Stubblefield v. State

334 S.W.2d 150, 169 Tex. Crim. 350, 1960 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 2937
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 24, 1960
DocketNo. 31,507
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 334 S.W.2d 150 (Stubblefield v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stubblefield v. State, 334 S.W.2d 150, 169 Tex. Crim. 350, 1960 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 2937 (Tex. 1960).

Opinions

WOODLEY, Judge.

The offense is murder; the punishment, 15 years.

[351]*351The deceased, Lilborn Tilson, and his wife operated a beer tavern in Houston.

At one A.M. on the night of March 20, 1954, Tilson closed his place of business and drove to his home with the money he took from his cash register. Some of the money was in bills, which he had in his pocket. The change was in a sack.

Shots from a small caliber gun were heard by neighbors and Tilson was found lying at the side of his automobile parked in his driveway. He died shortly thereafter from the effect of gunshot wounds in his body.

Bullet holes were found in the wall of the front porch of Tilson’s home and in his automobile. Some $300.00 in bills were in his pocket and a few cents in change was found on the ground.

The killing remained an unsolved murder until appellant appeared at the sheriff’s ofice in Midland, Texas, in July 1958, and said “that she and a fellow by the name of Cummings had pulled a hijacking job of a beer tavern in Houston, and this Lib Tilson was killed and she said he was a good man and didn’t deserve to be killed, and she wanted to get it off her conscience”; “that she was living in Dallas with Bill Cummings, and that they had to have some money for doctors and hospitals. So he asked her where he could come to Houston and hold up a place where they might raise some fast money, and she told me after that they left Dallas and drove to Houston, and they got here about mid-night, and she carried him to Lib Tilson’s house, or in that vicinity, right around the corner, she said.

“Q. She carried Cummings there? A. Yes, they were in the car, and she showed him where to go, if I recall what she told me right, and she said she sat in the car, while Cummings went to the house to wait for Mr. Tilson, and she said after awhile he came back running and she had heard some shots, and he said he had run into a tree and he had a gash on his forehead.
“Q. When you said ‘he’ you are speaking of Cummings? A. Yes, sir, and they drove back to Dallas. She said they threw the gun out on 75, highway 75, at one of those underpasses.
“Q. All right, did she say anything with reference to any money they might or might not have obtained? A. Yes, sir, [352]*352she said they had some forty or fifty dollars in money in a sack.
“Q. Did she say anything with reference to who pointed out the place? A. She said that she did.”

Officers from Houston arrived the next day and appellant signed a written confession which, eliminating certain portions which were objected to, was offered in evidence. It reads in part: “I was still sick and needed to go to the hospital and we were broke. Bill asked me if I knew of any of the bars in Houston that had any money in them that he could holdup. * * * Bill had a small pistol that I think was a .22 caliber and he had got this gun when he burglarized the O’Neal’s Delivery Service there in Dallas, Texas, a couple of months earlier. We got in Bill’s car, which was a 1941 Green Pontiac Sedan and headed for Houston and Bill was driving. * * * I do remember that it was night time and Bill parked the car on a side street near an alley behind Lib Tilson’s house. I don’t remember the name of this side street but it crosses 26th St. and 27th St. and runs in a north and south direction. Bill got out of the car and told me to wait for him so I waited in the car and Bill Cummings walked down this alleyway towards Lib Tilson’s house. I think that Bill was going to get in Lib’s house and wait on him to come home and then rob him. I don’t know how long I sat in the car but after awhile I heard four shots and then I saw Bill running towards the car and he was carrying a money sack in his hand. He jumped in the car on the passenger side and I saw that his forehead was bleeding. I asked him what happened and he said that he didn’t get in the house because of Lib’s dog so he waited outside for him. * * * I was driving the car when we left out of there and we headed out North Shepherd Dr. towards Highway No. 75 to go back to Dallas. When we got to the North Shepherd Underpass at Highway No. 75 across from the Chuck Wagon Bar I stopped the car and Bill throwed the gun out underneath this underpass. We then drove straight on to Dallas, Texas, and went home. We were both pretty scared and when we got to our house Bill opened the money sack and there was about thirty dollars in silver in it. Bill told me not to mention this to anyone not even him. * * * I have never been able to forget about Bill Cummings robbing and shooting Lib Tilson four years ago and it has been on my mind constantly since then.”

Cummings, who was jointly indicted with appellant for the [353]*353murder of Tilson, and whose case had been disposed of, testified as a witness for the state. Referring to appellant he testified:

“Q. Tell us what she said? A. She told me she knew he carried quite a bit of money.
“Q. Was there anything else she told you? A. She showed me where he lived and showed me where his place of business was.
“Q, Now, how did you come from Dallas to Houston? A. In a car.
“Q. Was it your car? A. Yes, sir * * * .
“Q. Before you came to Houston that day did you know where Tilson’s residence was? A. No, sir.
“Q. Who directed you, if anybody did, to his residence? A. Mary * * * .
“Q. I believe you said you parked around the corner from Tilson’s house about one or one-thirty in the morning? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Now, you say ‘we’, is that you and this defendant? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. All right, what happened then? A. I got out of the car and went up to the house and waited until he came * * * .
“Q. Where did you wait at the home? A. There is a brick pillar—I imagine it is part of the porch.
“Q. One of those brick pillars that the porch rests on to keep it from falling down? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. All right, did he come home? A. Yes.
“Q. How long did you wait up there William until he came home? A. Approximately thirty minutes.
“Q. If you will, tell us what happened when he came home? A. Well, he got out of his car and he walked up on the porch and started to open the door and I told him—I stepped [354]*354out from behind the pillar and told him: ‘This is a holdup.’ And he dropped the money bag he was holding in his hands and turned towards me and started toward me and said: T will show you, you little so and so’; and I turned and run and hit a tree as I was coming off the porch, and I started to pull the trigger.
“Q. Do you recall how many times you shot? A. I don’t.
“Q. What sort of a gun was it, William? A. It was a .22 revolver.
“Q. And where was Mary Stubblefield all of this time? A. In the car.
“Q. That is in your car parked around the corner? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. All right, what did you do after you shot? A. Then I started off, and I thought about the money, and I

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Related

McClelland v. State
373 S.W.2d 674 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1963)
Gonzales v. State
350 S.W.2d 553 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1961)

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Bluebook (online)
334 S.W.2d 150, 169 Tex. Crim. 350, 1960 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 2937, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stubblefield-v-state-texcrimapp-1960.