Williams v. State

375 S.W.2d 375, 237 Ark. 569, 1964 Ark. LEXIS 320
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 27, 1964
Docket5074
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 375 S.W.2d 375 (Williams 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
Williams v. State, 375 S.W.2d 375, 237 Ark. 569, 1964 Ark. LEXIS 320 (Ark. 1964).

Opinions

Ed. F. MoFaddin, Associate Justice.

The appellants are George Williams, Henry Turney, Jess Holeman, and Marvin Stripling. They were jointly charged, tried, and convicted of the crimes of burglary and grand larceny (Ark. Stat. Aim. § 41-1001 and § 41-3907 [1947]); and they prosecute this appeal. Henry Turney filed a separate motion for new trial containing eleven assignments, and the other three appellants filed a joint motion for new trial containing fourteen assignments. In addition, Williams filed a separate pleading entitled, “Motion to Set Aside the Verdict as to George Frank Williams,” and this pleading contained two assignments. The appellants have grouped all their assignments in eighteen points which are presented in their joint brief; and we will group the various points in suitable topic headings.

The information charged—and the State’s evidence was designed to establish—that on the 18th of February, 1962, the four named appellants committed the crimes of burglary and grand larceny by feloniously, etc. breaking and entering the building of Roy Nelson, Jr. in Lonoke County, Arkansas, and taking away hot water tanks, tools, plumbing equipment, a rifle, a chain saw, and various other items in excess of the value of $35.00. The appellants were arrested in Faulkner County on February 19, 1962; and the articles mentioned in the information were found and returned to the owner, Roy Nelson, Jr. The legality of alleged confessions and the way the officers obtained the property constitute some of the issues on this appeal, as well as other rulings in the course of the trial.

I. Alleged Error In Admitting Testimony Relating To Matters Which Occurred Four Bays Before The Crimes Were Alleged To Have Been Committed. State Police Officer Bill Brashers testified that on February 14, 1962, he arrested Marvin Stripling in Lonoke County for driving a car without a driver’s license; that Stripling was driving a white Ford pick-up truck; and that Stripling said the truck belonged to Henry Turney, who lived in Faulkner County, Arkansas. Brashers testified that he checked out the license number and found that the truck was registered in Turney’s name. Lonoke City Officer Bobby Joe Davis testified that Brashers brought Stripling to the Lonoke City Hall; that Stripling called Turney iu Conway, who came to Lonoke and posted bond for Stripling; and that Stripling and Turney left in the said white Ford pick-up truck.

Objections were made to all of this testimony because it related to events four days before the crimes here charged; but this testimony was admissible as links designed to connect Turney and Stripling with the crimes here charged, since it was testified that the said white Ford pick-u-p truck was the same one that was used to haul away the articles from Nelson’s house on February 18th and some of the stolen property was found in the same truck, as will subsequently be mentioned. The evidence was that Turney and Stripling were together in the car that ivas subsequently used to carry away the stolen articles; and this evidence was for the purposes of showing identification and complicity in the crimes here charged. The evidence detailed circumstances tending to connect the owner and driver of the truck with the crimes charged; so the appellants’ objections on this point are without merit.

II. The Appellants Claim That The Alleged'■ Confessions By Stripling And Iloleman Should Not Have Been Admitted In Evidence. Roy Nelson testified that on Saturday, February 17th, he was constructing a dwelling seven miles from Lonoke and worked until about 8 P.M.; that when he went back to work on Sunday morning, February 18th, he discovered that someone had stolen all of the material supplies, parts tools, etc., from the house, including hot water heaters, bathroom fixtures, doors, plywood, etc.; that he could see from the vehicle tire tracks on the ground where the vehicle and attached trailer had entered and left the premises; and that he immediately contacted the Sheriff of Lonoke County and gave him a list of the articles stolen of a value in excess of $2,000.00. Sheriff Minton of Lonoke County testified that after observing the tracks and other matters at the Nelson house, he suspected that the said tvhite Ford pickup truck which Stripling had been driving on February 14th was the vehicle that had been used in the commission of the burglary and grand larceny. Minton further testified that he and State Policemen Caldwell and Mullinix obtained from a Justice of the Peace in Lonoke County “John Doe” warrants for the arrest of the occupants of the said truck; that they went to Conway -where the truck was located at the home of appellant Holeman; and that Stripling and Holeman were arrested and taken to Lonoke and incarcerated. The officers testified that Holeman and Stripling confessed their parts in the crimes.

In advance of the jury trial the appellants moved to exclude the confessions of Holeman and Stripling as illegally extorted and as obtained under force and duress. At the said advance hearing Holeman and Stripling-testified as to the alleged beatings, etc. administered to them to force the confessions. The Trial Court held that the issue of the voluntariness of the confessions was for the jury; and at the trial the officers just as stoutly denied all such mistreatment of the prisoners and claimed that the confessions were voluntarily given. We cannot say that there was error in the ruling of the Trial Court in submitting to the jury the issue of the voluntariness of the confessions. See Jones v. State, 213 Ark. 863, 213 S. W. 2d 974; and Moore v. State, 229 Ark. 335, 315 S. W. 2d 907. The issue of the voluntariness of the confessions was submitted to the jury under instructions not here claimed to be erroneous. The question of whether the arrests were made by the State Police Officer, who could make arrests in Faulkner County, or by Sheriff Minton of Lonoke County, who could not make arrests in Faulkner County, was a fact issue; and no error is claimed as to the instruction on this matter.

III. Appellants Claim A Violation Of Their Constitutional Rights1 Against Unreasonable Search .and Seizure. This point is most vigorously urged; and this is the most difficult question in the case. In advance of the jury trial the appellants presented their motion to suppress all evidence obtained by search and seizure and claimed that there were no valid search warrants. We recognize the holding of the Supreme Court of the United States in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U. S. 643, 6 L. Ed. 2d 1081, 81 S. Ct. 1684, 84 A.L.R. 2d 933. Under that case, evidence illegally obtained is not admissible in the State courts, regardless of the previous holding of the State courts on the point. The question here is whether the the facts in this case bring it within the holding of Mapp v. Ohio.2

The testimony of Officer Caldwell detailed the course of events. The officers first arrested Holeman about 10 P.M. February 18th, and then arrested Stripling about thirty minutes later. When Holeman was arrested the officers started to search his house, but Mrs. Hole-man refused them entrance until a search warrant could be shown her. The officers relayed the information hack to Conway and claimed that they obtained a search warrant from the Municipal Court in Conway. We are convinced from the evidence that the said search warrant so obtained was entirely void and worthless in every respect.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Griffin v. State
67 S.W.3d 582 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2002)
Opinion No.
Arkansas Attorney General Reports, 1991
King v. State
557 S.W.2d 386 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1977)
Kelley v. State
545 S.W.2d 919 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1977)
Martin v. State
476 S.W.2d 235 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1972)
Parrott v. State
439 S.W.2d 924 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1969)
Stout v. State
426 S.W.2d 800 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1968)
Harper v. State
440 P.2d 893 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1968)
Petty v. State
411 S.W.2d 6 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1967)
Dokes v. State
409 S.W.2d 827 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1966)
Mann v. City of Heber Springs
395 S.W.2d 557 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1965)
Brown v. Stephens
246 F. Supp. 1009 (E.D. Arkansas, 1965)
Williams v. State
375 S.W.2d 375 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1964)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
375 S.W.2d 375, 237 Ark. 569, 1964 Ark. LEXIS 320, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-state-ark-1964.