Douglas v. State

795 P.2d 1070, 1990 WL 98204
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedAugust 8, 1990
DocketF-88-282
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 795 P.2d 1070 (Douglas v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Douglas v. State, 795 P.2d 1070, 1990 WL 98204 (Okla. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinions

OPINION

JOHNSON, Judge:

KENNETH DEWAYNE DOUGLAS, appellant, was tried by jury for the crimes of Second Degree Burglary (Count I), Assault With a Dangerous Weapon (Count II), and Escape from Lawful Custody (Count III), all After Former Conviction of Two or More Felonies, in violation of 21 O.S.1981, §§ 1435, 645 and 444 respectively, in Case No. CRF-87-2134 in the District Court of Tulsa County. Appellant was represented by counsel. The jury returned a verdict of guilty and set punishment at twenty-five (25) years imprisonment as to Count I, forty (40) years imprisonment as to Count II and twenty-five (25) years as to Count III. The trial court sentenced appellant accordingly and ordered the sentences to run consecutively. From this Judgment and Sentence, appellant appeals.

Approximately 11:00 p.m. on the evening of July 27, 1987, Barbara Kelly and Bob Maras were leaving Chile’s restaurant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after conducting a business dinner. While in the Chile’s parking lot, both heard unusual noises coming from B.J.’s Auto Clinic, located across the street from Chile’s. Bob Maras, an off-duty Tulsa* police officer, noticed a store window shaking and vibrating. Officer Maras concluded that the store was being robbed and directed Ms. Kelly to go back into Chile’s and call the police.

Officer Maras, with his gun drawn, walked over to the auto clinic, looked inside and observed a black male rummaging through the store’s cash register. When the man finally came outside, Officer Mar-as confronted him, informed him that he was under arrest and ordered him to lay on the ground and freeze. Officer Maras slid his handcuffs over to the man and instructed him to handcuff himself.

The man put the handcuffs on his left wrist and then stood up, putting his hands behind his back. The man began walking [1073]*1073toward Officer Maras and claimed that his partner was inside and had a gun. The man looked over Officer Maras’ shoulder and shouted, “run, they’ve got me.” Officer Maras became frightened and yelled at the man to freeze. When the man got within arm’s length, Officer Maras reached out and put his hand on the man’s chest. The man started to raise his right hand and when Officer Maras saw something wooden and metallic in the man’s hand, he hit the man in the head with his revolver and kicked him in the midsection. As the man fell to the ground, he dropped a sledge hammer which he had been holding.

Officer Maras then turned to see if anyone else was inside the store. Satisfied that the man was alone, Officer Maras turned around and observed the man running off. Officers responding to Ms. Kelly’s call arrived and a search for the man began. Approximately one hour later, the man, still wearing the handcuff on his left hand, was captured in a nearby apartment complex. At trial, Officer Maras identified appellant as the man he encountered at the auto clinic.

In his first assignment of error, appellant contends that the trial court erred in allowing an in-court identification of him by Ms. Kelly. During direct examination, Ms. Kelly identified appellant as the man that she saw outside the auto clinic with Officer Maras. However, during cross-examination Ms. Kelly admitted that her identification of appellant was actually based on the person she witnessed being taken into custody at the apartment complex. An unnecessarily suggestive pretrial show-up is in contravention of a defendant’s right to due process. Goudeau v. State, 637 P.2d 859, 861 (Okl.Cr.1981). The pretrial identification process must be considered in such a way as to avoid any possibility of prejudice and to insure that any in-court identification is based on what the witness saw at the commission of the crime rather than at the lineup. Id. See also Frick v. State, 634 P.2d 738, 742 (Okl.Cr.1981). Clearly, in the present case, Ms. Kelly’s in-court identification of appellant was not based on what she observed at the commission of the crime.

The State contends that the identification in this case is similar to the identification procedure in Plunkett v. State, 719 P.2d 834 (Okl.Cr.1986). In Plunkett, after arresting the defendant within thirty minutes of the crime, the police brought him to the victim’s house for identification. This Court found that in some circumstances, a one-man showup occurring near the time of the alleged criminal act insures accuracy of identification rather than misidentification. However, in Plunkett, the victim had stood face to face with the defendant for several minutes during the commission of the offense and he fit the description she had given the police. In the present case, Ms. Kelly admitted that she never got a full facial view of the appellant and she claimed that appellant was wearing a white T-shirt during the incident, while Officer Maras testified that appellant was wearing a black short sleeve shirt. Thus, we find that the identification of appellant by Ms. Kelly was error. However, based on the strong identification of appellant by Officer Maras and the other evidence connecting appellant to the crime, we find the errors to be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. 20 O.S.1981, § 3001.1. We also find that the trial court’s decision not to give appellant’s requested cautionary eyewitness instruction was proper due to Officer Maras’ positive identification. See Johnson v. State, 727 P.2d 965, 970 (Okl.Cr.1986).

Appellant next contends that there was insufficient evidence to support the charge of Assault With a Dangerous Weapon. Specifically, appellant claims that since the object held in his hand was never swung, the jury could not have reasonably inferred that an assault had occurred. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged on appeal, this Court must determine whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. To perform an act towards the commission of a battery is to commit an assault. Joplin v. State, 663 [1074]*1074P.2d 746, 747 (Okl.Cr.1983). Officer Maras testified that he reacted when he observed appellant raise his arm. Assault is a crime that can be proved by showing a general intent to perform the act. Id. We find sufficient evidence from which a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt.

Appellant further argues that the trial court erred in giving a flight instruction because it was improperly stressing particular evidence to the jury. However, a review of the record reveals that appellant failed to object to the instruction at trial, thereby waiving all but fundamental error. Ballou v. State, 694 P.2d 949, 951 (Okl.Cr.1985). Furthermore, it is well-settled that this Court has approved of a flight instruction when justified by the evidence. Scott v. State, 751 P.2d 758 (Okl.Cr.1988). We find no error.

Appellant next complains that certain comments of the prosecutor denied him a fair trial. Initially, we note that some of the comments of which appellant now complains were not objected to at trial, thereby waiving all but fundamental error. Weatherly v. State, 733 P.2d 1331, 1338 (Okl.Cr.1987). We have also reviewed the comments which were met with contemporaneous objections and find them to be reasonable comments on the evidence and within the wide range of argumentation allowed both sides, during closing argument. Capps v. State, 674 P.2d 554, 557 (Okl.Cr.1984).

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Related

Kaulaity v. State
1993 OK CR 40 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1993)
Honeycutt v. State
1992 OK CR 36 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1992)
Douglas v. State
795 P.2d 1070 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1990)

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Bluebook (online)
795 P.2d 1070, 1990 WL 98204, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/douglas-v-state-oklacrimapp-1990.