Fairris v. State

1955 OK CR 96, 287 P.2d 708
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 7, 1955
DocketA-12185
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 1955 OK CR 96 (Fairris v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fairris v. State, 1955 OK CR 96, 287 P.2d 708 (Okla. Ct. App. 1955).

Opinion

JONES, Presiding Judge.

On July 16, 1954, city detective Bennie Cravatt was killed while attempting to stop a robbery being committed in the Jones Boys Grocery Store at 44th and Shields streets in Oklahoma City. Thereafter an information was filed in the District Court of Oklahoma County charging the defendant, Hurbie Franklin Fairris, James Edward Skinner, Raymond Carroll Price and Peggy Fry with the murder of Cravatt; a severance was, granted, the defendant Fairris was tried, convicted and pursuant to the verdict of the jury was sentenced to death in the electric chair and has appealed.

Two propositions are presented by the appeal. First, the defendant was not furnished with the correct names and addresses of witnesses two days before the case was tried. Second, the court erred in admitting the testimony of Bert Atkins concerning irrelevant matters which were prejudicial to the accused.

The evidence of the State briefly stated was as follows:

The Jones Boys Grocery Store Number 6 was located at 44th and South Shields in Oklahoma City. A. W. Truman was the assistant manager of the store and Mrs. Fannie Ransom was the bookkeeper. For about two weeks prior to July 16, 1954, Jimmie Hodges had be'en employed at the store as an errand boy. Hodges did not wo'rk at the'store on the afternoon of July 16; instead he met the four parties accused of the murder at a drug store on North Walnut Street. Some three or four hours after this meeting, the attempted robbery of the grocery store occurred. The proof showed that Fairris, Skinner and Price had, driven from Dallas, Texas, to Oklahoma City in -a green-colored Pontiac automobile with the girl who was known to them as Fairris’ sweetheart and allegedly being Peggy Fry. The girl was left at a drug store in the vicinity of the grocery store which was to be robbed while the boys proceeded with their plan to effect the robbery. Fairris and Price waited in the shadows of the store about 8:30 p. m. until Mr. Truman locked the door and started leaving the store. They then approached Truman, punched him in the ribs with their pistols and advised him that they wanted *710 the safes opened so that they could take the money which was in the two safes located in the store building'. Truman told them that he did not know the combinations but that Mrs. Ransom, the bookkeeper, was the person who could open the safes. Mrs. Ransom lived about two blocks from the store. Fairris and Price then started with Truman in Truman’s pickup to the Ransom house. Along the way they picked up Skinner. Mr. and Mrs. Nance from Ardmore were visiting at the Ransom home. The defendant and his accomplices entered the Ransom home, tied the hands of Mr. Ransom and Mr. Nance- and left Skinner to guard those left at the Ransom house while Fairris and Price took Mrs. Ransom back to the store to open the safes.

In the meantime a patron of the store had seen the first altercation between Truman and Fairris and Price. He had gone to a telephone and had called the police who in turn had notified Keith Jones, manager of the store. Before the return of Fairris and Price with Mrs. Ransom to the store, Mr. and Mrs. Keith Jones had gone into the store building. While they were there Officers Cravatt and Rackly arrived and entered the store building. Jones and his wife left to park their automobile across the street in a darkened alley and Officer Rackly left the store at the same time to remove the police car from in front of the store building. Immediately after Jones and his wife and Rackly got in their cars to move them, Fairris and Price arrived at •the store with Mrs. Ransom and entered it.

Mrs. Ransom testified that when they entered the store she turned toward the east to a large safe with Price and Fairris immediately behind her; that they had only taken a few steps when she heard a voice behind her state, “Boys, police officers, hands upthat immediately shooting commenced and she jumped into a milk box and hid until the shooting had ended. Cravatt was killed instantly by a bullet which penetrated his. heart. He fell near a meat counter in the store. Officer Rackly was returning to the store when defendant entered. The store was lighted. He saw Cravatt rise and speak to the parties and then Fairris lunged toward Cravatt and' the shooting commenced. Rackly saw Price ‘ with a gun in his hand so Rackly shot Price in the leg.', Price fell inside the store building with his gun in his hand, but his gun was never discharged. Fairris fired some shots on the inside of the store and as he emerged from the store he was shot in' the stomach by Officer Rackly. Fairris shot twice at Rackly before Fair-ris escaped down the alley. A little over an hour later the defendant Fairris was let out of a car near a barbecue stand on the outskirts of Shawnee. He commenced yelling for help which attracted the attention of some bystanders who went to him and then called an ambulance and the chief of police. Fairris was taken to the municipal hospital in Shawnee suffering from his gunshot wound in the stomach. Later that night he admitted that he had been one of the participants in the attempted robbery of the Jones Boys Store and that he had been shot during the affray.

The only evidence offered on behalf of the defendant was the testimony of his accomplice, Price. Price told how he and his accomplices had left Dallas, Texas, with Fairris’ sweetheart. He admitted the planned robbery but testified that Officer Cravatt was shot by a mysterious third officer who was concealed in the back of the store. All of the evidence except that of Price showed that Cravatt was the only party in the store except Fairris, Price and Mrs. Ransom.

A ballistics expert testified that he made tests of bullets fired from the various guns used by the officers and Price and compared them with the bullet that had been removed from the body of Cravatt and that none of the guns used by the officers and Price fired the bullet which took the life of Cravatt. The pistol used by Fairris was never recovered but a bullet fired from the gun which the testimony showed Fairris was using was removed from the place where it had lodged in the building and the ballistics expert testified that the bullet which took the life of Officer Cravatt and this recovered bullet were fired from the same gun. With the exception of the tes *711 timony of the codefendant Price,, the-proof was overwhelming and convincing that Fairris fired the shot which killed Officer Cravatt.

As to the first proposition, the record shows that during the trial of the case one Bobbie Curtright was called -as a witness. At the time he was called to testify, the county attorney stated:

“ * * * we discovered this morning that this witness’s last name is Curtright, and that he was endorsed as Jimmie, but his correct name is Bobbie. We would like to have leave at this time to correct the name from Jimmie to Bobbie.
“Mr. Tant: To which we object as . incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial.
“The Court: Objection overruled.
“Mr. Tant: Exception.

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Related

Jackson v. State
811 P.2d 614 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1991)
People v. Jackson
335 N.W.2d 673 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1983)
Blackwood v. State
1974 OK CR 153 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1974)
Wilson v. State
1969 OK CR 215 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1969)
Shetsky v. State
1955 OK CR 117 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1955)

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Bluebook (online)
1955 OK CR 96, 287 P.2d 708, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fairris-v-state-oklacrimapp-1955.