Jones v. State

1983 OK CR 31, 660 P.2d 634, 1983 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 209
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 3, 1983
DocketF-78-604
StatusPublished
Cited by62 cases

This text of 1983 OK CR 31 (Jones 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
Jones v. State, 1983 OK CR 31, 660 P.2d 634, 1983 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 209 (Okla. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinions

OPINION

BUSSEY, Presiding Judge:

Appellant, William Denton Jones, hereinafter referred to as the defendant, was convicted of Murder in the First Degree in the District Court of Garfield County, in Case No. CRF-78-487. The jury sentenced him to death after hearing evidence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances. In accordance with 21 O.S.1981, § 701.13, this Court has reviewed both the appropriateness of the sentence of death and the errors of law raised on appeal.

I

THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED AT THE TRIAL

In his first assignment of error the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence presented at the trial. The standard of review when this issue is raised is whether or not the State presented a prima facie case. Hunt v. State, 601 P.2d 464 (Okl.Cr.1979). In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, this Court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Renfro v. State, 607 P.2d 703 (Okl.Cr.1980). The jury was responsible for resolving conflicts in the evidence, and it resolved them in the State’s favor.

The evidence presented at the trial was primarily circumstantial, but it was very strong. Jones was at the victim’s place of employment when the victim was last seen alive, at about 11:00 a.m. on April 28, 1978. Although he was supposed to relieve a co-worker at a gas station at noon, Jones had not appeared by 12:15, at which time the worker left for lunch; when the defendant did arrive at work after lunch, he had changed his work boots for dress shoes. According to the State’s chemist, soil samples taken from the defendant’s clothes and from the pickup truck, which was driven solely by the defendant on the morning of the 28th, were consistent with soil samples taken where the body was found, and were dissimilar to the soil around Jones’ home or workplaces. Also, a strand of hair found in Jones’ pickup was microscopically analyzed and was found to be similar to the victim’s hair. Further, a pubic hair found in the victim’s vagina was similar to the defendant’s hair and unlike either the victim’s, her boyfriends’ or her employer’s hair. The State also introduced a fiber of cloth which was found under the victim’s fingernail, and which a State’s chemist testified was like the material in the defendant’s shirt. A doctor who had studied artificial limbs testified that marks in the mud where the victim’s body was found appeared to be marks that would be left by someone wearing an artificial leg, which the defendant had. Additionally, there was testimony that Jones frequently supported himself on his knuckles when he wasn’t wearing his prosthesis, and that there were other marks in the mud like those of knuckle impressions. Finally, the defendant made an incriminating statement to a jailmate, saying he had not meant to kill the woman.

The defendant’s argument divides the evidence into three categories. First he claims that the testimony of the people involved in his and the victim’s day-to-day lives, when properly construed, not only failed to show beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty, but in fact established conclusively that he could not have committed the crime. The defendant then argues the evidence in detail, dwelling on inconsistencies and emphasizing interpretations favorable to him.

[637]*637Second, the defendant urges that the testimony of Theodore King, that the defendant had stated that he did not mean to kill the woman, should not have been admitted. Jones asserts that King’s extensive criminal record and his admission that he made his living as a con artist reduced his credibility to a point that his testimony was unbelievable. King’s criminal record was made known to the jury and was heavily argued by defense counsel during his closing argument.

Third, Jones challenges the reliability of the scientific tests. He presents technical discussions of the formation and composition of soil and hair, seeking to establish that the comparison tests made by the O.S. t B.I. chemist were so simplistic as to be of no evidentiary value. He also alleges that the chemist’s test of the cloth fiber found under the victim’s fingernail destroyed it, depriving him of the opportunity of having independent tests made; however, this allegation is contradicted by the record.

None of the defendant’s arguments are appropriate appellate arguments; he simply argues the weight and credibility of the evidence, which are questions of fact for the trier of fact to resolve. Hunt v. State, supra. This assignment of error is without merit.

II

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED AT THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

The defendant next challenges the sufficiency of the evidence presented at the preliminary examination; his demurrer at that hearing and his motion to quash were both denied. The defendant maintains that under the language of our statutes, 22 O.S. 1981, §§ 262 and 264, “sufficient cause” means a prima facie case must be established. We do not agree. As we stated in Tabor v. State, 582 P.2d 1323 (Okl.Cr.1978):

The State is not required at preliminary hearing to present evidence which would be sufficient to convict at trial. State v. Edmondson, 536 P.2d 386 (Okl.Cr.1975). It is well established that a preliminary hearing is not a trial to determine the guilt of the accused, but only the two issues: Was a crime committed, and is there reasonable cause to believe the defendant committed said crime. Roberts v. State, 561 P.2d 511 (Okl.Cr.1977). We find from our review of the transcript that testimony taken at the preliminary hearing presented sufficient evidence by the State from which the examining magistrate could find the public offense alleged in the information had been committed, and there was sufficient cause to believe the defendant had committed the offense. Turner v. State, 549 P.2d 1346 (Okl.Cr.1976). And where there is competent evidence in the record the reviewing court will not interfere with the determination of the finder of fact.

This assignment of error is without merit.

Ill

THE STANDARDS OF PROOF FOR INDICTMENT AND INFORMATION

The defendant further complains of the preliminary examination in that he believes the State discriminated against him by not seeking a grand jury indictment. He claims that his prosecution by information denied him his constitutional right to equal protection of the law. The defendant’s argument may be summarized as follows. Under 22 O.S.1981, §§ 262 and 264, the State’s burden of proof at a preliminary examination is “that any public offense has been committed, and that there is sufficient cause to believe the defendant guilty thereof, ...” 22 O.S.1981, § 264. This is usually referred to as a showing of probable cause, and as discussed earlier, the showing does not have to be enough evidence to support a conviction. On the other hand, under 22 O.S.1981, § 336, a grand jury may return an indictment “when all of the evidence before them . . . would, if unexplained or uncontradicted, warrant a conviction by the trial jury.” In other words, a prima facie ease. The defendant argues that these two findings, by the magistrate and by the grand jury, occupy correlative [638]*638positions in their respective avenues of procedure and that it is improper to have two separate and distinct burdens of proof.

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Bluebook (online)
1983 OK CR 31, 660 P.2d 634, 1983 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 209, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-state-oklacrimapp-1983.