A.E. v. State

159 So. 3d 786, 2014 WL 3559385, 2014 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 52
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedJuly 18, 2014
DocketCR-13-0584
StatusPublished

This text of 159 So. 3d 786 (A.E. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
A.E. v. State, 159 So. 3d 786, 2014 WL 3559385, 2014 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 52 (Ala. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

BURKE, Judge.

Following a bench trial, A.E., a 15-year-old male, was adjudicated delinquent by the Lee Juvenile Court on one count of third-degree theft of property, see § 13A-8-5, Ala.Code 1975, and one count of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle, see § 13A-8-ll(b), Ala.Code 1975. The juvenile court committed A.E. to the Alabama Department of Youth Services. A.E. appeals.

The State presented evidence indicating the following. On October 28, 2013, around 12:45 a.m., police officers from the Auburn Police Department were dispatched to The Reserve apartment complex on South College Street. A resident at The Reserve had reported that three black males were looking into vehicles in The Reserve’s parking lot and pulling on the door handles of the vehicles. When Officer Kenneth Youngblood arrived at The Reserve, he saw three black males wearing dark clothing standing in the parking lot. As Officer Youngblood approached the three males, they ran. Officer Youngblood pursued the males on foot, and he was able to apprehend one of them, K.G. When K.G. was apprehended, he was in possession of property that had been taken from one of the vehicles located in the parking lot of The Reserve. ■ That property included a telephone charger and a video game. Officer Youngblood identified The Reserve as being located in Auburn. Officer Youngblood testified that one of the suspects who ran away was significantly taller than the other suspects and was wearing a dark brown jacket.

[788]*788Officer Youngblood further testified that about 30 minutes after the initial incident, the Auburn Police Department received a call concerning a suspicious person who was knocking on a door at The Edge apartment complex, which was located about a quarter of a mile from The Reserve. Auburn police officers responded to that call and apprehended A.E. near The Edge. Officer Youngblood testified that A.E. matched the description of one of the males who fled from the parking lot of The Reserve. Specifically, Officer Young-blood testified that A.E. was significantly taller than the other suspects and that A.E. was wearing a dark brown jacket when he was apprehended.

James Park, an officer with the Auburn Police Department’s canine unit, responded to The Reserve to track the suspects who fled. Officer Park’s dog tracked a scent from the suspects’ vehicle in The Reserve’s parking lot to an area near where A.E. was apprehended. According to Officer Park, the Auburn Police Department received a call concerning a suspicious black male who was knocking on the door of the Fresenius Medical Clinic. Officer Park had no recollection of receiving a call about The Edge apartment complex. Officer Park’s dog tracked a scent from the suspects’ vehicle to the door of the Fresenius Medical Clinic. The dog then continued to track the scent to the parking lot of the Auburn University Federal Credit Union, where he began to lose the scent. At that point, Officer Park was advised that a suspect had already been detained in that area and transported to the police department, so Officer Park terminated the track. Officer Park testified that he was about 150 yards away from The Edge when he stopped tracking. Officer Park further testified:

“To my recollection, the individual was detained in the parking lot of the Auburn Federal Credit Union parking lot. I don’t know if anybody ever made it to The Edge, but I know that — an officer at the intersection of Donahue and East University — I’m sorry, South Donahue and East University had someone detained and then had already transported him to the Auburn police division.”

(R. 32.)

Joseph Ellison, a detective with the Auburn Police Department, testified that A.E. “walked up to a patrol officer on South Donahue and just gave himself up.” (R. 44.) Detective Ellison testified that A.E. was detained “on South Donahue around the area of The Edge apartments.” (R. 45.) Detective Ellison further testified that The Edge was less than 100 feet from the intersection of Donahue and East University.

Kevin Freeze, a police officer with the Auburn Police Department, testified that, around November 6, 2013, he was transporting A.E., K.G., and another juvenile to court. During that trip, Officer Freeze overheard a conversation between A.E. and K.G. Concerning that conversation, Officer Freeze testified:

“[A.E.] was speaking to [K.G.], and he told him, he said, man, just tell them I wasn’t there, just tell them I wasn’t there. [K.G.] then said, well, what about the game; he said, what about your fingerprints on the game. And [A.E.] then told him, he said, man, just tell him we went to Game Stop. He said, I am looking at two years; I can’t do two years.”

(R. 49.)

After Officer Freeze’s testimony but before the State rested its case, over an objection from the defense, the State recalled Detective Ellison to offer further testimony. After being recalled, Detective Ellison testified that the incident he dis[789]*789cussed earlier occurred in “Auburn, Lee County, Alabama.” (R. 51.)

On appeal, A.E. makes two arguments. First, A.E. argues that the State presented insufficient evidence to support the juvenile court’s adjudication of delinquency. However, our review of the record reveals that this argument was never presented to the juvenile court; thus, this argument was not preserved for our review.

Rule 1(A), Ala. R. Juv. P., provides, in part:

“These Rules shall be known as the Alabama Rules of Juvenile Procedüre and shall govern the procedure for all matters in the juvenile court. If no procedure is specifically provided in these Rules or by statute, the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure shall be applicable to those matters that are considered civil in nature and the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure shall be applicable to those matters that are considered criminal in nature.”

No procedure for challenging the sufficiency of the evidence is specifically provided in the Rules of Juvenile Procedure or by statute. However, a delinquency hearing is criminal in nature. See Rule 25(A), Ala. R. Juv. P. (providing that “[a] delinquency or child-in-need-of-supervision hearing shall be conducted consistent with legal and due-process requirements and shall proceed generally in a manner similar to the trial of a criminal action before the court sitting without a jury ”) (emphasis added). Thus, the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure are applicable to this matter. Under the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure, “[t]he issue of the sufficiency of the evidence is preserved for review by a defendant’s motion for a judgment of acquittal that is entered at the end of the state’s case, at the close' of the evidence, see [Rule 20.2(a), Ala. R.Crim. P.], or after the verdict is entered, see [Rule 20.3, Ala. R.Crim. P.]” Zumbado v. State, 615 So.2d 1223, 1241 (Ala.Crim.App.1993).

In the present case, A.E. did not move for a judgment of acquittal at any point during trial, nor did he make a post-trial motion challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. Therefore, A.E. did not preserve his insufficient-evidence claim for appellate review.1 Moreover, our review of the record indicates that the State presented sufficient evidence to support the juvenile court’s adjudication of delinquency.

Second, A.E. argues that the juvenile court erred in allowing the State to recall Detective Ellison to testify concerning venue. However, “[i]t is ...

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Grace v. State
369 So. 2d 318 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1979)
Segars v. State
409 So. 2d 1003 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1982)
Creech v. State
508 So. 2d 302 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1987)
Dolvin v. State
391 So. 2d 666 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1979)
Ex Parte Dolvin
391 So. 2d 677 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1980)
Zumbado v. State
615 So. 2d 1223 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1993)
Stewart v. State
275 So. 2d 358 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1973)
Ex Parte Vaughn
495 So. 2d 83 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1986)
Stokes v. State
373 So. 2d 1211 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1979)
Meeks v. State
697 So. 2d 60 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1996)
Lewis v. State
461 So. 2d 9 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1984)
Laster v. State
747 So. 2d 359 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
159 So. 3d 786, 2014 WL 3559385, 2014 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 52, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ae-v-state-alacrimapp-2014.