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MORRIS v. STATE2/8/1971
Appellant Eddie (Tate) Morris appeals from a sentence of seven to twenty-one years on a robbery conviction.
During some racial troubles in Forrest City on August 14, 1969, about 9:00 p.m. two Negroes, George Tabor and Jerry Porter, went to Thompson's Grocery Store to buy bread. As they were about to enter the store they found William F. Epps, the store's only employee at that time of day, standing in the entrance bleeding profusely from stab wounds. They ascertained that Epps was unable to call for help and when they saw
the cash register open with only three pennies in it, they used their own money to call Thompson's home and the police. Sergeant E. J. Frames of the Forrest City Police was the first officer to arrive at the scene. From information furnished by Epps, Sergeant Frames notified the police radio network that Thompson's Store had been robbed and Mr. Epps stabbed in the robbery. Sergeant Frames described the robbers as two tall Negro males wearing dark clothes - one having a bushy head and the other a goatee.
In another part of Forrest City, Robert Lee Patterson, a Negro, was driving his car when he spotted his friend Sylvester Robinson. After some conversation Patterson agreed to drive Robinson to Memphis. At this point Robinson and his friends got into Patterson's car and drove to Robinson's abode at Janet Moore's house so that Robinson could get three dollars to buy gasoline for the trip. About the time Robinson reentered Patterson's car, the appellant, Eddie Tate, as he was then known, Johnny Harper and Peggy (Tate) Smith ran out of Janet Moore's house, pulled Robinson's friends out of Patterson's car and upon entering, themselves commanded Patterson to "Drive, man, drive. When Patterson asked what was up, he was told by Peggy (Tate) Smith, "Best you don't know." Either Harper or appellant told Patterson that they would tell him once they got out of St. Francis County. When Patterson found out some of the details, he did not appreciate his situation. He did something to his car to cause the gas gauge to show that he was about out of gasoline. He convinced his passengers that he should stop at Palestine to get some gas. At the gas station he blinked his lights and did a few other things to attract the attendant's attention but the attendant did not notice. The gasoline was paid for by a five dollar bill that Peggy (Tate) Smith got from under her dress. The intruders then decided that they wanted to go to Memphis by way of Interstate No. 40. Between Palestine and Forrest City, Patterson observed an unmarked State Police car driven by Sergeant William Mitchell. To attract Mitchell's attention, Patterson drove at the State Police car and then weaved down the road as if he were drunk.
Mitchell had heard Sergeant Frames' network broadcast of the robbery and stabbing and also the description of the alleged robbers. As a result of Pattersons driving, Mitchell stopped Patterson to investigate him for drunk driving . At this point there is a variance between Patterson's version of what was said and that of Mitchell. Mitchell says that when Patterson got out of his car, Patterson said, "Officer, I'm glad you stopped me. The people in my car have just robbed and killed a man in Forrest City." Mitchell says that Patterson also told him that the occupants of the car had threatened Patterson, saying, "One more son-of-a-b____ wouldn't make any difference."
Patterson's version, on cross-examination, was that he told Officer Mitchell, "I made that dive in the road in order for you to stop me because there's some mens in the car I want you to get out, because something is wrong and I don't know what it is." When the Officer asked him if the people in the car were th
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