Grabow v. State

1975 OK CR 23, 532 P.2d 68
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 13, 1975
DocketNo. F-74-716
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 1975 OK CR 23 (Grabow 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
Grabow v. State, 1975 OK CR 23, 532 P.2d 68 (Okla. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

OPINION

BUSSEY, Judge:

Appellant, Rodney Allen Grabow, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged, tried and convicted in the District Court, Comanche County, Case No. CRF-73-733, for the offense of Robbery by Means of Force or Fear, in violation of 21 O.S.1971, § 791. His punishment was fixed at a term of five (5) years imprisonment, and from said judgment and sentence a timely appeal has been perfected to this Court.

The State’s first witness, Monika Roberts, testified that she was a resident of Lawton, Oklahoma, and that she had just returned from the store around 4:30 P.M. the afternoon of November 23, 1973. She stated that as she began to unload sacks of groceries from her car a man came up behind her with a gun, grabbed her arm, and made the statement, “give me your purse”. She protested that she did not have a purse whereupon the man told her, “don’t lie, I saw it,” at which time he twisted her arm behind her back and pushed her into the house. Upon entering the kitchen, the man got into her purse and took thirteen (13) dollars and then asked her if she had any other money in the house. She said that she didn’t and the man left her house, run[69]*69ning- in a westerly direction toward 67th Street. She testified that the only other persons present at the time of the robbery were her minor children,. one of whom, a six-year old son, ran next door to get a neighbor when the robbery occurred. She related that she had an opportunity to see the man for at least a two-minute period and that she observed him during the course of the conversations referred to above. She then related the physical description of the man and his clothing. He was wearing a T-shirt, tan pants, and sunglasses. At this point of the trial, Mrs. Roberts made an in-court identification ,of this person pointing out the defendant, Rodney Allen Grabow, as the man who robbed her at gunpoint. She stated that after the man left her, she checked to make sure that her three children were safe and then immediately called the police.

On cross-examination, she testified that she was in fear for her life and for the lives of her children. She stated that when the police arrived, she gave them a physical description of the man who robbed her. Subsequent to the robbery, she attended a lineup at the Lawton Police Department conducted by Lieutenant Ball. Mrs. Roberts identified the defendant as the person who had robbed her. She was asked specifically the reason why she attended the lineup and her state of mind at that time. The pertinent part of her testimony as relates to this is as follows (Tr. 28):

“Q. You saw him for a minute in the kitchen. At other times he was behind you. Now, didn’t you go down to this lineup at the Police Department subconsciously feeling that you had to identify somebody that did this to you ?
A. No. I didn’t. They asked me to come and view a lineup, and I did.
Q. Even though you were injured more emotionally than any other way, but even though you were injured in that respect — frightened a great deal, wouldn’t you hate to see an innocent man go to prison for—
A. Yes, I most definitely would; that’s why I didn’t go down to the lineup thinking that I had to identify someone; I went down there to see if the man who robbed me was there, and he was, so I identified him, but had there been any doubt, I would not have.
Q. And didn’t you select the one and only man that had any chance of meeting the description you had previously given to the police ?
A. I selected the only man that was the one that robbed me.”

The State’s second witness, Rosa Rodriquez, testified that she lived at 6330 Northwest Taylor in Lawton, Oklahoma, and was at her home on the 23rd day of November, 1973. She stated that she first learned a robbery had taken place with Mrs. Roberts’ little boy came running over to her house and said that a man had gotten his mother to give him money. She was on her way to Mrs. Roberts’ house when she saw a person running from Mrs. Roberts’ house toward a red car. She could not identify the defendant as that person but did give a description of the person she saw running from the house, similar to a description given by Mrs. Roberts. She further testified that the person she saw running from the house was the same person she had seen standing by the Roberts’ garage as Mrs. Roberts was pulling in. She observed this person walk into Mrs. Roberts’ house, heard a scream, and that is when she saw Mrs. Roberts’ little boy running toward her house. All of this occurred around 4:30 P.M. of the afternoon in question. She also observed the man in question carrying a black object in his hand.

The defendant’s first witness, Officer Frank Williams, testified that he was a detective for the Lawton Police Department. On November 23, 1973, he arrested the defendant pursuant to receiving a description [70]*70from his dispatcher concerning an attempted robbery of a lady at Cache Road Square and the robbery of Mrs. Roberts. The arrest took place at the east side of the Holiday Inn in Lawton, Oklahoma, at approximately 6:35 P.M., as the defendant and another man, John Deaton, were getting out of their car and walking up to an apartment complex. He testified that he advised both men of their Miranda rights. At this point, the man with the defendant broke and ran but was apprehended shortly by other officers arriving on the scene. He stated that the defendant did not attempt to run or give him trouble in any way.

On cross-examination, he testified that the other man with the defendant was a white male about six feet, five inches tall. He related that the description he received concerning the robbery of Mrs. Roberts was one Mexican male about six feet tall, one hundred sixty pounds and wearing light-colored pants.

The defendant’s second witness was Officer Terry Ball of the Lawton Police Department. On November 24, 1973, he conducted two (2) lineups in which the defendant participated. After viewing a photograph of a lineup, he stated that it was the lineup connected with the robbery of Mrs. Roberts. At this point, the photograph was admitted into evidence over the objection of the District Attorney. Next, he was asked to identify a list of the subjects in the lineup which gave their names, ages, height, color of hair and eyes and weight. He identified the list as one that corresponded with the subjects in the photograph (Defendant’s Exhibit No. 1). It was then admitted into evidence as Defendant’s Exhibit No. 2. He further testified that Mrs. Roberts viewed this lineup and identified the defendant, in the number four position, as the man who robbed her. He stated that there were two (2) people, one of which was the defendant, in the lineup that had a darker skin complexion than the other three (3). Of these two, the one other than the defendant was about four-(4) inches shorter than the defendant and had a mustache and Afro hair style.

On cross-examination, in reference to Defendant’s Exhibit No. 1, he testified that he did not take the picture, he was not present when it was taken, it was taken from an angle different than that from which the witnesses viewed it and that it was of the same subjects in a different place under different lighting conditions. At this time, the State renewed their objection to its admission and this was sustained and the photograph withdrawn from evidence.

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Related

Terry v. State
1983 OK CR 107 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1983)
Norman v. State
1982 OK CR 109 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1982)
Noah v. State
1977 OK CR 151 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1977)

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Bluebook (online)
1975 OK CR 23, 532 P.2d 68, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grabow-v-state-oklacrimapp-1975.