Wakefield v. State

Defendant was entitled to a charge on impeachment of witnesses by prior convictions.

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Ray Wakefield appeals from his conviction of Financial Identity Fraud, Theft by Receiving Stolen Property and three counts of Forgery in the First Degree. We reverse. On July 3, 2000, Billy Hair, Chairman of the Chatham County Commission, left his Ford Explorer running outside a convenience store while he went inside to pay for gas. When he came out of the store, the Explorer was gone, along with all his personal items in the vehicle, including his check books, credit cards and golf clubs. That same day, Wakefield cashed a check drawn on Hair’s business account at a liquor store in Savannah. And the next day, Wakefield cashed another check drawn on Hair’s account at the same liquor store. The third day, July 5, Wakefield presented a third check in the amount of $500. When the liquor store employee was hesitant to cash this check, Wakefield offered to bring his “boss” into the store to vouch for the check. Wakefield then brought in a man, who identified himself as Hair. The man could present no photo identification, but showed a number of Hair’s credit cards. He was unable to provide the store employee with a local telephone number and mispronounced a local street name. The employee then called the Savannah Police Department and after determining that the checks were stolen, he summoned police to the store. Wakefield was still in the store when police arrived, but the other man quickly left the store and drove off in Hair’s Ford Explorer. This man was later identified as Chris Allman, Wakefield’s co-defendant.

After Wakefield was read his Miranda rights, he said that he thought Allman was Hair, and that the checks were payment for construction work he was doing on Whatley Street in Pooler, Georgia. He said the $500 check he tried to cash on July 5 was payment in advance for construction work that day. When Detective Don Collier of the Savannah Police Department later investigated, he found no evidence of construction work on the street.

Wakefield v. State

Defendant was entitled to a charge on impeachment of witnesses by prior convictions.

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