Thornburg v. State

1999 OK CR 32, 985 P.2d 1234, 70 O.B.A.J. 2392, 1999 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 62, 1999 WL 652463
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedAugust 25, 1999
DocketF-97-679
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 1999 OK CR 32 (Thornburg 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
Thornburg v. State, 1999 OK CR 32, 985 P.2d 1234, 70 O.B.A.J. 2392, 1999 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 62, 1999 WL 652463 (Okla. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinions

OPINION

STRUBHAR, Presiding Judge.

¶ 1 Appellant, Richard Alford Thornburg, Jr., was convicted of First Degree Murder (Counts I, II and III), Shooting With Intent to Kill (Count IV), First Degree Arson (Count V), and Kidnapping (Counts VI and VII), in the District Court of Grady County, Case No. CF-96-240, after a jury trial held before the Honorable James R. Winchester. As to the three counts of First Degree Murder, the State filed a Bill of Particulars alleging four aggravating circumstances: (1) that Appellant knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person;1 (2) that the murders were especially heinous, atrocious or cruel; 2 (3) that the murders were committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or prosecution;3 and, (4) the existence of a probability that Appellant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society.4 The jury found the existence of each alleged aggravating circumstance as to each count of First Degree Murder and assessed punishment at death on each of the three counts of First Degree Murder. The jury also assessed punishment at life imprisonment for Shooting With Intent to Kill, thirty-five years imprisonment for First Degree Arson, and ten years imprisonment for each count of Kidnapping. The trial court sentenced Appellant accordingly, ordering the sentences be served consecutively. From this Judgment and Sentence Appellant has perfected his appeal.5

[1241]*1241FACTS

¶ 2 Between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. on September 28, 1996, Glenn Anderson burst into the trailer home of Marvin Matheson brandishing a firearm. Anderson told Matheson that they needed to talk. Shortly thereafter, Appellant and Roger Embrey also entered the trailer. Appellant had been shot prior to this night and the three wanted to question Matheson about the shooting. All three men were armed and they told Matheson they were going to shoot him if he lied to them. The three men also suspected Jim Poteet in the shooting. They decided to question Matheson and Poteet together so they could figure out whether Matheson or Poteet had shot Appellant.

¶ 3 The three armed men forced Matheson out of his trailer at gun point and drove him to Poteet’s residence. Once there, Appellant and Embrey went into the house and Anderson and Matheson stayed in the car. When Anderson and Matheson heard gun shots come from the house they went into the house to see what had happened. They saw Terry Shepard sitting in a chair by the bathroom door and Poteet sitting on the bed in the back bedroom. Appellant was holding Poteet at gun point. Poteet had been shot in the foot and was bleeding between the eyes.

¶ 4 The armed men decided that Appellant would take Matheson and go get any people present from Poteet’s rental house which was located about seventy yards from Poteet’s residence. 'While walking over to the rental house, Appellant and Matheson saw Keith Smith walking up the driveway. Appellant forced Smith to knock on the door of the rental house and when he did, Donnie Scott opened the door. Appellant then forced Scott, Smith and Matheson to walk back to Poteet’s residence.

¶ 5 Once back at Poteet’s house, Appellant went back into the bedroom with Poteet. Soon, Embrey took Matheson to the back bedroom. In the bedroom, Appellant gave Matheson a gun and told him to shoot Poteet while Appellant, Anderson and Embrey all pointed their guns at Matheson. Matheson refused to pull the trigger. A gunshot was fired from behind Matheson and Poteet was shot in the side. The only person standing behind Matheson at this time was Appellant. Appellant then told Matheson to shoot another person or he would shoot Matheson. Matheson shot at Scott but the gun did not fire. Appellant made him fire again. This time Matheson shot Scott in the chest. Em-brey took Matheson outside to the car. While they were at the car, Matheson heard more shots come from the house. The house was burned and Appellant, Anderson, Em-brey and Matheson left the area in Appellant’s car. They stopped to hide the guns and let Matheson out of the car.

¶ 6 Shortly after 5:00 a.m. Loyd Keagans and his son, who were driving by, noticed the burning house. As they drove up to the house, they saw an injured man outside. This man was Donnie Scott, who had been shot in the chest. The Keagans’ took Scott to a convenience store and called the police. Scott survived the shooting but the bodies of Jim Poteet, Keith Smith and Terry Shepard were found in the burned house. Each of them had been shot and had either died from gunshot wounds or a combination of gunshot wounds and fire related injuries.

¶ 7 When Scott was able, he gave a statement to the police telling what had happened. Matheson also told the authorities what had happened. Appellant, Embrey and Anderson were subsequently arrested.

FIRST STAGE ISSUES

¶ 8 During defense counsel’s cross-examination of State’s witness Matheson, defense counsel asked Matheson how long he stayed in jail after he was arrested following the homicides in this case. Matheson responded:

Like four or five days and I gave a statement to them like when they arrested me in Alex they told me they’d give me a polygraph and if I was telling the truth that they would let me out on an OR bond. And I sat in jail five days or longer, I don’t know, or less, I don’t know, and I passed the polygraph and I come [sic] in front of the Judge here and got an OR bond.

(TR. III.146)

¶ 9 Appellant correctly advises that this Court has held the results of polygraph [1242]*1242tests are not admissible for any purpose. See Matthews v. State, 1998 OKCR 3, ¶ 18, 953 P.2d 336, 343; Paxton v. State, 1993 OKCR 59, ¶ 42, 867 P.2d 1309, 1323, cert. denied, 513 U.S. 886, 115 S.Ct. 227, 130 L.Ed.2d 153 (1994). The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has also held that evidence that a witness has taken a polygraph test is inadmissible. See U.S. v. Soundingsides, 820 F.2d 1232, 1241-42 (10th Cir.1987). Accordingly, it is clear that the jury should not have heard testimony indicating that Matheson had taken and passed a polygraph test.

¶ 10 The only real issue to be decided is whether this error requires relief. It is significant that defense counsel did not object to Matheson’s testimony regarding the polygraph test and request that the trial court admonish the jury to disregard the improper testimony. Had defense counsel promptly objected and requested an admonishment, the error caused by this testimony may have been cured. See Sims v. State, 1987 OKCR 2, ¶ 16, 731 P.2d 1368, 1371. In the absence of such an objection this Court can grant relief only upon a finding of plain error. Ochoa v. State, 1998 OKCR 41, ¶ 31, 963 P.2d 583, 596.

¶ 11 We find that Matheson’s reference to the polygraph test was a single, isolated response which was not solicited by defense counsel’s question. Although Mathe-son’s response was potentially prejudicial because he not only stated that he took the test but also that he passed the test, this improper testimony was not unduly prejudicial under the facts and circumstances of this particular case. This is because Matheson was not the only witness who testified about the events which are the subject of this ease.

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Thornburg v. State
1999 OK CR 32 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
1999 OK CR 32, 985 P.2d 1234, 70 O.B.A.J. 2392, 1999 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 62, 1999 WL 652463, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thornburg-v-state-oklacrimapp-1999.