Dill v. State

697 S.W.2d 702, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 12120
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 30, 1985
Docket13-84-174-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 697 S.W.2d 702 (Dill v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dill v. State, 697 S.W.2d 702, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 12120 (Tex. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinions

OPINION

BENAVIDES, Justice.

Appellant was indicted for burglary of a habitation. The State also alleged two pri- or felony convictions. Trial was by a jury, which convicted appellant and sentenced him to 40 years confinement in the Texas Department of Corrections. We reverse the judgment of conviction.

We are confronted with five briefs, three from appellant and two from the State. After appellant’s counsel on appeal submitted a brief, appellant filed a “Supplement And Amended Pro Se Brief” which incorporated his counsel’s grounds of error and added some of his own. Counsel for appellant then filed a supplemental brief including appellant’s grounds of error. Reference to specific grounds of error will be by the number assigned to same in the briefs submitted by appellant’s counsel; all grounds will be considered. !

In the instant case, officers of the Corpus Christi Police Department had an arrest warrant for James Carr for burglary. Sergeant David Torres testified that Carr was “highly sought” and that he had information that Carr had been “hanging around” with appellant. There was also information that Kenneth Schultz was an acquaintance of James Carr.

In their search for Carr, the police spotted Schultz’ car at the International Motel. The police determined that Schultz had registered under some kind of alias and set up surveillance on the motel in the late afternoon or evening of October 18, 1983. After about 20 to 40 minutes, appellant arrived at the motel with a Latin male, later identified as Robert Salazar, and a woman Officer Torres recognized as Carla Honey-cutt.

Officer Torres testified that he knew at that time that appellant Johnny Dill had an extensive criminal record involving crimes against property, especially burglary. Torres testified there was also a report that appellant was a heroin addict. Torres also testified that he had had prior contact with Schultz and that Schultz also had an extensive record of crimes against property. Torres testified that he had heard from other detectives that Carla Honeycutt was a drug addict and, though not a burglar herself, was a fence for “some of these guys.”

Appellant, Salazar and Honeycutt got out of appellant’s rent-a-klunker and went inside the motel room. Five or ten minutes later, appellant came out and “looked around real suspicious, like he was looking for some kind of police car or something,” then appellant and Salazar exited the motel •room carrying a large portable television set toward their car. Upon seeing this, Torres concluded there was a theft or burglary in progress.

Appellant and Salazar were ordered to place their hands on their car. Torres then entered the open door of the motel room where he found Honeycutt and Schultz. Torres also found that the motel television was in the motel room.

Meanwhile, other officers determined that the serial number had been removed from the television set carried out by appellant and Salazar, and inspection of the trunk revealed a camera and microwave [705]*705oven. Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s verdict that earlier that same day he burglarized a residence, taking a 19" portable Mitsubishi television set, a camera, a microwave oven and other items; however, Officer Torres testified that they were unaware of this burglary at the time appellant was taken into custody.

Because neither appellant nor any of his associates would claim or explain possession of the television set or other property, and because the serial number was missing or scratched off, everyone went downtown. Upon arrival at the stationhouse, Torres immediately checked the recent burglary reports and determined that the property recovered was indeed stolen.

In his first ground of error, appellant alleges the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress and then admitting various items discovered as the result of what he alleges was an illegal arrest. We agree and sustain appellant’s first ground of error in part, but only so far as the seizure is characterized as a seizure from his arrest. However, we find the television set was admissible on other grounds.

All arrests and searches made without valid warrants are unreasonable unless shown to be within one of the exceptions to the rule that an arrest or a search must rest upon a valid warrant. A valid exception must exist, and the burden is on the State to show that a warrantless arrest or search comes within some exception to this general rule of exceptions. Wilson v. State, 621 S.W.2d 799, 803-04 (Tex.Crim.App.1981). A recognized exception applicable to the instant case is that a peace officer may arrest an offender without a warrant for any offense committed in his presence or within his view. TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 14.01 (Vernon 1977). We therefore examine the record to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that appellant committed an offense.

“[PJrobable cause to arrest exists where the facts and circumstances within the knowledge of the arresting officer and of which he has reasonably trustworthy information would warrant a reasonable and prudent man in believing that a particular person has committed or is committing a crime.” Jones v. State, 565 S.W.2d 934, 936 (Tex.Crim.App.1978).

In the instant case, Officer Torres knew that appellant was a “seasoned criminal” with a criminal record involving burglary and crimes against property. Torres also had information appellant was a heroin addict. Although the record is silent as to the source of this bit of data, his testimony at the suppression hearing was not contradicted, and it is common knowledge that heroin addicts often turn to a life of crime, committing thefts and burglaries, to support their habits.

Although each determination of probable cause must be determined on its own facts, the case of Hernandez v. State, 523 S.W.2d 410 (Tex.Crim.App.1975), has some similarities to the instant ease. In Hernandez, the Court held that an officer was justified in detaining for further investigation a known burglar and narcotic addict observed parked in front of a motel with a console television partly wrapped in a blanket in that defendant’s automobile. Id. at 412.

In Hernandez, there is no indication the officer thought the television set was stolen from the motel where the car was parked. Still, the Court found it was reasonable for the officer to believe that criminal activity was occurring. Id. We believe that the facts in the instant case are sufficient to give rise to probable cause to arrest appellant.1

As previously set out, appellant was removing the television from the motel room. Officer Torres testified that thefts of television sets from motels were very [706]*706common in Corpus Christi; he further testified that he had actually investigated such thefts on various occasions.

We conclude that, when Johnny Dill, a known burglar and suspected heroin addict, exited the International Motel carrying a large portable television set from a room registered under a false name2 and false address, Officer Torres could reasonably conclude a theft or burglary was being committed.3

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Dill v. State
697 S.W.2d 702 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1985)

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Bluebook (online)
697 S.W.2d 702, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 12120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dill-v-state-texapp-1985.