NEAL DAVIS LAW FIRM, PLLC

According to the January 3, 2012, Houston Chronicle, northeast Houston-area residents have been charged with felony theft in connection with an alleged $70,000 coupon fraud scheme at the Humble supermarket where they worked.

The four, who were not in custody Tuesday morning, were identified in court records as Traveon Monte Boyd, 19, of Humble; Krystal Keaira Cormier, 19, of Houston; Corey Scott Lester, 21, of Porter; and Latrisha Wilkerson, 23, of Humble.
An investigator for Kroger stores told Humble police that the four suspects, while employed as cashiers at the store at 19611 U.S. 59, took part in a coupon scheme that allowed customers to buy items at a large discount.

They used a “coupon override function” on the cash register that allowed them to give the coupons a dollar value of their choosing, according to a complaint filed Friday by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

The alleged scheme took place from July 20 to Oct. 16, bringing the store’s total loss to nearly $69,900, according to court documents.

The store investigator said she interviewed three of the defendants, who told her operators of a flea market paid them to override coupons that did not match the products being purchased, records state.

Cormier declined the agent’s request for an interview, according to the complaint.

The investigator reviewed each defendant’s register log and also saw footage of them using the override function on security-camera video, the complaint said.

So that’s the story. But the question arises: what if one or more of these individuals testifies against another? What does the law say? How does the jury weigh that?

The accomplice witness rule is a rule of Texas Criminal Procedure. In Texas, you cannot be convicted solely on the word of another party who was involved in the crime. So the prosecution in this case must show something to support or corroborate what the cooperating witness says. But if all they have is his word, you can’t be convicted. You can be convicted on the word of one person, but that person can’t be charged or implicated in the same crime that you are charged with. Houston criminal lawyers have won cases based on the accomplice witness rule. So the rule is alive and well in Harris County, Texas. Indeed, prosecutors sometimes are unable to file charges because they realize they have nothing but a snitch’s word to support their case.

You need a criminal defense attorneys in Houston Texas, who understands the law of parties and accomplice witnesses if you are charged with a case involving a snitch or cooperating witness. This is a relatively complex area, often arising in drug cases, and requires the guiding hand of a Board Certified criminal attorney.