Walton v. State, F-78-437
| Decision Date | 26 April 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. F-78-437,F-78-437 |
| Court | United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma |
| Parties | Lawrence WALTON, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee. |
Appellant, Lawrence Walton, hereinafter referred to as the defendant, was charged tried and convicted in the District Court, Tulsa County, Case No. CRF-77-2537, for the offense of Attempted Robbery by Fear, After Former Conviction of a Felony, in violation of 21 O.S.1971, § 791. His punishment was fixed at ten (10) years' imprisonment. From said judgment and sentence an appeal has been perfected to this Court.
The record reveals that during the early morning hours of September 18, 1977, Merlin Broas was picking up trash in the movie theater of which he was the manager in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He heard a noise coming from the men's restroom and upon checking the door, he found it to be locked. Broas returned to the box office area and waited in the doorway. Someone wearing blue clothing with a sack over his head and a sack over his extended arm came down the hallway. The person mumbled something which was not understandable. Broas stepped into the box office, locked the door and called the police. While he was on the telephone, he heard a buzzer, indicating that the back exit door had been opened. That door which could not be opened from the outside once it was closed, led to a small steel-enclosed space with no other exit. The police arrived within minutes of the call and found the defendant in the small space behind the theater. A blue shirt, a blue pair of pants and pieces of torn grocery sacks were found in the nearby area.
The defendant was placed under arrest and transported to the police station. He was advised of his Miranda rights and executed a written waiver thereof. Defendant stated that he had gone to the theater and watched the movie. After everyone left, he went into the bathroom, changed his clothes, put a sack over his head and over his hand and walked toward the ticket booth. He pointed his hand with the sack over it, at the manager, like "I had a gun." (Tr. 45). The manager went inside the booth and shut the door. Defendant went out the back exit and found himself trapped in the area behind the theater.
Defendant testified that prior to the evening in question he became angry at the manager because of an incident that happened at the theater. He decided that he would scare him the next time, to get even with him. He took an extra set of clothes and the two paper bags with him to the theater. He went into the bathroom, changed clothes and put on the sacks. He left the bathroom and proceeded down the hallway toward the ticket booth. The manager said the movie is over and slammed the door. The defendant attempted to leave through the back door and discovered that he could not get out. He changed clothes and tore up the bags because he knew that he would be ultimately arrested. He denied having any intention of robbing Broas, saying he only wanted to frighten him. He admitted a prior conviction for shooting with intent to kill.
Defendant asserts in the first assignment of error that the trial court erred in failing to sustain the motion to suppress his statement given to Officer Brown. Defendant does not contest that he signed either the waiver or the statement. Defendant argues that he was unable to make a knowledgeable and...
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