Opinion ID: 779816
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Inadequate Corroboration

Text: 40 Kehoe argues that the evidence presented was insufficient to sustain his convictions under Arkansas law because both Gloria's and Cheyne Kehoe's testimony was inadequately corroborated. Arkansas procedural rules generally do not govern a federal trial; they govern here, however, because the government did not object to the jury instructions based upon Arkansas law. United States v. Young, 702 F.2d 133, 136 (8th Cir.1983). We review de novo questions of state law decided by the district court. Enterprise Leasing Co. v. Metro. Airports Comm'n, 250 F.3d 1215, 1217 (8th Cir.2001) (citations omitted). 41 Under Arkansas law, a conviction cannot rest on the testimony of an accomplice unless that testimony is corroborated by other testimony connecting the defendant with the commission of the crime. Ark.Code Ann. § 16-89-111(e)(1); Martin v. Norris, 82 F.3d 211, 214 (8th Cir.1996); Marta v. State, 336 Ark. 67, 983 S.W.2d 924, 927 (1999). The corroborating evidence `must connect the accused with the crime and be independent of the evidence given by the accomplice.' Martin, 82 F.3d at 214; see Marta, 983 S.W.2d at 927. Corroborating evidence is sufficient when, if the testimony of the accomplice were totally eliminated from the case, the other evidence independently establishes the crime and tends to connect the accused with its commission.... Corroborating evidence need not, however, be so substantial in and of itself to sustain a conviction. Marta, 983 S.W.2d at 927; Martin, 82 F.3d at 214. 42 Both Gloria and Cheyne Kehoe testified to admissions made by Kehoe concerning his role in the Mueller and Powell murders. Gloria also testified that Kehoe and Kirby were responsible for the 1995 robbery of the Mueller home and that they chose the Muellers as targets because they were part Native American. Gloria led the authorities to several rental storage units containing property that had belonged to the Muellers. Cheyne testified that Kehoe described the murders in detail, revealing that he had killed Sarah Powell because Lee was unable to do so. 43 To corroborate Gloria's and Cheyne Kehoe's testimony, the government presented evidence that Kehoe and Lee had no money in the days preceding the robbery and murder of the Muellers and Powell and that they were comparatively wealthy a few days later. The duct tape that bound the Muellers and Powell had paint chips imbedded in it that matched the paint on Kehoe's Suburban. Kehoe and Lee also possessed a large amount of the Muellers' property shortly after the murders. Lee's fingerprints were found on a display case that had belonged to Mueller and which was recovered from a storage space rented by Kehoe. Another display case in the same storage space had Bill Mueller's hair in it. Numerous weapons belonging to the Muellers were traced back to Kehoe after they were purchased at gun shows. 44 Additional evidence indicated that Kehoe and Lee could not account for their whereabouts between January 11 and 14, 1996. Bank and phone records, as well as numerous witnesses, indicate January 11-14 as the time period in which the Muellers and Powell disappeared. The defense presented contrary evidence in the form of witnesses purporting to have seen the Muellers after this time, but the jury did not find this testimony to be credible. [I]t is the sole province of the jury to weigh the credibility of a witness. United States v. Enriquez, 201 F.3d 1072, 1074 (8th Cir.2000). Accordingly, we conclude that the corroborating evidence was sufficient to raise more than a suspicion of guilt and to support the finding that Kehoe was guilty of the robberies and the murder of the Muellers and Powell.