Tulsa Criminal Defense Attorney | Dangerous Weapon | Cale Law Office
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Anyone charged with a who likes to fight the prosecution. Looking for the best lawyer, call Tulsa criminal defense attorney Stephen Cale at 918-277-4800. Schedule your free initial consultation.
Pink was convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon after former conviction of a felony. It’s also convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon. The judge sentenced him to 35 years in prison and fined him $5000. Here are the facts.
Around 10 PM in March, this is in a Dollar General store in Tulsa was robbed at knifepoint. This system manager was leaving the store and got into her car. Even though three of the female employees exited the store along with this his manager that night, the robbers went directly to the assistant manager. They demanded money toward that she that she had money. The suggested that they had inside information about who would be carrying deposits for the day.
The state’s theory at trial was that the robbery was devised by pink. Under 16 old of time of the robbery testified that she and her friend contacted the other guy about making some money by committing some kind of crime. She testified that the sky later took them to the home of pink about two or three weeks before the robbery. They met him and another guy in the front yard.
Pink said that robbers to do that they can make some money. He told him that there was Dollar General that they could rob. A witness testified as to the particulars of the arrangement to rob a Dollar General. Pink told the person that a woman that they were to rob had long blonde hair, would be wearing a long skirt and that she would have too many bags. Pink also told her that she was a God-fearing woman and would be scared it would give the money up right away.
A man testified that he the one went outside the store until a group of six women came out and they had no trouble picking out which one was the target. They confront her just as she got into the car and demanded the money. The witness testified the first woman handed him a bag of cleaning supplies in it. She also said that the woman fled the scene without getting the second moneybag ever when the employees attempted to run over the woman with her car.
The co-conspirator to the party then called the ringleader after waiting a while. This was because of all the police and helicopters in the area. Pink drove up a car to pick him up. The witness testified that another woman was pastors and seeing it with other people including co-conspirator in the backseat. Pink told a woman in the truck because that was enough room in the car. After about 20 minutes the car stopped and pink opens up the trunk. They had for a while.
If you’re looking for the best Tulsa criminal defense attorney concerning conspiracy crimes, call the Cale law office at 918-277-4800. Testimony of accomplices must be corroborated by evidence that links the defendant to the commission of the crime. A conviction cannot be sustained on the testimony of an accomplice in this it can be corroborated by such other evidence that tends to connect defendant commission of the offense. The corroboration is not sufficient if it merely shows the commission of the offense or the circumstances of it.
One the best ways to attack a conspiracy charge is to show insufficient corroborating evidence, said Tulsa criminal defense attorney Stephen Cale. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to strictly enforce the statutory requirement that corroborating evidence links the defendant committed the crime, and not merely to the amended perpetrators of the offense. Corroborating evidence must of itself be without the aid of the testimony of an accomplice, tend to connect the defendant to the commission of the crime. An accomplice’s testimony does not have to be corroborated in all material aspects. The amount corroboration required to simply at least one material fact of independent evidence that tends to connect the defendant with the commission of the crime.
In pinks case, the state did not present adequate independent evidence to connect him to the actual armed robbery of the store. While the witnesses accomplice testimony went to how the robbery occurred and was strongly corroborated by the independent testimony of a witness nothing within the testimony those witnesses connected pink to the actual robbery. The facts were not close enough in time to the robbery to constitute adequate corroboration.
Stay focused on evidence connecting pink to the car that both of the two witnesses described as being used in the robbery. Stay present substantial independent evidence to establish that pinks sometimes drove that car. However, no evidence connected that car to the actual commission of the robbery. Neither the victim’s or other witnesses observed that car during the robbery or near the time the robbery. Therefore, independent evidence connecting pink with the car was not adequate to connect him with the armed robbery of the store, the Oklahoma court of criminal appeals said.
The appellate court was reluctant to reverse the verdict. The two into consideration that the trial court properly instructed the jury. There is also no dispute as to the jury instructions. However, the appellate court found that the jury instruction that was given may be misinterpreted. The prosecutor pounded on the language of the jury instruction.
Under Oklahoma law, the jury must be able to limit the testimony of an accomplice and still be able to find some separate evidence that tends to connect the defendant with the commission of the crime is charged with. Based on that, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals modified the conspiracy jury instruction. Therefore it reversed pinks robbery conviction.
This is just one instance where a criminal conviction gets reversed, said Tulsa criminal defense attorney Stephen Cale. If you want to find the best Tulsa criminal defense attorney, call the Cale law office at 918-277-4800 schedule your free initial consultation.