Dupree v. State

1973 OK CR 397, 514 P.2d 425, 1973 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 552
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma·Decided September 13, 1973·No. F-73-10·Published·Cited by 29 cases

Opinion

OPINION

BUSSEY, Judge:

Appellant, James Wayne DuPree, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged, tried and convicted in the District Court of Tulsa County, Case No. CRF-72-224, for the offense of Robbery with Firearms, his punishment was fixed at fifty (50) years imprisonment and from said judgment and sentence, a timely appeal has been perfected to this Court.

At the trial Oren O’Dell, Jr., testified that on November 18, 1972, he was employed as an assistant manager for a Safeway Store located in Broken Arrow; that at approximately 8:15 p.m. two black men, one of whom he identified in court as defendant, came into the store, stuck a gun in one of his employee’s stomach and said “this is a stick-up.” Defendant ordered him to open the safe and to get all of the money. He had some difficulty in opening the safe and defendant stated “I better open that fuckin’ safe or he’d kill me.” He removed the money from the safe and gave it to the defendant.

James Gaylor testified that he was a junior in highschool and worked part-time at the Safeway Store; that on the evening in question he was sweeping off the floor-mat near the exit door when two men came into the store. One of the men, whom he identified in court as defendant, stuck a gun in his stomach and ordered everybody to the front. The assistant manager had some difficulty in opening the safe and defendant threatened to kill him if he didn’t get the safe open. After Mr. O’Dell gave the defendant the money, defendant ordered everyone to the back of the store.

Clell Alden testified that he also worked part-time for the Broken Arrow Safeway Store; that at about 8:15 on the evening in question, two men, one of whom he identified in court as defendant, entered *426 the store. Defendant had a .38 caliber revolver which he pointed at the assistant manager, Mr. O’Dell. Defendant directed a lot of foul remarks to Mr. O’Dell while he was trying to open the safe.

Patricia Young testified that she was employed as a checker at the Safeway Store on the evening in question; that defendant and another black male entered the Safeway Store, armed, and ordered the assistant manager to open the safe. Defendant threatened to kill him when he had difficulty opening the safe.

For the defense, Jerry Plarwell testified that he was employed as the manager of Levine’s Department Store at 1538 N. Lewis in Tulsa. He testified that the company records reflected that Sebra Davis worked until 8:00 p.m. on November 18.

Joe Brown testified that he operated an upholstery shop at 2534 N. Rockwell in Tulsa; that at approximately 7:30 p.m. the defendant came to his shop and picked up two tables to refinish. Defendant left shortly thereafter driving a light blue Ford Pickup.

Lorraine Brown’s testimony did not differ substantially from that of her husband’s.

Sebra Davis testified that she had lived with defendant as husband and wife for approximately two years; that defendant picked her up at work at approximately 8:00 p.m. on the evening in question. They intended to see a movie, but upon discovering the line was too long, went home.

Defendant testified that he picked up a couple of tables from Joe Brown at approximately 7:00 p.m. He delivered the tables to his shop and then went to Levine’s to pick up Sebra, arriving at approximately 8:00 p.m. They started to attend a movie, but upon seeing the line was too long, went straight home.

Defendant asserts several propositions of error, only two of which we deem necessary to discuss. Defendant first asserts that the assistant district attorney went far beyond that which is permissible or even necessary in his closing argument in attempting to arouse the passion and prejudice of the jurors. We concur. The record reflects that the assistant district attorney repeatedly stated that the defendant and his common-law wife did not testify truthfully. A few examples of such improper statements are as follows:

“He didn’t try to make up a story like you heard defense witnesses do here this morning.”

Referring to the defendant, the assistant district attorney stated:

“Well, he told a lie, and then he had the guts to set on that stand and say that Mrs. Brown was wrong. Why? Consider this during your deliberation. At the time that you’re about to throw the testimony of the four State’s witnesses out — consider why he would get up on the witness stand and lie. And he did it in front of you under oath. I submit to you why he lied, because he knew that he was trapped. He knew that he wasn’t telling the truth and he was caught in a lie, and he had to lie his way out of it.” (Tr. 176)

Again, referring to defendant, the prosecutor stated:

“But he didn’t know I was going to bring Officer Aycock in here and prove to you Ladies and Gentlemen that he is not only an armed robber, but he’s a liar.”

The last reference to defendant’s untruthfulness was as follows:

“Mrs. Davis and Mr. Dupree did not tell you one story did they? Do you know why? Because they got upon the stand and lied under oath. Well, let’s don’t hold it against them too much for committing perjury . . . ” (Tr. 191)

In dealing with a similar proposition in the recent case of Ray v. State, Okl.Cr., 510 P.2d 1395, we stated:

“This argument was highly improper and should have been stopped by the trial judge and the jury advised to disregard *427 it. Although counsel, in closing argument may comment upon the evidence in the case and logical inferences therefrom, he may not inject his personal opinion or beliefs, nor may he speculate as to future criminal proceedings, nor state that witnesses have committed perjury absent a judgment of perjury. See SO A.L.R.2d 766. The American Bar Association’s Standard for Criminal Justice succinctly state the issue in Section 5.8 of the standards relative to the prosecution function and defense function.'
‘(a) The prosecutor may argue all reasonable inferences from evidence in the record. It is unprofessional conduct for the prosecutor intentionally to misstate the evidence or mislead the jury as to the inferences it may draw.
‘(b) It is unprofessional conduct for the prosecutor to express his personal belief or opinion as to the truth or falsity of any testimony or evidence or the guilt of the defendant.
‘(c) The prosecutor should not use argu-' ments calculated to inflame the passions or prejudices of the jury.
‘(d) The prosecutor should refrain from argument which would divert the jury from its duty to decide the case on the evidence, by injecting issues broader than the guilt or innocence of the accused under the controlling law, or by making predictions of the consequences of the jury’s verdict.’ ”

We next observe that the assistant district attorney, in attempting to discredit the testimony of defendant’s common-law wife improperly stated:

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Dupree v. State, 1973 OK CR 397, 514 P.2d 425, 1973 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 552 (Okla. Ct. App. 1973).

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