Karnes v. State

252 S.W. 1, 159 Ark. 240, 1923 Ark. LEXIS 42
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 28, 1923
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 252 S.W. 1 (Karnes v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Karnes v. State, 252 S.W. 1, 159 Ark. 240, 1923 Ark. LEXIS 42 (Ark. 1923).

Opinions

Smith, J.

Appellant, Karnes, was convicted as accessory before the fact to the crime of robbery committed by one Horace Dill on one W. W. Black on October 15, 1921. Dill had entered a plea of guilty to the crime of robbery, and was serving a sentence in the penitentiary when he was called as a witness against Karnes.

Dill testified that he and Karnes lived in Missouri, and that one Dozier Skelton, a brother-in-law of Karnes, lived on Black’s farm. Skelton told Karnes that Black habitually carried on his person from three to four thousand dollars, and these three discussed in the spring of ■ 1920 a plan to rob Black. The discussion was renewed in the fall of that year, and the three met in "Wynne to perfect the details of the robbery. They agreed the best time to commit the crime was when Black was hauling cotton. Their first plan miscarried because Black did not haul the cotton to the place where they anticipated he would haul it. They again met, and it was agreed that Skelton should write Karnes when Black had another load to haul. Karnes received a letter from Skelton that Black would haul another load on Wednesday or Thursday, and the parties prepared to commit the crime on one of those days. Black did not haul cotton on either day, so Dill and Karnes went to the street fair at Wynne on Thursday night, where théy met two young women and an older woman. Dill and Karnes had become impatient over the lack of opportunity to rob Black, and determined to go home on Friday, but, before doing so, Karnes went to the gin on Friday and came back and reported that Black and Skelton had arrived in Wynne. Dill and Karnes put on their overalls and met Skelton for a final conference, at which the plan to rob Black that day was perfected. Karnes insisted that witness Dill and not himself should go out on tlie wagon with. Black, because Black would know Karnes, as Karnes had been at Black’s home a few days before. Karnes was to remain at Wynne, while Dill and Skelton went in the wagon with Black and they were to rob Black on the way to 'Black’s home; and it was agreed that Karnes would meet Dill at a place on the railroad between Fair Oaks and Til-ton, these being stations on the Cotton Belt railroad, and that Dill would indicate the point on the railroad near which he would be in hiding by a small pile of tom paper placed in the center of the railroad track.

After Dill had put on his overalls, Karnes took charge of Dill’s street clothes, and the men separated, to meet again after the robbery at the point indicated by the pile of paper. Skelton knew the road Black would travel from Wynne to his home, and was to indicate to Dill when a favorable time- had arrived and place had been reached for the robbery, but as they drove along Skelton shook his head in protest from time to time, indicating that the time was not propitious on account of the number of people they were meeting and passing on the road, and they arrived at Black’s home without an opportunity having been afforded for Dill to rob Black, but, before getting out of the wagon, Skelton whispered and told Dill to come back the next morning and bring Karnes with him. Dill went to the place appointed for his meeting with Karnes, but failed to find Karnes, so he returned to Fair Oaks and spent the night there, and returned to Black’s farm the next day, and robbed him in the following manner. He told Black he thought of buying his farm, 'and Black proceeded to show it to him. More than one opportunity was afforded, but Dill’s nerve failed him, but finally, on a third trip from -the house into some woods, they came to a ditch, and here the crime was committed. Dill was walking behind Black, when he struck him over the head with his pistol, rendering -Black unconscious. This occurred about eleven o’clock Satur-clay morning. Tlie pistol with which he assaulted Black had been furnished him by Karnes. Dill searched Black’s prostrate body and found $1,181 on his person. He hurriedly made his way to the railroad, and, after counting off $51 of the money, he divided- the remainder into two rolls and hid each roll in a pile of cross-ties. He hid the pistol with one of -the rolls of money, and went to Paragould on the train, where he spent the night. The following day he went to Missouri and to Karnes’ home. Karnes asked him if he 'had gotten the money, but he refused to discuss the-matter with Karnes at that time because Karnes was drunk. He returned to Karnes’ home that evening and found Karnes somewhat sobered, but sick, and told him that he had robbed Black. A short time afterwards Karnes sent another brother-in-law of his back to Cross County with Dill to look for the money, but they found only one of the rolls of bills. Dill testified that the roll which was found was divided equally between himself and Karnes and Skelton, except that he was allowed to keep $51, in consideration of the fact that he had personally committed the robbery; but that Skelton was arrested for this crime, and upon that fact being reported to him by Karnes, he agreed that Skel-ton might have the $51 to aid him in his trial, and gave the'$51 to Karnes to be used for that purpose.

Dill admitted that he never saw Karnes, after leaving him in Wynne, until he saw him in Missouri, after the robbery, and he admitted that he failed to see Karnes at the place appointed for the meeting after Black was to have been robbed on the way to Black’s home in the wagon. Dill testified that Karnes told him in Missouri that his nerve failed him after he reached Fair Oaks, and, instead of waiting between that place and Tilton, as he'had agreed to do, for Dill to appear, he went home.

After leaving Karnes at Wynne, Dill did not see him again until he saw him in Missouri; and after separating from Skelton at the wagon at Black’s home he'did not again see Skelton until the robbery had been committed. •

Karnes denied Dill’s story in its entirety, and testified tliat lie liad never been in Cross County until lie was arrested for the robbery of Black and carried there to be tried on that charge, and offered' testimony which, if believed, established very clearly his defense that he was in Missouri during the time the State’s witnesses located him in Cross County.

The two girls with whom Dill and Karnes went to the fair identified Karnes, as did also the older woman, and three other witnesses, including Black’s wife, also identified him as the man they had seen with Skelton a few days before the robbery, and the identification by three of these witnesses was positive and unequivocal. The other three testified they thought Karnes was the man, but they were not certain.

The court gave, at defendant’s request, correct instructions on the character and quantity of testimony necessary to corroborate the testimony of an accomplice to support a conviction; but the court refused to give, at defendant’s request, instructions numbered 5, 6 and 7. These instructions deal with the same phase of the case, and we set out instruction numbered 7, which is typical of the other two. It reads as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
252 S.W. 1, 159 Ark. 240, 1923 Ark. LEXIS 42, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/karnes-v-state-ark-1923.