Taylor v. State

2011 Ark. 10, 370 S.W.3d 503, 2011 WL 285807, 2011 Ark. LEXIS 16
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 20, 2011
DocketNo. CR 10-703
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 2011 Ark. 10 (Taylor 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
Taylor v. State, 2011 Ark. 10, 370 S.W.3d 503, 2011 WL 285807, 2011 Ark. LEXIS 16 (Ark. 2011).

Opinion

JIM GUNTER, Justice.

| TAppellant appeals his conviction for capital murder and argues that the circuit court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict because the State failed to sufficiently corroborate the testimony of his alleged accomplice. Because this is a criminal appeal in which life imprisonment has been imposed, this court has jurisdiction pursuant to Ark. Sup.Ct. R. 1 — 2(a)(2). We affirm.

In an amended felony information filed June 27, 2008, appellant was charged with, inter alia, the crime of capital murder in the death of Odilon Guerrero. A jury trial was held on March 2, 2010, at which the following pertinent testimony was presented.

Officer Takeisha Gilbert, a member of the Little Rock Police Department, testified that on the night of October 31, 2007, she responded to a shooting at a mobile home park. She testified that she observed Mr. Guerrero lying on the ground next to a red SUV and that Rhe was deceased. Gilbert testified that other men that were at the park described a dark four-door vehicle, possibly a black Honda, that may have been involved. She testified that one of the witnesses saw three males in the vehicle and that he saw the vehicle enter the park behind Mr. Guerrero’s vehicle, heard one shot, and then saw the vehicle exit the park.

Gregorio Guerrero testified that he lived at the same mobile home park as the victim, who was his uncle. He testified that on the night of October 31, 2007, while on his way home from work, he saw his uncle using a pay phone on Baseline Road. Guerrero testified that he was standing near the entrance of the mobile home park a short time later when he saw his uncle drive through, and that he saw another vehicle enter the park behind his uncle. He testified that the vehicle was black and looked like a Honda Accord or Acura. He testified that he saw three people in the car, two people in the front and one person in the back. He testified that approximately one minute after his uncle drove through, he heard a shot, but he thought it was someone firing a gun in an adjacent mobile home park. He testified that approximately one minute later, he saw the black vehicle exit the park at a normal speed. He explained that his uncle’s roommates then called him and told him to come that way because his uncle was on the ground. Guerrero testified that he ran to his uncle’s mobile home and saw him lying on the ground next to his SUV. He also testified that his uncle always carried cash, that his wallet was missing, and that the wallet had never been found.

Officer Matt Thomas testified that the night of November 4, 2007, another officer, Officer Jonathan Prater, was riding with him. He testified that at approximately 10:05 p.m., |she saw a black Mazda 626 without its headlights on traveling westbound on Baseline Road. He explained that there were three people in'the car: the driver, later identified as Tyeiska Roberson; the front passenger, later identified as Terry Cook; and the back seat passenger, later identified as appellant. Thomas testified that he initiated a traffic stop and, as the Mazda came to a stop, the back seat passenger got out of the car and fled on foot. He testified that Officer Prater pursued the suspect and that they ran into a storm drainage ditch. He explained that the suspect then ran into a culvert, but he and Officer Prater did not pursue him further because Officer Prater had observed a gun in the suspect’s possession. Thomas testified that the suspect was wearing a black jacket and a red undershirt.

Thomas explained that he and Officer Prater returned to the Mazda and made contact with Roberson and Cook. He testified that, in the Mazda, he found a purse and cell phone belonging to Guadalupe Ortiz, who had been robbed at gunpoint that same night. Thomas testified that he heard over the radio that the suspect had been spotted by other officers and chased to an Exxon station, where he got into a black Chevrolet Lumina and fled the scene. He testified that the Lumina was later recovered at appellant’s residence.

Officer Jonathan Prater testified that when the Mazda stopped, the back passenger exited the vehicle and looked back toward the officers as he began running. Prater testified that he was able to get a look at the suspect’s face when he looked toward the officers’ vehicle and that the suspect was wearing a red shirt and a black jacket. Prater testified that he chased the suspect through a ditch and noticed a silver-plated handgun in the suspect’s hand. Prater identified appellant as the person who fled from him that night.

|4Officer Greg Quiller testified that on November 4, 2007, he received a call to assist in establishing a perimeter in response to a fleeing suspect. Quiller testified that he responded and, while patrolling the area with Officer Jacob Passman, he observed a person, who he identified as appellant, come out of a culvert. He testified that appellant ran away from him and Officer Passman and that he observed appellant drop a black jacket while running. Quiller testified that he and Officer Pass-man chased appellant to an Exxon station, where appellant drove away in a vehicle. He testified that he radioed in what had happened and that another officer, Officer Hawkins, came around the corner in his vehicle and pursued appellant. Quiller testified that he and Officer Passman retraced their steps and retrieved the jacket, in which they found a semi-automatic chrome handgun.

Officer Jacob Passman also testified that he saw appellant come out of a hole in the fence, drop something, and start to walk away. Passman testified that he drew his weapon and gave appellant verbal commands to get on the ground, but that appellant began running towards the Exxon station. He testified that he chased appellant to the Exxon station and saw appellant jump into a big vehicle. Pass-man testified that the driver’s side door of the vehicle was open, and that he grabbed the door and looked in. He testified that appellant drove away from the Exxon Station with Officer Hawkins in pursuit. Passman testified that he and Officer Quil-ler found a Jimenez nine millimeter in the pocket of the black jacket dropped by appellant.

Officer Kendrick Hawkins testified that on November 4, 2007, while responding to |fia radio call that a suspect had been located, he observed Officers Quiller and Pass-man chasing the fleeing suspect, and that when they approached the Exxon station, the suspect got into a vehicle that was parked at the gas pumps. Hawkins testified that he pursued the suspect and that he observed the suspect stop in front of a house and run behind the house, where Hawkins lost sight of him. Hawkins identified the suspect as appellant.

Detective Bobby Martin testified that he investigated a series of robberies and a homicide that occurred around October 31, 2007. He testified that he investigated the robbery of Andres Montoya, which occurred on October 27, 2007; the homicide and robbery of Odilon Guerrero, which occurred on October 31, 2007; and the aggravated robbery of Guadalupe Ortiz, which occurred on November 4, 2007. Martin testified that after appellant was identified as a suspect, a warrant was issued for his arrest and he was later brought into custody.

Deputy Brent Broshow with the United States Marshals testified that he participated in the arrest of appellant in Herrin, Illinois, on December 4, 2007.

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Bluebook (online)
2011 Ark. 10, 370 S.W.3d 503, 2011 WL 285807, 2011 Ark. LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/taylor-v-state-ark-2011.