Snake v. State

1969 OK CR 126, 453 P.2d 287, 1969 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 438
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 9, 1969
DocketA-14844
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 1969 OK CR 126 (Snake 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
Snake v. State, 1969 OK CR 126, 453 P.2d 287, 1969 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 438 (Okla. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

BUSSEY, Judge.

Sammy Snake and Bruce Primeaux, hereinafter referred to as defendants, were charged by Information in the District Court of Kay County,' Oklahoma, with the offense of Robbery by Force, the material part of said Information providing that Sammy Snake and Bruce Primeaux on or about February 3, 1968, did rob one Granville G. Martin, by taking certain money and personal property of value and that such robbery was accomplished by the use of such force and violence so as to overcome the resistance of Granville Martin to the unlawful taking.

This case came on for trial by jury on March 22, 1968, and on March 25, 1968, the jury returned a verdict finding the defendants guilty as charged and assessing *289 their punishment at imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of from five to ten years. Thereafter a Motion in Arrest of Judgment and Motion for New Trial were filed, the same were overruled, and this appeal was brought from that judgment and sentence. Bruce Primeaux, by and through his attorney, requested that his appeal be dismissed, and this Court sustained that request, and thereafter Sammy Snake’s appeal was submitted for consideration, on the record and briefs of the respective parties.

The evidence adduced on the trial revealed that the victim of the robbery in question, Mr. Granville Martin, on the night of February 2, 1968, at about 11:00 or 11:30 p. m., was driving his automobile on a Kay County road south of Ponca City. While proceeding down the county road he was flagged down by the defendants who requested that he take them to obtain assistance as their car was apparently stuck in a ditch. The witness agreed to take them for help and the three drove to a house where one of the defendants got out of the car but apparently found no one at home. The defendants then directed this witness to proceed on down the road. As he started to comply, Bruce Primeaux reached over and turned the ignition off, took the keys and told the witness to move over, as he was going to drive. Primeaux drove the three around on the county roads until the witness’ car also became stuck. The witness was then instructed to get out along with Snake and help push the car. Soon thereafter the two defendants began assaulting the witness. The witness was knocked to his knees and the defendants began kicking him with their shod feet. The victim then fell to a prone position and he believes the defendants continued kicking him. The witness testified that he was unable to defend himself in any way. After being knocked to the ground he remembers the defendants going through his pockets and their commenting that they wondered where the rest of his money was. He felt them remove his billfold from his left hind pocket. The witness testified prior to the attack he had three dollars in the bill section of his billfold and loose change in his pockets. The witness lost consciousness and remembers awakening in the back seat of his car early Saturday morning. The victim raised himself, went to a house and was able to obtain a cab to take him home. After arriving home he was taken to the Ponca City Hospital where he remained for four days and was then taken to a hospital in Oklahoma City where he remained for ten days. The victim testified that the defendants broke his jaw, tore his ear, broke four ribs and injured his shoulder. The witness further stated that in addition to his billfold and change being missing on that Saturday morning, a pocket knife was gone and also when his car was returned to him, two blankets were missing.

The victim’s wife, Mrs. Granville Martin, testified that he left home about 10 :30 p. m. Friday, February 2, 1968, to go for a ride. She didn’t see him again until 5 :30 a. m. Saturday, February 3, 1968, when the cab driver brought him to their home. She stated when he arrived he was a mass of blood, mud, cuts and bruises.

Rena Waters testified that she was with the defendants at a bar in Ponca City on the night of February 2, 1968, but the two defendants left sometime during the evening with Tillman King in King’s 1955 or 1956 Ford.

Sid Cookerly, Deputy Sheriff of Kay County, testified that he and the sheriff located the two automobiles described by the victim, one owned by Tillman King and the other by the victim. The cars were in the same location described by the victim. Both autos were stuck in mud. The Chevrolet, identified as owned by the victim, appeared to have blood on the outside and in the back seat. He also stated they found a man’s billfold and a set of car keys north of the car lying in the grass. The deputy further said he found a ten dollar bill in the card section of the billfold but nothing in the bill section. They also found a dollar bill beside the *290 driver’s seat inside the car. The deputy stated the billfold appeared to belong to Granville Martin, the victim, as it contained assorted cards with his name. On cross-examination, he stated that he did not attempt to get fingerprints off the billfold, as the texture of the leather made it difficult to lift prints. He did lift a fingerprint of Sammy Snake off the top of the victim’s car.

Sheriff Norman Coffelt gave substantially the same testimony as Deputy Cookerly. Dr. Bob Gibson testified for the prosecution that he was called at about 5 :30 a. m., February 3, 1968, to attend to Mr. Granville Martin at his home. When the doctor arrived he observed multiple abrasions of the victim’s face, laceration of the upper lip, laceration of the forehead and he was having difficulty breathing and was in shock. The doctor testified that on examination he found his jaw was broken on both sides and he had broken ribs. The witness stated the injuries appeared to be caused by the use of a blunt object such as a foot or shoe. The doctor identified the pictures (CM 37) as accurately representing the appearance of the victim subsequent to his entry in the hospital and after being cleaned up. The witness also told of the necessary treatments which were administered to the victim.

The defense presented evidence by stipulation of one James Thompson who picked up the defendants and an Indian girl in his cab at about 5 :00 a. m. February 3, 1968. He said the fare was $3.10, but the three of them just had $2.10 made up of one $1.00 bill and the remainder in change.

The defendants both testified and their testimony was substantially in agreement with the victim’s, other than they denied having taken anything of value from him. They both admitted having assaulted the victim, but denied any knowledge of the blankets, the knife, or the money. One remembered taking a jacket from the rear of the car to put under the tire to try to get it unstuck. Bruce Primeaux testified he had three previous convictions for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and a conviction for assault and battery, as well as convictions for public drunkenness. Sammy Snake, the defendant for whom this appeal is now lodged, admitted he had been convicted of second degree burglary, attempted larceny of an automobile, assault with a deadly weapon and public drunkenness.

Defendant does not delineate his grounds for appeal, but argues in his brief that the trial court improperly allowed the State to introduce evidence concerning the extent of the victim’s injuries and pictures showing those injuries. Defendant further asserts that the trial court erred in failing to sustain his motion for mistrial based on the introduction of this evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
1969 OK CR 126, 453 P.2d 287, 1969 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 438, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/snake-v-state-oklacrimapp-1969.