouse place; he did not know where the car was found; that he went before J. S. McConnell and...