Case Name: WEATHERRED v. STATE
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1925-04-15
Citations: 272 S.W. 471
Docket Number: No. 8700
Parties: WEATHERRED v. STATE.
Judges: 
Reporter: South Western Reporter
Volume: 272
Pages: 471–473

Head Matter:
WEATHERRED v. STATE.
(No. 8700.)
(Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.
April 15, 1925.
On State’s Motion for Rehearing, May 27, 1925.)
1. Criminal law <&wkey;369(l) — Proof of defendant’s connection with crime cannot be shown by proof of similar thing at prior date.
Proof of connection of defendant with a. given crime cannot be made by proof of fact that at a prior date he did a similar thing.
2. Criminal law <@=>511(1) — Evidence corroborating testimony of accomplice held insufficient to sustáin conviction.
In prosecution of defendant as an* accomplice to crime of > arson, by procuring others to burn a gin, evidence corroborating that of defendant’s accomplices MU insufficient to sustain conviction.
On State’s Motion for Rehearing.
3. Criminal law <&wkey;511 (2)— Corroboration of accomplice must be as to some criminative fact tending to connect accused with commission of offense charged.
Corroboration of an accomplice on immaterial matters will not suffice, but it must be as to some criminative fact which ténds to connect accused with commission of offense charged against him.
Appeal from District Court, Hill County; Horton B. Porter, Judge.
Floyd Weatherred was convicted of being an accomplice, to the crime of arson, and appeals.
Reversed and remanded.
Collins, Dupree & Crenshaw, of Hillsboro, for appellant.
Tom Garrard, State’s Atty., and Grover C. Morris, ■ Asst. State’s Atty., both of Austin, for the State.

Opinion:
LATTIMORE, J.
Appellant was convicted in the district court of Hill county of the of fense of being an accomplice to the crime of arson, and bis punishment fixed at two years in tlie penitentiary.
Homer Weatherred owned a gin. Appellant, a brother of Homer, worked at said gin as a day laborer for wages. The gin burned. Appellant was charged with hiring two men to burn it. They both testified against him that he did so hire them. They were accomplice witnesses. Hence a necessity for other evidence tending to show that appellant did so hire them. If none, the conviction cannot stand.
Witnesses' swore that before the fire appellant came in a car with said two men and others'from one town to another; also, that a few days before said burning appellant was seen talking with said two men on a porch in the town of Covington. If such testimony be corroborative, then accomplices might be held corroborated in their claim of the guilt of any person upon whom they might seek to fasten a crime, by mere «proof that such parties had been seen together.
. Another circumstance offered as corroboration was that a man who worked at said gin with appellant testified that on some occasion he heard appellant say that he wished the 6- d- thing would burn up. On cross-examination this witness said appellant was in a bad humor because they could not get sufficient water with the pump, and that they were all worried. We are unable to see how this would corroborate any claim that appellant hired Watson and Holloway to burn the gin.
The only remaining circumstances are that one Sessums swore that about ten days before the fire appellant asked him if he wanted to make $10; that he replied no, and then asked appellant how; and that' the latter said, "burn the Woodbury gin"; also, that one Brooks swore that about two weeks before the gin burned, appellant told him he had a pretty $10 bill he would give him to set said gin afire. Neither of these witnesses claimed that any reference was made 'in the conversation to Watson or Holloway, nor did either witness assert knowledge of any fact showing that appellant ever had or made any trade, agreement, or contract with Watson and Holloway in regard to said gin. We cannot bring ourselves to agree that these circumstances furnish corroboration of the two accomplices*, Watson and Holloway.
Confusion of the principles involved is easy, their distinction difficult. To illustrate, if appellant had been seen to put a can of gasoline in his car at, say, a half- hour before the fire, and go in the direction of the gin, take said can out of his car, and creep toward the gin, these might be material circumstances if he was charged with the arson, but would be of no materiality as corroboration of the accomplices, if he was charged with hiring Watson and Holloway to set fire to the gin, and they had testified that they fired i£ in his absence and without his assistance. In other words, circumstances which would have weight and materiality in the one case might have none in the other; and yet at a glance it might be deemed that anything tending to show that appellant burned the gin, or wished the gin burned, might suffice to corroborate Watson and Holloway in their claim that he hired them to burn it, but reflection is sufficient to convince one that such a proposition is not sound.
No principle is better understood than that proof of the connection of A. with a given crime cannot be made by proof of the fact that at a prior date he did a similar thing. Such testimony has no corroborative force.
Motive is not always held indispensable, but we observe that it appears to be entirely lacking in the instant case. As stated above, the gin belonged to appellant's brother, ahd was shown by undisputed testimony to be not over insured, and that the fire resulted in a distinct loss to the brother after the insurance was paid. Many people who had known appellant, all of his life and for years gave testimony as to his good reputation.
There are many interesting questions raised regarding the charge and the admission of testimony; but we do not discuss them, because we have such serious doubt as to the sufficiency of the corroborative testimony as to lead us to decide that we are unwilling to let a conviction stand where the state relies upon accomplice witnesses with no more corroboration than appears.
Being of opinion that the testimony does not sufficiently support the conviction, the judgment will be reversed, and the cause remanded.
(g^For other cases see same topic, and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes