Case Name: Mark Edward THOMAS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee
Court: Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Oklahoma
Decision Date: 1980-11-20
Citations: 620 P.2d 1321
Docket Number: No. F-79-203
Parties: Mark Edward THOMAS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
Judges: BUSSEY, J., concurs.
Reporter: Pacific Reporter 2d
Volume: 620
Pages: 1321–1326

Head Matter:
Mark Edward THOMAS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
No. F-79-203.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma.
Nov. 20, 1980.
Rehearing Denied Feb. 12, 1981.
William E. Woodson, and Sarah Jackson (Legal Intern), Norman, for appellant.
Jan Eric Cartwright, Atty. Gen., William S. Flanagan, Asst. Atty. Gen., William Brad Heckenkemper, Legal Intern, for appellee.

Opinion:
OPINION
CORNISH, Presiding Judge:
The appellant was convicted, in Cleveland County, of Robbery With Firearms and sentenced to fifteen (15) years' imprisonment. The conviction arose out of the robbery of a convenience store on January 13, 1978, in Norman, Oklahoma.
At trial, the appellant was identified by the cashier of the convenience store as the person who committed the robbery. The appellant, in response to the State's evidence, asserted the defense of alibi. The appellant's witnesses testified to the fact that the appellant was at home before and during the time when the robbery was alleged to have occurred. Some of the witnesses then testified to the appellant's presence at a concert later in the evening. The appellant also sought to introduce the testimony of two other alibi witnesses by the use of the preliminary hearing transcript. The State objected to the introduction of the testimony of the two witnesses and the objection was sustained.
On rebuttal the State called to the stand the owner-operator of a liquor store in Blanchard, Oklahoma. He testified that the appellant was in his store and had robbed him at gunpoint approximately an hour after the convenience store robbery. This testimony was introduced in order to discredit the appellant's alibi witnesses' testimony that the appellant was at a concert that evening.
The appellant assigns as error the failure of the trial court to allow the introduction of the preliminary hearing testimony of two of the appellant's alibi witnesses. The trial court excluded the testimony for the reasons that the State did not adequately cross-examine the witnesses at the preliminary hearing and the testimony sought to be introduced was cumulative to the testimony of the appellant's other alibi witnesses.
Clearly the testimony was an out-of-court statement offered in court to prove the truth of the matter therein asserted. Arguably, however, the testimony fits within the former testimony exception to the hearsay rule. In order for the testimony to be admitted under the exception the witnesses' unavailability must be shown. See Saumty v. State, Okl.Cr., 503 P.2d 571 (1972); Whitehead v. State, Okl. Cr., 526 P.2d 959 (1974).
Our cases, with the exception of the above two, have generally dealt with the admissibility of former testimony in situations in which the State is the party urging admissibility. These cases, however, also typically involve a confrontation clause problem. See e.g., Dilworth v. State, Okl.Cr., 611 P.2d 256 (1980); Smith v. State, Okl.Cr., 546 P.2d 267 (1976); In Re Bishop, Okl.Cr., 443 P.2d 768 (1968).
To what extent the previous cited cases apply in the present situation we need not decide. The boundaries of confrontation and hearsay are not co-extensive. See Dutton v. Evans, 400 U.S. 74, 91 S.Ct. 210, 27 L.Ed.2d 213 (1970); California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 90 S.Ct. 1930, 26 L.Ed.2d 489 (1970). An extended discussion of the two rules would be pointless because the present case can be dealt with simply in terms of common law evidence rules.
Assuming that the appellant showed the unavailability of the witnesses, it was still within the discretion of the trial judge to exclude the evidence as being needlessly cumulative. While in our view it may have been a better course to allow the introduction of the testimony, we cannot say, as a matter of law, that the trial judge abused his discretion. The other alibi witnesses testified to the appellant's whereabouts at the times when the robberies occurred. The appellant had therefore established his alibi defense. The testimony of the two missing witnesses could only have served to indicate the truthfulness of the testimony by other witnesses. As such, it could be considered cumulative.
The appellant next assigns as error the admission of the testimony concerning the liquor store robbery. The law in this State concerning evidence of crimes other than the one for which the accused is being tried is that such evidence is inadmissible unless used to show motive, intent, absence of mistake or accident, identity or a common scheme or plan. Atnip v. State, Okl.Cr., 564 P.2d 660 (1977); Hawkins v. State, Okl.Cr., 419 P.2d 281 (1966); Roulston v. State, Okl.Cr., 307 P.2d 861 (1957).
The State argues that the testimony concerning the liquor store robbery was admissible to show the identity of the accused as the person who committed the first robbery. See Warner v. State, Okl.Cr., 568 P.2d 1284 (1977), cert. den. 434 U.S. 999, 98 S.Ct. 641, 54 L.Ed.2d 494. Generally, evidence of other crimes is admissible under the identity exception if there is identity or a visible connection between the crimes. See Burks v. State, Okl.Cr., 594 P.2d 771 (1979); Buchanan v. State, Okl.Cr., 483 P.2d 1180 (1971); Bray v. State, Okl.Cr., 450 P.2d 512 (1969); Roulston v. State, supra; Wollaston v. State, Okl.Cr., 358 P.2d 1111 (1961). In Wollaston, supra, the Court recognized the importance of evidence of other crimes to prove identity in cases where an alibi defense is raised. The present case, however, differs from the Wollaston case in several respects. First, in Wollaston, the crimes were all introduced in the State's case-in-chief. Second, the crimes were all committed in a distinctive manner. Third, the trial court gave an instruction to the jury limiting the purpose for which they could consider the other crimes evidence.
In the present case, if the State had sought to introduce the evidence of the second robbery in its case-in-chief it would clearly have been inadmissible. The crimes, while similar, were not so closely related that the evidence of the second robbery would tend to identify the perpetrator of the first. The evidence of the second robbery, however, was not introduced until after the appellant had presented an alibi defense.
When an alibi defense is raised, identity becomes an issue and evidence of other crimes is admissible to rebut the alibi. The identification of the accused as the perpetrator of each crime is sufficient for admissibility when the evidence tends to disprove the accused's alibi. See State v. Williams, 307 Minn. 191, 239 N.W.2d 222 (1976); Graybeal v. State, 3 Tenn.Cr.App., 466, 463 S.W.2d 159 (1970). See generally Annot., Robbery-Evidence of Other Robberies 42 A.L.R.2d 854 (1955).
The questioned testimony in the present case was admissible under the identity exception. Simply determining the admissibility of the evidence as a whole, however, does not end our inquiry. Because of this severe prejudicial effect of the testimony, we must determine whether any steps were or could have been taken to insure the appellant was convicted of only the crime for which he was on trial.
First, it is clear that the testimony concerning the second robbery could have been limited. The details of the crime were unnecessary for the purpose of rebutting the appellant's alibi. The only testimony necessary for the refutation of the alibi was first, the positive identification of the appellant, at a time and place inconsistent with the alibi, and second, the reason for the positive identification.
The appellant's last assignment of error is the second step which the trial court should have but failed to take to insure a fair trial. The trial court did not instruct the jury on the limited purpose of the other crimes evidence. The appellant, however, failed to request an instruction.
We first note that Burks v. State, Okl.Cr., 594 P.2d 771 (1979), is inapplicable here because the appellant's trial was prior to the Burks decision. Prior to Burks, the failure to give a limiting instruction was not reversible error if no instruction was requested. Barnhart v. State, Okl.Cr., 559 P.2d 451 (1977); Nubine v. State, Okl.Cr., 506 P.2d 952 (1973). As the appellant points out, however, even though the failure to give the instruction was not reversi ble error this Court has held that such failure may constitute grounds for modification. Rathbun v. State, Okl.Cr., 506 P.2d 983 (1973). We so hold. The failure of the trial court to limit the testimony concerning the second robbery combined with the failure to instruct a jury on the purpose of the testimony are sufficient grounds for modification of the appellant's sentence. The judgment and sentence is, accordingly, modified to a term of seven and one-half (7½) years and as so modified, is AFFIRMED.
BUSSEY, J., concurs.
BRETT, J., dissents.