Posted 5:53 pm Friday, July 04, 2008
Woman Guilty Of Robbing Man Delivering Pizza
By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer
Tiffany Nicole Walton was convicted of aggravated robbery Thursday for holding up a pizza delivery man more than a year ago.
Staff Writer
Tiffany Nicole Walton was convicted of aggravated robbery Thursday for holding up a pizza delivery man more than a year ago.
The 23-year-old Tyler woman was found guilty of the first-degree felony by a Smith County jury in 7th District Judge Kerry Russell’s court after about 45 minutes of deliberation. She faces five years to life in prison when the punishment trial begins Monday. Oscar Paul Barker testified Wednesday that he was delivering pizzas on Adams Street in Tyler on April 14, 2007, when a man and woman robbed him at gunpoint. Later that night, after the suspects were caught by police, Barker identified Ms. Walton and Narauda Jermaine Thompson, the 22-year-old gunman, as the two people who robbed him.
The defense contended that Barker was mistaken and identified the wrong woman.
Sharonda Hampton, 23, who was allegedly in the getaway car during the robbery, was also caught by police with Thompson and Ms. Walton in a car, along with the victim’s wallet and the rifle used in the robbery. Ms. Hampton has also been charged with aggravated robbery.
Tyler Police Detective Wayne Thomas, the lead investigator in the case, testified about his interview with Thompson, who was not initially truthful, but ultimately admitted that he and Ms. Walton robbed Barker.
He said Barker appeared confident and didn’t hesitate in his identification of Ms. Walton and Thompson. He said all of the evidence in the case resulted in all three defendants being charged with aggravated robbery.
Thompson testified for the state on Wednesday, but was called back by the defense on Thursday.
He said he was out on bond for a felony credit card abuse case when he committed the robbery with Ms. Walton. He remained consistent with his testimony in that the robbery was Ms. Walton’s idea because she needed money to pay her probation fees.
He said he and Ms. Hampton picked Ms. Walton up at her house before they committed the robbery, then drove briefly to a Tyler club on Glenwood Avenue, then to the convenience store on Gentry Parkway, where they were caught by police.
Thompson testified for the second time that he wasn’t lying about Ms. Walton’s involvement to help Ms. Ham-pton, who is the mother of his child. He said Ms. Hampton didn’t know they were robbing the man while she waited for them in her car.
Jessica Walton, the defendant’s sister, testified that Tiffany Walton was with her at the time of the robbery so she couldn’t have been involved in the crime. She detailed several places they went on April 14, 2007, from about 8:45 until 11 p.m. “on the dot,” when she said she dropped the defendant off at a Tyler restaurant and Tiffany Walton got into a van with Thompson and Ms. Hampton.
Tyler Police Officer Mike Saxion testified as a rebuttal witness for the state. He said he and another officer spotted the three suspects, including Ms. Walton, in a car on Gentry Parkway at 10:37 p.m., as shown on the police car video.
During closing arguments, Assistant Smith County District Attorney Richard Vance said the case was all about the victim.
“If you believe Mr. Oscar Paul Barker … Tiffany Walton is guilty. It’s that simple,” he said, adding that the victim didn’t have any motive to lie about Ms. Walton being there.
Vance said Barker was trained on what to do if he was robbed and he quickly and effectively identified the two robbers. He said the evidence found by police corroborated what he said.
He said Thompson, who is serving a 40-year sentence for the robbery, had nothing to lose. He said he would be risking an aggravated perjury charge if he lied for Ms. Hampton.
Vance asked the jury who they were going to believe — Barker, a hardworking man with nothing to lose, or Ms. Walton’s sister. He asked the jurors to believe the victim and convict her.
Defense attorney Kurt Noell said he didn’t believe Barker was lying, but that he was mistaken and identified the wrong person. He said there was reasonable doubt it was Ms. Walton.
He said there was 21 minutes between when the robbery was called in to police, at 10:16 p.m., and when Ms. Walton was found in the car with the two suspects, at 10:37 p.m. He said there was evidence Ms. Walton was not at the scene when the offense occurred and Tyler police didn’t obtain all of the evidence they should have.
“It really comes down to did Mr. Barker get it right,” Noell said. “The issue is, was it her or was it somebody else?”
Vance said Ms. Walton’s sister couldn’t get the time and the vehicle she dropped the defendant off at right because she didn’t know what she was talking about. He said she didn’t want to see her sister go to prison and leave her three children behind.
Thompson may use drugs and not remember every detail, but he does remember that it was Ms. Walton who helped him in the robbery and it was her idea, Vance said.
Barker described being robbed by the two people and said he remembered the incident as good today as he did when it happened.
“I can remember that gun sticking in the back of my neck,” he said. “That will always be there. I’m one of the lucky ones who walked away. … And one of these days, somebody’s going to pay.”
