State v. William H. Stitts ( 2010 )

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT JACKSON
APRIL SESSION, 1997 FILED
July 2, 1997
Cecil Crowson, Jr.
STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) Appellate C ourt Clerk
) No. 02C01-9604-CC-00126
Appellee )
) MADISON COUNTY
vs. )
) Hon. FRANKLIN MURCHISON, Judge
WILLIAM HERBERT STITTS, )
) (Aggravated Robbery)
Appellant )
For the Appellant: For the Appellee:
DANIEL J. TAYLOR CHARLES W. BURSON
Assistant Public Defender Attorney General and Reporter
227 West Baltimore Street
Jackson, TN 38301 M. ALLISON THOMPSON
Assistant Attorney General
GEORGE MORTON GOOGE Criminal Justice Division
District Public Defender 450 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243-0493
JAMES G. (JERRY) WOODALL
District Attorney General
DONALD H. ALLEN
Asst. District Attorney General
P. O. Box 2825
Jackson, TN 38302
OPINION FILED:
AFFIRMED PURSUANT TO RULE 20
David G. Hayes
Judge
OPINION
The appellant, William Herbert Stitts, was found guilty by a Madison
County jury of aggravated robbery, a class B felony. Following his conviction,
the appellant was sentenced to twelve years in the Department of Correction. In
this appeal as of right, the appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to
support his conviction for aggravated robbery. After a review of the record, we
affirm the judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Tenn. Ct. Crim. App. R.
The proof at trial established that Harry Allen Stimpson and his wife,
Jackie Stimpson, are the owners of The Olive Branch, a health food store in
Jackson. On December 23, 1995, a man brandishing a tire iron entered the
store and forcibly removed between five and six hundred dollars from the cash
register. Additionally, while being struck on the head with the tire iron, Mr.
Stimpson was robbed of his wallet, which contained approximately thirty to fifty
dollars. During the course of the robbery, the perpetrator also "stomped" Mrs.
Stimpson. Both victims described the robber as a "black male, medium
complexion, height around 6'2" to 6'3", weighing between 225 to 250 pounds,
having a round face with a moustache and wearing a green Army-type
camouflage jacket, jeans, and low cut black shoes or boots." Both victims later
identified the appellant from a police photographic line-up. Immediately following
the robbery, a witness outside the store observed a man running beside the
store building. The man then climbed over a privacy fence at the back of the
property. Police officers made a plaster cast of a shoe print found in the mud at
this location. A forensic scientist with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
testified that the shoe print cast was consistent in size, shape, and tread design
with a pair of black shoes owned by the appellant. During their testimony, both
victims positively identified the appellant as the perpetrator.
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It is undisputed that the perpetrator, by means of a deadly weapon,
knowingly obtained money and property from the persons of the victims by
violence. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-402 (1991). Moreover, the proof
establishes that a rational trier of fact could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that
the appellant was the perpetrator. Tenn. R. App. P. 13(e). In State v. Strickland,
this court held that the testimony of a victim identifying the perpetrator is
sufficient in and of itself to support a conviction. State v. Strickland, 885 S.W.2d
85, 87-88 (Tenn. Crim. App.1993). Accordingly, after a review of the evidence in
this case, we conclude that this is an appropriate case for affirmance under Rule
20 of the Court of Criminal Appeals.
____________________________________
DAVID G. HAYES, Judge
CONCUR:
__________________________________
JOSEPH M. TIPTON, Judge
__________________________________
WILLIAM M. BARKER, Judge
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