Walker v. State

1977 OK CR 75, 560 P.2d 1040
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 28, 1977
DocketNo. F-76-805
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 1977 OK CR 75 (Walker 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
Walker v. State, 1977 OK CR 75, 560 P.2d 1040 (Okla. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinion

[1041]*1041OPINION

BUSSEY, Presiding Judge.

Appellant, Rex Allen Walker, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged with the offense of Murder in the Second Degree, in violation of 21 O.S.Supp.1974, § 701.2, and was tried and convicted in the District Court, Beckham County, Case No. CRF — 75-56. Pursuant to the jury’s verdict, the defendant was sentenced to serve an indeterminate term of not less than ten (10) years nor more than life in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. From said judgment and .sentence, the defendant brings this timely appeal.

Briefly stated the evidence adduced at trial is as follows: The defendant had been living with the deceased, Oscar Staley, and his family for awhile and had worked on Mr. Staley’s farm. Gobel Music testified that he was at the Staley’s residence at approximately 5:15 p. m. on August 25, 1975. He stated that the defendant arrived at around 5:20 p. m. He further testified that Mr. Staley and the defendant had an argument about when to train a bird dog. They had another argument when the defendant walked into the barn carrying a mug which contained an unknown beverage. Mr. Staley told the defendant that he did not allow any drinking in his barn and grabbed the mug out of the defendant’s hands. Mr. Music left the Staley’s residence at 6:05 p. m., and Mr. Staley and the defendant remained at the residence.

Raymond Hargues, who was a gasoline attendant at a station near the Staley’s residence, testified that about 6:40 to 6:45 p. m. the defendant came to the station and filled his tank with gasoline. He was driving the deceased’s pickup truck. The defendant’s shirt was torn in the back, and he stated that he was going to Detroit, Michigan, to see horse races. Mr. Hargues stated that prior to the defendant’s arrival, he had heard two or three gunshots coming from the area of the Staley’s residence.

Roscoe Mullinex, Jr., bartender at the Rock Island Bar in Elk City, Oklahoma, testified that the defendant came into his bar sometime between 6:45 and 7:00 p. m. on August 25, 1975. The defendant had previously been in the bar that day from 2:00 p. m. until 4:00 p. m., and had consumed several beers. When he came in the second time he was in a hurry and only stayed for approximately three minutes. His shirt was torn in the back, and he used the back door, whereas he had used the front door before.

Jimmy Ray Henley, who lives behind the Rock Island Bar testified that when he went to his window to watch the fire truck as it came down the street, he saw a pickup truck leaving the parking lot behind the bar with great haste.

Aubrey Higdon, who lives on a farm in Twitty, Texas, testified that on August 25, 1975, the defendant came to his farm and asked for directions to Ft. Worth, Texas. He stated that the defendant’s shirt was torn.

At 6:50 p. m. on August 25,1975, Douglas Britton, the Fire Chief for the Elk City Fire Department, responded to a fire at the Oscar Staley’s residence. He estimated that the fire had been burning for approximately thirty minutes to an hour. There were two vehicles at the residence. A search of the area revealed the charred remains of a male and three expended 410 gauge shotgun shells. A wallet and a watch were discovered on the body, and it was determined that the charred body was Oscar Staley. Sid Cookerly, an agent with the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, examined the three shotgun shells and determined that they had been fired. However, the .410 gauge shotgun was never found.

Fred Jordan, Associate Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Oklahoma, performed an autopsy on the decedent. He determined that there were two wounds, one wound to the back of the chest, and another wound to the back of the neck. These wounds were caused by the discharge of a shotgun.

On August 26, 1975, a material witness warrant was issued for the defendant. The defendant was arrested in Ft. Morgan, Colorado. The defendant was informed of his [1042]*1042Miranda rights. He waived his rights to counsel at that time and his right to remain silent. He engaged in a conversation with police officers, which they recorded. The defendant stated in this recorded conversation, which was played for the jury, that he last saw Oscar Staley alive on August 25, 1975, between 5:00 and 5:30 p. m. He stated that on this day he had been visiting with Gobel Music, Mrs. Staley, and Mr. Sta-ley at the Staley residence. The defendant said that he had been living with the Sta-leys and that Mr. Staley owned a .410 gauge shotgun. He said that he left for Colorado at approximately 5:30 p. m., that he had permission to use Mr. Staley’s truck and that he did not stop for gasoline in Elk City, Oklahoma, but did stop in Amarillo, Texas.

Following this conversation with the defendant, Mr. Cookerly received permission from the defendant to search the truck he was driving. As a result of the search, he found a white cloth which had a dark stain on it. William Caveny, a forensic chemist for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, performed several tests on this cloth and discovered the presence of nitrate. He testified that gun powder contains a heavy concentration of nitrate.

The defendant’s first witness was his father, Jake Walker, who testified that his son had talked to him about trading horses.

D. C. Armstrong testified that Oscar Sta-ley told him in August of 1975, that the defendant was going to Colorado to sell a colt for him.

The defendant’s final witness was Robert Haines, the owner of a wrecker service. He testified that the defendant’s pickup truck would not run.

The defendant’s first assignment of error is that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the verdict. This Court has consistently held that where there is competent evidence in the record from which the jury might reasonably conclude that the defendant is guilty, the case will not be reversed because of insufficiency of the evidence. See, Mansfield v. State, Okl.Cr., 556 P.2d 632 (1976), the Box v. State, Okl.Cr., 505 P.2d 995 (1973). Upon carefully reviewing the testimony, we conclude that there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to prove that the defendant committed the crime of Murder in the Second Degree. The circumstantial evidence in this case meets the standards set by this Court in Jones v. State, Okl.Cr., 523 P.2d 1126 (1974), wherein we stated:

“Where circumstantial evidence is relied upon to prove a crime, it is not required that the circumstances proven shall exclude all possibility of innocence, but only that they shall be inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis other than that of guilt.” (Citation omitted) at page 1132.

The facts of the instant case are inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis other than that of guilt. Therefore, this assignment of error is without merit.

The second assignment of error is that trial court erred in overruling the defendant’s demurrer to amended information, motion to quash the amended information, demurrer to the evidence, motion for directed verdict, and motion for a new trial, it not being alleged or proved beyond reasonable doubt that the alleged offense was perpetrated by an act not enumerated in 21 O.S. Supp.1974, § 701.1.

In the case at bar the defendant was originally charged with the crime of Murder in the First Degree, in violation of 21 O.S. Supp.1974, § 701.1 ¶ 8 which provides as follows:

“701.1 Murder in the first

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Related

Lahey v. State
1987 OK CR 188 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1987)

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Bluebook (online)
1977 OK CR 75, 560 P.2d 1040, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walker-v-state-oklacrimapp-1977.