Cochran v. State

348 So. 2d 1077, 1977 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1298
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedMarch 29, 1977
Docket6 Div. 314
StatusPublished

This text of 348 So. 2d 1077 (Cochran v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cochran v. State, 348 So. 2d 1077, 1977 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1298 (Ala. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinion

TYSON, Presiding Judge.

The grand jury charged James Willie Cochran with the robbery of Mozelle Latta by taking some $800.00 from her person by putting her in fear. The jury found the appellant guilty of robbery, as charged, and fixed punishment at ten years imprisonment in the penitentiary. Judgment set sentence in accordance with this verdict.

Charles G. Trotter was a salesman employed by Brown Furniture Company of 5228 Valley Road, Fairfield, in Jefferson County, Alabama, on September 6, 1974. He testified that shortly after 9:00 that morning, two black males walked up the front aisle of the store. There were two secretaries in the store at this time, Mrs. York and Mrs. Latta, and a maid, Mildred Conner. He stated that one of the men was very dark and the other light skinned. He approached them to wait on them, and as he did so the darker of the two pulled a pistol on him, and the lighter one pulled a pistol on the two secretaries. He stated that the lighter one told him and Mrs. York to lie down on the floor, and the darker one asked Mrs. Latta the location of the cash register and the money. He stated that the darker one did most of the talking, and after getting the proceeds from the cash register and money from Mrs. Latta’s purse, he cut the cords on each of the four telephones in the store. The employees of the store were then directed to enter a closet in the rear of the store and were locked inside by the two men. Mr. Trotter testified that eight to ten minutes later, the manager of the store, Mr. Garrison, came and opened the closet door. The Fairfield police were immediately notified. Mr. Trotter could not identify either of the two robbers.

Eunice York testified that she was seated at her desk at Brown Furniture Company in Fairfield on September 6, 1974. She stated that the bookkeeper, Mrs. Latta, was also at her desk; that Mr. Trotter, a salesman, and Mildred Conner, a maid, were also in the store. She stated that about 9:15 two black males entered the store and walked down the aisle to the desk where she was seated. She remembered seeing the darker of the two men in the store the day before looking at some furniture. She stated that the darker skinned man pulled a gun on her and told her not to move, then directed Mrs. Latta to get him the money. She stated that the two men made Mr. Trotter and her lie on the floor, face down, and that she saw them cut the cords to the telephones. After getting the money, they took the employees to the rear of the store and locked them in a closet. The store manager, Mr. Garrison, came in about fifteen minutes later and unlocked the door to the closet, and they immediately notified the Fairfield • police.

[1079]*1079Mrs. York testified that a few weeks later she went over to a police lineup in Birmingham and immediately picked out the darker skinned man as the one who pointed the gun at her and made her lie down on the floor that morning. Mrs. York then made a positive in-court identification of the appellant.

Mozelle Latta testified that she was a bookkeeper at Brown Furniture Company in Fairfield on September 6, 1974. She stated that she entered the store shortly after 8:00 that morning and had been at work for over an hour when two black men entered and came to her desk. The darker skinned man directed Mr. Trotter and Mrs. York to lie down on the floor, then directed her to get the money from the cash register and from her purse. She stated that she was making up the bank deposit when they came in and the darker one told her, “Give me your money,” and had a pistol pointed at her, then said, “Don’t move.” She stated that she took the money from the cash drawer and from a metal box in the safe. She stated that she had placed over $840.00 in the cash drawer that morning, but had cashed a check for something over $200.00, so there would have been over $600.00 in the cash drawer. She stated that the man then got the proceeds of $30.00 to $40.00 from a stamp box, then marched her and the other employees to a closet in the rear of the store and locked the door. Mrs. Latta stated that before being locked in the closet she saw the appellant and she positively identified him in court. She also identified his companion who cut the four telephone cords. She stated that she and the other employees remained in the closet for a little over ten minutes before Mr. Garrison, the store manager, entered and unlocked the door. She said that the money box was still sitting on her desk when Mr. Garrison let them out, but the proceeds were gone. She stated that the police were immediately notified, and she gave them the description of the appellant as being dark skinned, about five feet, nine inches tall, weighing about 180 pounds, and wearing a gold colored shirt and a grayish brown jacket. She stated that he wore a cap and that he had a mustache. She told the police, “I will never forget those eyes.” On cross-examination she testified that a few weeks later she immediately picked the appellant from a police lineup in Birmingham, and she made a positive in-court identification.

Meldren Conner testified that on September 6, 1974, she was working as a maid in the Brown Furniture store in Fairfield. She stated that shortly before 9:30 that morning she saw two black men enter the store, and as she was dusting the furniture the tall light skinned one pulled a pistol on her and made her go back to a closet where she was locked in with Mrs. York, Mrs. Latta, and Mr. Trotter. She said they were locked in the closet for almost fifteen minutes before Mr. Garrison, the store manager, came and unlocked the door. She stated that she described the two men to the police and that the darker skinned one was about five feet, nine inches, or ten inches, tall with a short Afro hairdo, that he had a mustache, and was wearing a gold shirt and a cap. Miss Conner made a positive in-court identification of the appellant.

Sergeant A1 Sanders of the Fairfield Police Department testified that he went to the Brown Furniture Company at 53rd Street Valley Road in Fairfield on the morning of September 6, 1974, and assisted in the investigation of a robbery which took place that morning. He stated that as a result of the investigation he arrested the appellant, James Willie Cochran.

The appellant’s motion to exclude the State’s evidence was overruled.

James Willie Cochran testified that he lived at 1402 33rd Street, North, in Birmingham and was employed at O’Neal Steel on September 6, 1974. He testified that he had been working there about two years and was making $154.00 a week. He stated that he had injured himself at work, and on the morning of September 6, 1974, he was unable to drive. He stated that he telephoned one Ola Bell Madison and asked her to give him a ride to the doctor’s office, that he could not drive. He further stated [1080]*1080that Ola Bell Madison and her son, Jerome Madison, came by his home around 9:00 that morning and picked him up, and that he had to walk bent over as he had ruptured himself. He testified that they took him to the office of Dr. Bradford on Fourth Avenue in Smithfield, and that Jerome Madison assisted him into the doctor’s office. He stated that he remained there about one and one-half hours until the Mad-isons returned, that they picked him up and carried him back to his home. He stated that Dr. Bradford prescribed a truss for him to wear and that he had to remain at home for several days of the following week before he could go back to work. He stated that he met the sons of Ola Bell Madison when they worked at a chicken place in Irondale in 1971.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Williams v. State
279 So. 2d 478 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1973)
Clay v. State
291 So. 2d 364 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1974)
Williams v. State
267 So. 2d 526 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1972)
Zimmerman v. State
272 So. 2d 914 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1973)
McColston v. State
104 So. 347 (Alabama Court of Appeals, 1925)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
348 So. 2d 1077, 1977 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cochran-v-state-alacrimapp-1977.