Title: State v. Tucker

State: missouri

Issuer: Missouri Supreme Court

Document:

451 S.W.2d 91 (1970)
STATE of Missouri, Respondent,
v.
Donald Joe TUCKER, Appellant.
No. 53774.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 2.
March 9, 1970.
John C. Danforth, Atty. Gen., Dale L. Rollings, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.
*92 Fred A. Brooks, Springfield, court-appointed attorney for appellant.
MORGAN, Judge.
On October 11, 1967, the jury found defendant guilty of stealing and assessed his punishment at five years confinement. Sections 560.156-560.161, RSMo 1959, V.A. M.S. Defendant has appealed.
Initially we must determine what issues, if any, have been preserved for appellate review. The necessity for so doing was occasioned by the efforts of defendant to obtain a new trial in the trial court. Upon proper application, the time for filing a motion for new trial was extended to November 17, 1967. On that date, trial counsel filed a motion which was considered and overruled on November 27. On that same day, because of "oral statements" of defendant critical of his trial counsel, the trial court set aside its order overruling the motion for new trial, authorized trial counsel to withdraw and extended the time for filing an amended motion to December 18. On December 28, a further order was made extending the time to January 15, 1968. On January 4, defendant filed, pro se, an amended motion for new trial which charged, primarily, that he had been denied effective assistance of counsel. On January 16, defendant filed a supplemental motion, pro se, consisting of eight pages, wherein it was alleged that he had been denied most every conceivable constitutional right afforded an accused. On February 21, newly appointed counsel filed a second amended motion for new trial which not only incorporated all previously filed motions but added further alleged errors. The hearing on this motion, as reflected by a supplemental transcript of forty-five pages, was in the nature of and comparable to the usual post-conviction evidentiary hearing under Rule 27.26, V.A.M.R. The defendant and a would-be alibi witness, who was not called at trial, as well as trial counsel, testified. Relief was denied, judgment entered and this appeal followed.
The time allotted for filing a motion for new trial is specifically limited by Rule 27.20, V.A.M.R., which, in part, provides:
"We have repeatedly held that the provisions of Supreme Court Rule 27.20, V.A.M.R. are mandatory, State v. Franklin, Mo., 379 S.W.2d 526, and that a motion for new trial must, in all events, be filed within the time therein provided. State v. Knicker, Mo., 364 S.W.2d 544; State v. Hooper, Mo., 364 S.W.2d 542; State v. Ash, Mo., 286 S.W.2d 808; State v. Crocker, Mo., 335 S.W.2d 32. The trial court was without `power' to extend that time beyond forty days after the return of the verdict for filing a motion for new trial, and the motions in this case, filed long thereafter, were a nullity, State v. Crocker, supra, and preserve nothing for appellate review." State v. Crow, Mo., 388 S.W.2d 817, 1. c. 819. Supplemental motions or amendments filed after such time are also ineffective. State v. Loyd, Mo., 233 S.W.2d 658. Note 116, Section 547.030, V.A.M.S.
As is obvious, the motion of November 17, 1967, was the only pleading filed in compliance with said rule. The one issue therein carried forward in the brief on appeal is: "The Evidence Was Insufficient To Support The Judgment of Conviction Against Appellant." We will limit our review to the one point preserved not only because of the mandate of the rule but also in appreciation of the necessity for some semblance of orderly procedure for appellate review. Defendant, of course, is not precluded from seeking such post-conviction relief as thought proper within the provisions of Rule 27.26, V.A.M.R., wherein his *93 many complaints may be fully developed and considered.
The challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence is not directed toward the question of whether or not a crime was committed but to the proof of defendant having been a participant. Wilbur Allen, night maintenance engineer for the Welsh Parking Company in Springfield, Missouri, testified he was on duty at 3:00 a. m. on July 9, 1967. For some reason his two sons, ages 11 and 6, were with him and asleep on the floor. As he started to open an outside door for an inspection tour, he was encountered by a man pointing a gun at him; inquiries were made as to when the police checked the plant and other employees were to arrive; assurances were given that Mr. Allen and the children would not be hurt, and the intruder was only interested in the company safe. Mr. Allen and the two children were marched outside and locked in the rear of a refrigeration truck. At some time, Mr. Allen noticed a second participant outside with a shotgun.
By cross-examination, counsel sought to establish that the area in question did not have sufficient lighting for Mr. Allen to identify, with certainty, the defendant. As shown by the evidence, there was no light in the room where the children were sleeping and which Mr. Allen had started to leave. However, it was shown that there were lights in the adjoining room and yard floodlights covered the outer area. Since the confrontation was both inside and outside the building, the evidence clearly provided a basis for the jury to accept the assertion that lighting was sufficient for identification.
A portion of Mr. Allen's testimony was as follows:
On cross-examination Mr. Allen testified, in part, as follows:
Other identifying characteristics of defendant mentioned did include deep eye sockets and a receding forehead.
The witness was consistently positive in his identification and never wavered from his opinion. The minor inconsistencies brought out on cross-examination were not of such significance that we could declare as a matter of law that the probative value of his testimony was destroyed. "The testimony of a single witness, if believed by the jury beyond a reasonable doubt, is sufficient to establish the identity of the defendant in a criminal prosecution since the credibility of the witness and the weight of the evidence is for the jury." State v. Williams, Mo., 376 S.W.2d 133, 136; State v. Stockdale, Mo., 415 S.W.2d 769, 771.
*96 In addition, other evidence connecting defendant with the crime was offered. Tommy, the eleven-year-old boy, testified that while on the floor he observed that the man standing nearby had on black boots. A woman tenant across the hall from where defendant had lived testified that between 8:30 and 9:00 a. m. on the date of the offense defendant came to her apartment to use the phone. She observed that he had on black boots, and overheard his comment that "* * * he had locked a man and two little boys in a truck * *" Because of her criminal record, including a fine for operating a house of prostitution, it is argued that her testimony must be disregarded. We know of no authority for declaring her disqualified as a witness because of her profession. Again, as with other witnesses, her credibility and the weight to be given her testimony was for the jury.
Clearly, the evidence presented constituted a sufficient basis to permit reasonable minds (the jury) to believe defendant participated in the crime charged. State v. Spraggins, Mo., 368 S.W.2d 407, 410.
The judgment is affirmed.
All of the Judges concur.