Tinker v. State

1974 OK CR 155, 525 P.2d 1387
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedAugust 14, 1974
DocketNo. F-74-232
StatusPublished

This text of 1974 OK CR 155 (Tinker 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
Tinker v. State, 1974 OK CR 155, 525 P.2d 1387 (Okla. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

OPINION

BUSSEY, Judge:

Appellant, Kenneth Logan Tinker, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged, tried and convicted in the District Court, Adair County, Case No. CRM-73-230, of the misdemeanor offense of Negligent Homicide in violation of the provisions of 47 O.S.1971, § 11-903. In accordance with the jury’s verdict he was sentenced to confinement in the Adair County Jail for a period of one (1) year and payment of a fine' in the amount of One Thousand ($1,000.00) dollars. Presenting three assignments of error, he appeals said judgment and sentence to this Court.

[1388]*1388Around 2:15 on the afternoon of July 28, 1973, in Watts, Oklahoma, Virginia Wilson and her five year old daughter, La-dawna Wilson, had just returned to their mobile home from visiting with relatives. Mrs. Wilson was standing on the wooden steps unlocking the front door while La-dawna remained on the ground beside the steps when the defendant drove into the yard in a 1960 Falcon. He turned, approached the steps and failed to stop. The vehicle struck Ladawna and came to rest against the steps. Ladawna was immediately taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly thereafter by Dr. B. J. Puckett.

The defendant testified in his own behalf and stated that the accident occurred because the brakes failed. However, the. jury determined that he was guilty of negligent homicide.

Relevant portions of the State’s evidence are set forth hereafter. Zelda Leather-wood testified that on the afternoon of July 28, 1973, she was driving with her two sons from Siloam Springs, Arkansas, to Watts, Oklahoma, when a person she identified as the defendant, came up behind her on the Illinois River bridge in an older model white Falcon. He was driving at a high rate of speed and started to pass her on the bridge. Mrs. Leatherwood was frightened he might hit her vehicle and as he came around her at the end of the bridge, she pulled off the highway onto the shoulder. Following his car into Watts she observed that he drove at a very high rate of speed and almost collided with two other cars from the rear. In Watts she observed him turn toward the trailer and she then saw Mrs. Wilson’s mobile home rock on its foundation.

Randy Cox testified that he was in the company of the defendant during the day of the incident. According to his testimony he and the defendant purchased two six packs of beer between 11:30 and noon and they then drove to Flint Creek where they talked with an unknown fisherman for approximately 20 minutes and shared a beer with him. On their way back to Watts he and the defendant stopped at a station then traveled down Oklahoma Highway 59 to Watts and went to Mrs. Wilson’s mobile home. As they approached the mobile home, he observed the defendant repeatedly pump his brakes but the car did not slow down and Mr. Cox believed that the child was thrown against the trailer by the impact. Mr. Cox stated that the defendant’s automobile was probably going ten to fifteen miles an hour when it struck the steps of the trailer and he stated that the steps were not broken, only moved away from the trailer.

Mr. Cox testified that the defendant probably had three beers and, in his opinion, the defendant acted no differently after having consumed the beer than he had before. Mr. Cox recalled that the grass in the area was damp as his shoes had gotten wet while walking through it and he believed that the grass was approximately 3 to 4 inches high at the time.

Virginia Wilson testified that she and the defendant had lived together since May, 1973, and that she considered herself to be his common law wife. In response to questioning, she stated that she felt her daughter’s death resulted from a tragic accident for which she did not hold the defendant accountable and that she did not want him prosecuted by the State of Oklahoma. She believed that it had rained approximately one hour before the incident and that the grass in the area was wet and about six inches tall. She had been knocked down by the impact as she stood in the doorway, however, the damage caused to her trailer was minimal. Mrs. Wilson testified that following her daughter’s death she was very distraught and that Dr. Puckett would not give her any medication although the defendant had asked him to do so. After leaving the hospital she and the defendant returned to the trailer and the defendant suggested that some liquor might help her nerves. Only minutes before the police arrived she and the defendant shared a twelve ounce turn-[1389]*1389bier of whiskey when she advised him she would not drink unless he would. She acknowledged that her testimony at trial was the first time she had revealed this alcoholic consumption and stated that she had not made the fact known before because of her emotional disturbance.

Dr. B. J. Puckett testified that he examined Ladawna Wilson in the emergency room of the Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital at 2:45 on the afternoon of July 28, 1973. All attempts to revive her failed and Dr. Puckett stated that she had actually been dead on arrival. No autopsy was performed but his examination revealed a contusion across the child’s upper abdomen and Dr. Puckett attributed the cause of death to trauma caused by a crushing blow to the upper abdomen. Dr. Puckett observed the defendant in the hospital and did not smell any liquor on his breath, and he recalled that the defendant was crying and emotionally upset. Dr. Puckett denied the defendant’s request to administer a drug to the child’s mother as he did not feel that medication would benefit her under the circumstances.

Donny Metcalf testified that following the accident and prior to the arrival of law enforcement officers, he observed Randy Cox remove a six pack of beer from the defendant’s car and take it into the mobile home. Mr. Metcalf had no recollection of the grass being wet.

Willard Meredith, an auto mechanic, testified that at the request of the Watts Marshall he had test driven the Falcon shortly after the accident and that he found the brakes to be in perfect working order. He further testified that he did not notice the grass being wet in the area, that the grass was not too tall, and that two of the tires on the car were in good condition while two were slick.

Albert Gregory, a police officer in Watts, testified that he was directed to investigate the accident by the Sheriff. He stated that he arrived at the scene around 3:30, that he had detected an odor of alcoholic beverage on the defendant’s breath and from his personal observations of the defendant concluded that he had been drinking. The defendant told Officer Gregory that he had had a few beers and made no mention of consuming any other type of alcoholic beverage subsequent to the incident. Officer Gregory placed the defendant under arrest and Trooper Gary Smith of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol administered a breathalyzer test to the defendant shortly thereafter. The trooper testified that the test resulted in a finding of 0.06% W/V blood alcohol concentration. Officer Gregory and Trooper Smith both testified that it had not rained in Watts on the day in question.

Defendant, Kenneth Tinker, testified on his own behalf and stated that he and Virginia Wilson had lived together since May of 1973 and that he considered himself to be married to her by common law.

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Related

Williams v. State
1962 OK CR 80 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1962)
Wilkerson v. State
1961 OK CR 54 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1961)
Sandefur v. State
1969 OK CR 265 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1969)
Giddens v. State
1969 OK CR 29 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1969)
Rose v. State
1973 OK CR 225 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1973)
Tolleson v. State
1965 OK CR 39 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1965)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1974 OK CR 155, 525 P.2d 1387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tinker-v-state-oklacrimapp-1974.