Wald v. State

1973 OK CR 343, 513 P.2d 330
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedAugust 1, 1973
DocketA-18117
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 1973 OK CR 343 (Wald 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
Wald v. State, 1973 OK CR 343, 513 P.2d 330 (Okla. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION

BLISS, Presiding Judge:

Appellant, James Edward Wald, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged, tried and convicted in the District Court of Tulsa County, Case No. CRF-72-951, for the offense of Robbery With Firearms, After a Former Conviction of a Felony. His punishment was fixed at ten (10) years imprisonment. From that judgment and sentence, a timely appeal has been perfected to this Court.

Arthur Michael Freeland, owner-operator of the Freeland-Brown Pharmacy, 1405 S. Peoria, Tulsa, Oklahoma, testified that on May 6, 1972, he was working in the prescription department located at the rear of his store. At approximately 3 :00 p. m. defendant approached the prescription counter and demanded money and narcotics. Following the demand, the defendant produced a weapon from under his belt and suggested Freeland deliver with dispatch. Defendant entered the service area of the prescription department, holding Freeland at gunpoint while Freeland opened the safe. Freeland delivered to defendant approximately sixty dollars ($60) in cash, thirty (30) vials of injectable narcotics, and approximately one thousand five hundred (1,500) tablets classified as narcotics. Freeland, still at gunpoint, accompanied defendant out of the building to one of the store’s delivery trucks. Upon his arrival he observed the keys were not in the truck’s ignition so he proceeded back inside of the store, intending to obtain them. While proceeding back into the store, he observed defendant walk away from him at a rapid pace with the drugs still in his possession.

*332 Betty McGoldrick, employee of the Free-land-Brown Pharmacy, testified that on the above date defendant approached her and asked to talk with the pharmacist. Her testimony basically corroborated Freeland’s testimony, adding a positive identification of defendant as the perpetrator of this offense.

Sandra Aleen White, employee of the above pharmacy, testified that on the above time and date she was working in the store at the front cash register. While in the rear area of the store at approximately 3:20 p. m., she observed defendant behind the prescription counter and also observed defendant walk with Mr. Free-land out of the store. Basically her testimony added an unequivocal identification of defendant as perpetrator of this offense.

Thereafter, the State rested.

Lena Fanning, defendant’s mother, Paula Wald, defendant’s sister-in-law, and Ruby Moreland, defendant’s former sister-in-law, testified that on the day of the robbery defendant was at his mobile home, sleeping the entire afternoon. Generally, their testimony established defendant’s alibi to be that he was home asleep at the time this robbery occurred.

Defendant testified that he had never been inside of the Freeland-Brown Pharmacy. Defendant stated that on the date of the robbery, he had stayed home the entire afternoon. Further, he admitted telling arresting officers he had been fishing on the date of the robbery, however, at the time he made those statements he confused the date of the robbery with a prior weekend. Thereafter, the defense rested.

Officer Dan Allen, a Tulsa Police Officer and arresting officer in the instant prosecution, testified in rebuttal, giving details surrounding defendant’s arrest. Further, Officer Allen testified defendant listed a different address at the time of his arrest than the address previously mentioned in his alibi defense.

Defendant was found guilty as charged and in the second stage of the trial proceedings, the jury fixed his punishment at ten (10) years imprisonment.

In defense counsel’s first proposition it is submitted Officer Allen made a statement at trial which constituted an evi-dentiary harpoon. That statement reads as follows:

“Q. Now at the time you arrested Mr. Wald did you inform him, sir, of what he was being arrested for?
“A. Yes, I did.
“MR. MOOK: Your Honor, if it please the Court, pardon me Pat, I feel that this is improper on rebuttal, it is more — If he wanted this testimony it was more proper to put this on in his case in chief, this isn’t in rebuttal to any testimony given by any witness that I called to the stand or that he called to the stand, or in answer to any of the cross-examination questions propounded to any witness that I can recall. I may be corrected, but I do not see any propriety or the procedural correctness of this. If he wishes to move to reopen this case in chief that’s up to the Court, it is not proper rebuttal.
“THE COURT: I will reserve ruling on your objection until I see where he is leading to here I think.
“MR. THOMPSON: Read my last question.
(The Reporter reads the last question and answer.)
“Q. Okay, and what was that, please, that you informed him of ?
“A. The armed robbery of Freeland-Brown Pharmacy and U-Tote-M Store.
“MR. MOOK: At this time we move for a mistrial, that is an eviden-tiary harpoon placed into this trial which thoroughly prejudices this trial.”
(Tr. 279-280)

*333 This Court has held in considering prejudicial statements made by police officers that unless the case is a close case, error of this nature will not be considered reversible when the evidence overwhelmingly supports the jury’s verdict, and the punishment imposed by the jury apparently is not based upon a prejudiced or impassioned deliberation. Washington v. State, Okl.Cr., 426 P.2d 372 (1967). In considering the circumstances in the instant case; that the evidence of defendant’s guilt is overwhelming; that the punishment imposed, the minimum of ten (10) years, in light of the fact that the jury’s verdict is founded in consideration of prior convictions; that defendant testified in the first stage of his trial proceedings and admitted prior convictions; we find no apparent prejudice resulted from the statement made by Officer Don Allen in his rebuttal testimony. Therefore we find this case falls within the rule set forth in Holt v. State, Okl.Cr., 506 P.2d 561 (1973) which sets forth an evidentiary harpoon may be harmless in light of all circumstances which developed during the course of the trial.

In defense counsel’s second proposition he submits the trial court erred in permitting a rebuttal witness to remain in the courtroom after the rule of sequestration was invoked. In this regard we need only note the language in Sutterfield v. State, Okl.Cr., 489 P.2d 1345 (1971) which states as follows:

“ . . . [W]e need only observe that when the court orders witnesses to be sworn and excluded from the courtroom during the taking of testimony, and a witness violates such rule, it is within the discretion of the court to allow or exclude the testimony of such witness. We further observe that the other witnesses complained of as being the the courtroom, were all rebuttal witnesses, and, therefore, not within the rule.”

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Manning v. State
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Byrne v. State
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Breshers v. State
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Wood v. State
1976 OK CR 311 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1976)
White v. State
1976 OK CR 165 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1976)

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Bluebook (online)
1973 OK CR 343, 513 P.2d 330, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wald-v-state-oklacrimapp-1973.