Intent to Steal Archives

F-2021-512

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 4, 2022
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2021-512, Trevor Leif Toppah appealed his conviction for Burglary in the Second Degree and Obstructing an Officer. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm his judgment and sentence, except for modifying the fee assessed for his indigent defense. One judge dissented. Toppah was found guilty of second degree burglary and obstructing an officer by a district court. The burglary charge was based on the fact that he broke into a parked automobile with the intent to commit theft. During his trial, the judge considered if there was enough evidence to support the burglary conviction, focusing on whether Toppah used force to enter the vehicle and if he had the intention of stealing anything. The court reviewed the evidence and determined that it was enough for a reasonable person to believe Toppah was guilty of burglary. They noted that breaking into a car, even by just opening the door, is considered a form of breaking necessary for a burglary charge. The court also mentioned that proving intent could be done through either direct or indirect evidence, which they found sufficient in Toppah's case. Toppah raised some issues regarding money charged for his defense costs. He argued that the court charged him too much and that it should be less, as stated in the law. Although his lawyer didn’t object to this during the trial, the court noticed that they had made a mistake. They admitted that the fee should have been $250 instead of the $500 that was charged. Lastly, Toppah argued that a series of errors during his trial caused him not to receive a fair trial. However, the court found that the only error that needed correcting was the higher fee, and that this error did not affect the overall fairness of his trial. In summary, the court upheld Toppah's conviction for burglary but corrected the amount he had to pay for the public defense.

F-2018-481

Post author:Staff
Post published:December 12, 2019
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2018-481, Derrick Lamont Garrett appealed his conviction for kidnapping and burglary in the first degree. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm Garrett's conviction. One judge dissented. Garrett was tried and found guilty by a jury for kidnapping and burglary. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison for each count, with the sentences running one after the other. Garrett's appeal raised several points of error regarding his trial, such as claims that there wasn't enough evidence to support his convictions, that some evidence was wrongly excluded, and concerns about the jury selection process. The court looked carefully at the arguments and decided that the trial was fair, and the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdicts. They noted that Garrett had requested specific jury instructions that he later challenged, which the court found was not a valid complaint. They also stated that the eyewitness testimony was handled correctly and that the exclusion of some evidence didn’t violate Garrett's rights. Regarding the jury selection, the court stated that Garrett did not prove any discrimination occurred in the way jurors were chosen. Since they found no significant errors in the trial, they affirmed the conviction, meaning Garrett must continue to serve his sentences.

F-2014-396

Post author:Staff
Post published:September 29, 2015
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2014-396, Jenkins appealed his conviction for Burglary in the Second Degree. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to modify Jenkins' 30-year sentence to 20 years. The decision was reached after the court found some errors occurred during the sentencing stage. Jenkins was convicted of breaking into a house with the intent to steal. He argued that the evidence did not prove he broke into the home. However, the court found that the doors being open and a window being broken were enough to show that he did break in. The court also determined that his behavior, like giving a false name and running away, suggested he intended to steal. Although the court found the conviction valid, they acknowledged that the prosecution made mistakes when discussing Jenkins' past criminal record, which prompted them to lower his sentence. The original sentence of 30 years was too harsh given the errors, leading the court to adjust it to 20 years. Ultimately, the court upheld the conviction but modified the length of the sentence.

F-2011-1059

Post author:Staff
Post published:October 25, 2013
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2011-1059, Cristopher Lyn Kibbe appealed his conviction for various crimes, including Attempted Second Degree Burglary, Second Degree Burglary, Driving with a Revoked License, and Conspiracy to Commit Burglary. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the judgment and sentence on the second and third counts, but modify the sentence on the attempted burglary to ten years. One judge dissented. Kibbe was found guilty by a jury and received a twenty-year sentence for each of the first two counts, while a fine of $100 was imposed for driving with a revoked license. His trial raised several issues related to judicial conduct and evidence. First, Kibbe argued that his trial was shaped unfairly by improper comments or testimonies from the prosecution. He claimed that a police officer made prejudicial remarks. However, the court found that the trial judge acted appropriately by not ordering a mistrial, as the errors cited were not fundamentally harmful to the fairness of the trial. Second, Kibbe contended that the evidence presented was not enough to support the jury's decision. The court determined that the testimony from his accomplice was properly corroborated and sufficient to justify the jury's verdicts. Kibbe also claimed that he was denied his right to present a full defense. Parts of his statements to police were not allowed into evidence. However, the court noted that many of Kibbe's exculpatory statements were presented before the jury, so it was unclear if additional statements would have made a difference. The appeal included complaints about evidence used during the sentencing phase. Kibbe's prior convictions were mentioned, and he argued that they should not have been because they were from similar transactions. The court upheld the trial judge’s decision to allow those convictions as proper evidence for sentencing enhancement. Kibbe's claims of prosecutorial misconduct were largely dismissed as well. Although he pointed out several alleged wrongdoings by the prosecutor, the court found that the arguments did not amount to significant error. Ultimately, the court modified Kibbe's sentence on one of the counts due to a clear legal error regarding the length of the sentence. The court reduced this sentence from twenty years to ten years, which adhered to statutory guidelines. The court did not find that the cumulative errors impacted Kibbe’s right to a fair trial, and therefore, most of his convictions and sentences were upheld. The decision was to confirm the judgment on Counts 2 and 3, and modify the sentence on Count 1.