Bailey v. State

375 So. 2d 1278, 1979 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1465
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedAugust 21, 1979
Docket6 Div. 994
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 375 So. 2d 1278 (Bailey 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
Bailey v. State, 375 So. 2d 1278, 1979 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1465 (Ala. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

TYSON, Judge.

Presley James Bailey, alias, was indicted for the robbery of John 0. Snowden by taking $2,980.00 in currency from his person, or by putting him in fear, etc. The jury found the appellant “guilty of robbery, as charged in the indictment,” and fixed punishment at imprisonment for twenty-five years and one day.

John 0. Snowden stated that he resided at The Club Apartments, 937-F Valley Avenue, in Jefferson County on June 16,1977. His wife, Freada Wallace Snowden, and their two month old baby girl were at their apartment with him about 2:00 o’clock that afternoon when a knock was heard on the front door. As he was on the telephone, his wife went to the door. A black male, wearing a U.P.S. uniform, carrying a package with Snowden’s name on it and a clipboard, stated that he needed to have Snowden sign for the package as his name was on it. His wife called to him, and, as he walked into the living room area, the black male, whom he positively identified in court as the appellant, Presley James Bailey, pushed him to the floor and kicked him on the head. He pushed his wife and used profanity while holding both of them at pistol point. Snowden stated that the appellant had a .38 caliber revolver and that he handed his wife some tape and directed her to tape Snow-den’s hands behind his back and to also place tape over his mouth and around his feet. While Snowden was lying on the floor, the appellant put the .38 caliber pistol near his head and pulled the trigger. Snowden related that his head went back, that he was deafened and dizzy. He stated that he was lying face down and the bullet, fortunately, passed his eye and went into the the floor. Snowden related that later he had to have surgery on his ear, that he was deafened for some time.

Snowden related that he was the owner of Freada’s Domino Lounge in Homewood, Alabama, and had just returned from a trip. He stated that he had a great deal of cash in the apartment as he was paying bills, including a number of bills for whiskey, which were paid in cash.

Snowden stated that the appellant taped his wife’s hands behind her, then went to the desk where he had been working and picked up $2,980.00 in United States currency. He stated the appellant then went to the bedroom and got a pillowcase in which he placed valuable jewelry and antiques, then left the apartment. The appellant left the clipboard and package with Snowden’s name on it on an aquarium inside the front door, and, in his haste, left the pistol on the bed in his bedroom. This pistol was identified as State’s Exhibit One. Snowden related that, after the appellant left the apartment, his wife worked her hands loose and locked the front door. She then telephoned the Homewood police.

Snowden related that Homewood Police Officer Carr was one of the several officers who answered the call, and he turned over the pistol, clipboard and package to him. Snowden then identified a cigar box, which was inside the brown paper, as State’s Exhibit Three; the brown paper as Exhibit Four; a partial roll of tape as Exhibit Five; some used tape, which contained a bit of Snowden’s hair and gunpowder residue, as Exhibit Six; and the clipboard as Exhibit Seven.

Snowden stated that the appellant also left a 357 magnum, which belonged to him, lying near the .38 caliber pistol which appellant had brought with him and used in the robbery, on the bed in the bedroom.

On cross-examination, the appellant was described as wearing a khaki U.P.S. uniform and a brown cap. The appellant wore black shoes and had a goatee.

Snowden stated the robbery occurred on a Thursday afternoon about 2:15 or 2:30, and that the police came in response to his wife’s call within a few minutes after the robbery.

[1280]*1280Snowden placed a value of $60,000 to $70,000 on the jewelry and antiques carried away in the pillowcase by the appellant.

Freada Wallace Snowden stated that she was'the wife of John O. Snowden and lived on June 16, 1977, at 937-F Valley Avenue, Homewood, Alabama. She stated that she and her husband had just returned home from a trip two days earlier. She stated that shortly after 2:00 in the afternoon the doorbell rang, and a uniformed black male, carrying a U.P.S. package for Mr. John O. Snowden and a clipboard, was at the door. She stated that the black male was the appellant. She said the black male asked that her husband sign for the package. As she admitted him into the apartment, her husband walked into the room, and the appellant pointed a pistol at him and told him, “This is a stickup.” She said the appellant stuck the pistol in her stomach, and the husband stated, “Don’t hurt my wife or baby.” The appellant then struck her husband with a gun, pushed him to the floor, and kicked him on the head. The appellant then directed her to tape her husband’s hands behind his back and to tape his mouth and feet. She stated that the appellant then taped her hands and mouth, and she saw him go into the bedroom and get a pillowcase.

Mrs. Snowden indicated that her husband was in the process of paying some bills and they had a good deal of cash on hand on the dining room table. She stated that the appellant brought jewelry and antiques into this area and filled the pillowcase, then went out the front door.

Mrs. Snowden stated that at the time she had managed to get loose from the tape she immediately locked the front door. She then removed the tape from her husband’s hands and feet and telephoned the police, who came over in a short time.

Mrs. Snowden indicated that several officers came, but that Homewood Officer Carr was handed the pistol used by the appellant and left in the bedroom, the package, brown paper, clipboard and tape.

On cross-examination, Mrs. Snowden testified she was a diabetic and had been for eleven years. She stated this incident had caused her to take additional medications due to pain in her hands and feet from the diabetic condition.

Mrs. Snowden stated that she was later shown some photographs and attended a lineup where she picked out the appellant.

George R. Carr III stated he was evidence technician with the Homewood Police Department and had taken some courses which assisted him with identifying such matters as fingerprints, gunpowder, and tapes. He stated that, on Thursday, June 16, 1977, shortly before 3:00 in the afternoon, he went to the Snowden’s apartment at 937-F Valley Avenue and there received a .38 caliber pistol, State’s Exhibit One, some bullets, which he removed from the RG 10, .38 caliber pistol, four in number, plus one spent hull, and placed in a plastic envelope with his initials on it, and which was State’s Exhibit Two. Officer Carr then identified Exhibit Three, a cigar box; Exhibit Four, some brown paper used for wrapping, with John O. Snowden’s name on it; Exhibit Five, a roll of tape; Exhibit Six, some used tape, which contained a bit of Snowden’s hair and a dark powder residue; and Exhibit Seven, a clipboard. Officer Carr stated that he was able to lift just one fingerprint from all of these items, but that such print did not match that of the appellant.

On cross-examination, Carr was asked about fingerprint comparisons with David D. Church and N. D. Farris. He stated that these were also negative. He stated that the .38 caliber pistol only contained five rounds, and that one of these had been fired.

Homewood Detective Sergeant Edward A. McKenzie stated that he went to the residence of John O. Snowden on Valley Avenue on June 16, 1977.

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Related

Washington v. State
448 So. 2d 398 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1983)
Grady v. State
391 So. 2d 1095 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1980)
Merchant v. State
384 So. 2d 627 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1980)
Kendricks v. State
378 So. 2d 1203 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1979)

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Bluebook (online)
375 So. 2d 1278, 1979 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bailey-v-state-alacrimapp-1979.