State of Tennessee v. Darrell Toomes

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJune 27, 2005
DocketW2004-01739-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished

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

Bluebook
State of Tennessee v. Darrell Toomes, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON Assigned on Briefs April 19, 2005

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DARRELL TOOMES

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Lauderdale County No. 7561 Joseph H. Walker, III, Judge

No. W2004-01739-CCA-R3-CD - Filed June 27, 2005

A Lauderdale County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Darrell Toomes, of robbery, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced him as a Range I, standard offender to five years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant contends (1) that the evidence is insufficient to convict him as the perpetrator, (2) that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence relating to a photograph array and a subsequent in-court identification of him, and (3) that his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed

JOSEPH M. TIPTON , J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which GARY R. WADE, P.J., and ALAN E. GLENN , J., joined.

Gary F. Antrican, District Public Defender, and Julie K. Pillow, Assistant Public Defender, for the appellant, Darrell Toomes.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin A. Ball, Assistant Attorney General; Elizabeth T. Rice, District Attorney General; and Tracey Anne Brewer, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

This case relates to the snatching of a purse from Mary Russell, an eighty-five-year-old woman. Martha Rudd, the victim’s sister and also eighty-five years old, testified that at 11:00 or 11:15 a.m. on March 28, 2003, she and the victim returned to their home in Ripley, Tennessee, after she drove the victim to see her doctor for a routine eye examination. She said that shortly after they drove the car into the garage, a man appeared at the passenger’s side door where the victim was sitting. She said that as they got out of the car, the defendant asked them if he could mow their lawn. She said that they told him no but that he followed them out of the garage and asked the victim, “Who owns all of this?” She said that the victim replied, “We do,” and that the defendant then asked the whereabouts of the victim’s husband but that she did not answer him. She said the defendant continued to follow them as they walked approximately forty feet to the back door of the house where he snatched the victim’s purse. She said she was unlocking the door when she heard the victim scream. She said she turned around to see the defendant running across the yard with the purse and heading toward the street. She said she called the police.

Ms. Rudd testified that she stood face to face with the man who took her sister’s purse and that she got a good look at him. She said he was wearing a grey jogging suit with a hood which was pulled up and covered his hair but not his face. She said she described him to the police as a slim, light-colored African-American man, about five feet and four inches tall. During her testimony, she positively identified the defendant as the man who took the victim’s purse. She said that she also saw the defendant in general sessions court in September 2003, a few months after the robbery, and that she identified him on that day as the perpetrator.

On cross-examination, Ms. Rudd acknowledged that she occasionally wore glasses to read. She conceded that the conversation with the defendant on the day of the robbery did not last long and admitted that the victim and the defendant walked behind her as they approached the back door. She acknowledged not seeing the defendant take the purse. She said that she had her back to him as she unlocked the door and that she only turned around when the victim screamed. She said, however, that she saw the defendant running away with the purse. She said she had not seen the defendant before that day. She acknowledged that she was face to face with the defendant only while in the garage and said that the garage has an inside light which turns on automatically when the door is opened. She said that she and the victim looked at the photographs the detective brought to their house and that she picked one which showed the man who robbed her sister. She said the victim could not decide between two photographs. Defense counsel showed her the photograph array she was shown previously by the detective, and she acknowledged she had chosen photograph number three, which was not a picture of the defendant but of his twin brother, Terrell Toomes.

Ripley Police Officer Jimmy Drake testified that he responded to the robbery call at the victim’s house and that a patrol car was already there when he arrived approximately three minutes later. He said he drove toward Elm Street, the direction the suspect reportedly ran. He said he arrived at Elm Street about one minute later and saw a man whose appearance was consistent with the description of the robbery suspect: an African-American male, slender build, five feet four inches to five feet six inches tall, and wearing a grey jogging suit. He said the suspect emerged from behind a house, looked to the right, and fled upon seeing him. He said he chased the suspect through some yards, behind a house, and into the woods where he lost sight of him. He said that the suspect had looked directly at him and that he recognized him as one of the Toomes brothers. He identified the defendant in court as the man he chased and said that he knew him from previous dealings and conversations he has had with the Toomes brothers during the past ten years. He admitted that the defendant and his brother look very similar and that he has had difficulty telling them apart. He testified that after he lost sight of the defendant, he and Investigator Jordan began searching the area between the victim’s house and Elm Street and that they discovered the victim’s purse along with some of its contents.

-2- On cross-examination, Officer Drake acknowledged that he and the defendant looked at each other for only a second or two and admitted that his patrol car was moving at the time. He said the defendant was fifty to seventy-five feet away when he first saw him.

Mary Russell, the victim, testified that she had an appointment with an ophthalmologist on March 28, 2003, and that he dilated her eyes during the examination. She said that Ms. Rudd drove her to the appointment and that they returned home at about 11:00 or 11:15 a.m. She said that they parked in the garage and that as they were preparing to get out of the car, an African-American man approached her. She said that he asked her if she needed her yard mowed and that she told him they already had someone to do that. She said that Ms. Rudd walked around the car and that they both headed toward the house. She said that the defendant walked with them and asked if they owned the yard and that she replied yes. She said that the defendant then inquired as to the whereabouts of her husband but that she did not respond. She said that she asked him what he wanted and that he replied, “ten dollars.” She said that the defendant was beside her while they walked and that Ms. Rudd was in front of them. She said that when Ms. Rudd reached the back door to their house, the defendant suddenly grabbed her purse and she screamed. She said that she was carrying the purse on her arm and that she tried to grab it from him but that he ran with the purse toward Elm Street. She said she was frightened by the incident. She said that she yelled, “He’s got my purse,” and that Ms. Rudd called the police. She said that a police officer arrived immediately thereafter and that her purse and its contents were recovered, except for five or six dollars. She identified the defendant in court as the man who grabbed her purse.

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Bluebook (online)
State of Tennessee v. Darrell Toomes, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-tennessee-v-darrell-toomes-tenncrimapp-2005.