Gipson v. State (Unpublished Memo): This is the companion piece to the Skinner case. Gipson was convicted of helping Skinner and Skinner’s common-law wife steal copper in Angelina County. Gipson argues that the circumstances and the testimony of his accomplices don’t add up to evidence that he knew the copper was stolen. The Tyler court thinks they do. Especially in light of Gipson’s story to police. Though he lives in Lufkin, Gipson told police that he was in Houston on the morning of the crime when Skinner just happened to look him up for help unloading the truckload of copper. The problem with that story is that, at the early hour Gipson said he was being picked up, video at the Angelina County recycling plant showed two men stealing the copper. In the words of the Tyler court: “The jury could have reasonably concluded that Skinner and the copper could not be in two places at the same time.”
