Weldon v. State

• Decision Date: 13 April 1925
• Docket Number: 297
• Parties: WELDON v. STATE
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

270 S.W. 968

168 Ark. 534

WELDON v. STATE

No. 297

Supreme Court of Arkansas

April 13, 1925

Appeal from Yell Circuit Court, Danville District; J. T. Bullock Judge; affirmed.

Judgment affirmed.

W P. Strait and Wilson & Majors, for appellant.

H W. Applegate, Attorney General, and Darden Moose, Assistant, for appellee.

OPINION

WOOD, J.

The appellant was indicted in the Yell Circuit Court of the crime of murder in the first degree in the killing of one W. D. Jones. The jury returned a verdict finding him guilty of murder in the first degree and fixing his punishment at life imprisonment in the State Penitentiary. From the judgment rendered in accordance with the verdict, he prosecutes this appeal.

The testimony for the State is substantially as follows: W. D. Jones was a forest ranger. His duty was to patrol the United States Government Forest Reservation for the purpose of preventing fires, trespass, etc. The forest reservation service was under the control of the Department of Agriculture. The forest rangers were under instructions of the Department of Agriculture to report "to the federal and local prohibition officers the location of illicit local stills which are noticed in the performance of their duties as rangers."

Bob Weldon lived in Yell County, Arkansas, on his homestead, at the foot of one of the mountains adjoining the reservation. On the night of the 28th of August, 1924, Jones was killed at the home of Weldon. The body was found at a woodpile where there were a few chips and a pine knot or two. It was ten or twelve steps from the body to the gate of the yard fence around Jones' house. The body was near a trail running a little north of east from Weldon's to the McGough place. Jones' head was near one of the washpots. His hat was near by, and also a carbide light. The body was lying on its right side, face on the ground, in the chips, ashes and dirt. There was quite a lot of Mood, when the body was turned over, on the clothes, and the blood had spread something like two feet along the ground by the side of the body. This blood had apparently run from the body. There was so much blood it made a kind of mud on the ground, which came up over the soles of one's shoes. There was blood on sticks of wood that lay away from the body a couple of feet. Some of the blood had run under the washkettle. There were three bullet wounds in the body--two about four inches apart, and one almost in the center of the back, a little lower than the other two. There was very little difference between the holes in the back and in the front. It could not be ascertained whether the bullets entered from the back or front. Besides the bullet wounds, there were also knife wounds. Jones was cut from the backbone almost around to the front on the left side and one cut about two or three inches long on the right side. There was also a stab on one side, and one also under the shoulder-blade, and several other cuts on the body, hands and arms. On the body of Jones were a watch, a pocket-knife and a handkerchief. The knife was closed. There was no weapon of any kind around the body or on it. On an examination of the premises a rifle was found, and on the window-sill of the east room of Weldon's house there was a scabbard for a large pistol, but no pistol in it. Weldon had a large Luger pistol.

The government had planned the erection of an observation tower on what was called Powell's Mountain, close to Weldon's homestead, and Jones had been instructed, on the day preceding the night of the killing, to survey a route over which to move material for the tower to the top of the mountain. Jones was directed to look over the route by Weldon's place first, as it was contemplated that they would probably have to go through Weldon's pasture, as that would be a cheaper and better route than the other way. A man by the name of Yates lived about a quarter of a mile from Weldon's. There was a road leading from his house to Weldon's and beyond Weldon's was a trail--kind of old road across Powell Mountain. Jones, Weldon and Yates were at the home of Yates on Thursday morning, and, while there, Jones said something about looking out the best way to get to move the tower to Powell Mountain, and Weldon said he thought the government trail that turned off at Stokes' would be the best route, and Jones replied that it didn't make any difference, just so he didn't have too many logs to cut out of the road and stated that he would look out the way leading by Weldon's and come back the other way. Jones and Weldon left Yates' house about twelve o'clock, and that was the last time Yates saw Jones alive. About eight or nine o'clock Thursday night Yates heard hollering and shooting in the direction of Weldon's. There were four or five shots. The hollering was like some one trying to holler and couldn't. It was a weird kind of noise. Yates was sleeping on his front porch. The shooting and hollering was going on when he awoke. He heard the hollering and shooting, and started to Weldon's house after he heard the second shot. He got about half-way there. The hollering had hushed, and Yates went to within eighty or one hundred yards of Weldon's house. He heard a horse trot around out there, and started back home. When Yates got near Weldon's house, he heard some one say something, but didn't know who it was--sounded like Weldon. There was some shooting while witness was standing up there, and the horse trotted around, and two guns fired. These two shots seemed like they were on the far side of the house from where Yates was standing. Yates then returned home, and heard a gun fire about half-way between his house and Weldon's. Not long after, Weldon came to Yates' house, and Yates asked him what all the shooting was about up there. Weldon replied, "Just shooting into the air." He asked Yates to get up and go home with him, saying that he had had a little trouble up there, and Yates might help him. Weldon had a shotgun in his hand, and fired the same, demanding, with an oath, that Yates get up and go where the children could not hear him talk. Yates finally started up the road with Weldon, but told him that he could not go to his house, and asked Weldon what kind of trouble he had had up there, and Weldon replied, "I think there was two or three Ku Klux run in on me. They called me out to the gate, and some one struck me across the head. We had it around and around there, and I left my troubles laying in the chip-yard." When Yates refused to proceed further with Weldon, Weldon said, "If I have got to stay by myself, I want to get off the road," and he did go off to the side of the road, twenty-five or thirty steps, and lay down and put his gun beside him. Next morning about sun-up Yates went to where he had left Weldon the night before, and found him there. Weldon asked Yates to go home with him. Weldon had blood on his arms and fingers and finger-nails and on his body--looked like right smart blood. Yates had noticed the blood the night before, and Weldon had said that night, "I can't hardly stand to smell this damned blood." Yates went with Weldon to Weldon's house. Weldon walked straight to Jones and pulled his shirt bosom open, and then walked back between the gate and Yates, and said, "By G--, I wish I knew some way to get out of this." Yates said, "I could not tell you." Weldon asked Yates what he was going to do, and Yates said he was going after somebody. Yates left Weldon standing there, and, when Yates got back with help, Weldon was gone, and the body of Jones was still lying there.

It was shown that Weldon went to the home of E d Odom, in Montgomery County, about fifteen miles away. Odom had been his friend for many years, and was still his friend. He arrived at Odom's house on Friday, and went to the field where edom was working, about three o'clock of that day, and said to Odom, "I am in trouble, or somebody is in trouble to my credit. There was a man found at my gate, one of my best friends--one among my best friends was found at my wash place, dead, this morning. I thought I would dodge out two or three days. I didn't know but what they would take me up and mob me or do something. I thought I would dodge out two or three days until the excitement was over, and go in and give up and make bond." Weldon wanted Odom and Weldon's father-in-law, Stacey, who also lived in Montgomery County, to go over to Weldon's and stay with his wife until he returned home. Odom went and got Stacey and returned to Odom's house, and Weldon wanted Odom to get him a pair of shoes and a pair of overalls, and gave edom the money to buy the same. edom went for these articles, and, when he returned, Weldon was down in Odom's field. Odom gave Weldon the shoes, and told him that he couldn't get the overalls. In the meantime Stacey had come to Odom's house, and that night, while edom and Stacey were having a conversation, Weldon would sit there and whistle and kind of hum a little, and then he asked this question: "How could you commit cold-blood murder?" Odom told him that he didn't understand the question, and Weldon again asked, "What can you commit cold-blooded murder with--with a knife?" Odom answered, "Yes," and asked Weldon how the man was killed--whether he fell dead or was shot, or killed with a knife, and Weldon replied that he thought that he was cut with a knife. Later Odom expressed to Weldon his regret, saying, "Bob, this sure has hurt me, and hurts me worse than anything that has ever occurred," and Weldon replied, "Yes, it has hurt me, Mr. Odom; it has hurt me or ruined me," or something to that effect. The next night Odom told Weldon that the officers had been there looking for him. Weldon asked Odom if he thought they would electrocute him (Weldon). This...