Kennard v. State

531 So. 2d 927, 1985 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 5358, 1985 WL 9
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedJuly 2, 1985
Docket6 Div. 514
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 531 So. 2d 927 (Kennard 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
Kennard v. State, 531 So. 2d 927, 1985 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 5358, 1985 WL 9 (Ala. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

LEIGH M. CLARK, Retired Circuit Judge.

A jury found this appellant guilty of robbery in the first degree, as proscribed by Alabama Criminal Code § 13A-8-41. The indictment alleged in pertinent part the following:

“Alvin Kennard ... did, in the course of committing a theft of $50.75 in lawful money of the United States of America, ...; property of Howard Hanna, d/b/a Highland Bakery use force against the person of Brazzie Barroy with the intent to overcome her physical resistance, or physical power of resistance, while the said Alvin Kennard was armed with a deadly weapon, to-wit: a knife, _”

By § 13A-8-41(c), robbery in the first degree is classified as a Class A felony, which by § 13A-5-6 is punishable by imprisonment “for life or not more than 99 years or less than 10 years.” After the defendant had been adjudged guilty, and the prosecution had given defendant due notice that he would be proceeded against under the Habitual Felony Offenders Act, a sentencing hearing was conducted, at which it was shown that on the trial of the case defendant had testified and had admitted that he had previously been convicted of three felonies. The court sentenced him to imprisonment for life without parole, in accordance with § 13A-5-9(c)(3), which states, “In all cases when it is shown that a criminal defendant has been previously convicted of any three felonies and after such convictions has committed another felony, he must be punished ... by imprisonment for life without parole.”

There is little, if any, disagreement between the attorneys for the respective parties on appeal as to the evidence presented on the trial of the case. There is little contention of counsel for appellant that the evidence was not sufficient to present a jury question as to his guilt, although a strong contention is made on appeal, as it was on the trial, that he was not guilty of the crime charged and was not present at the time and place the crime was committed. In this circumstance and in the interest of brevity, we quote from the comparatively short Statement of the Facts as found in brief of counsel for appellee, which appellant’s counsel in his reply brief does not challenge as incorrect. In brief of counsel for appellee it is stated:

“The State’s case presented against this Appellant consisted of several witnesses. The first two witnesses were the employees of the Highland Bakery who were present when the robbery occurred on January 24, 1983, at approximately 8:00 p.m. These two women testified consistently that two black males entered this business at this time and perpetrated the robbery which resulted in the taking of [929]*929the money from the cash register. Ms. Smith testified that the robber who was closest to her had on a black leather jacket which she was able to identify in open court. (It was later shown that this jacket was found on the person of the defendant at the time of his arrest.) In addition Ms. Smith testified that a roll of pennies was taken from the cash register with a certain name and phone number written on the outside of this roll. (This was also later found in or near the possession of the defendant.)
“Ms. Barrow testified similarly to Ms. Smith but indicated that the perpetrator nearest her held a knife on her, slightly cut her throat, threatened to kill her and pushed her to the floor. In addition she substantiated much of Ms. Smith’s testimony concerning the money taken from the register.
“In addition to the above Mr. Eddie Lee testified that he had seen the defendant and another gentleman who fit the general description of the robbers just prior to the time of the robbery. Mr. Lee’s testimony concerning the description of these two black males who were seen outside the bakery was consistent with that description given by the employees of the bakery in that there was one tall robber and one short robber. In addition Mr. Lee indicated that he had seen the defendant before and knew him and also that he was wearing a gold earring on that occasion. Mr. Lee later picked the defendant out of the line-up and identified him as one of the two he had seen outside the bakery.
“The remaining testimony of the State’s case was presented in the form of police officers with one exception. These officers who did in fact testify indicated that after going to the scene of the robbery they proceeded to two different addresses where they found the defendant and Warren Wendell Davis. Upon entering the house of Ms. Jones the officers discovered the defendant and Mr. Davis and found in their possession certain monies including the roll of pennies previously described and a black jacket and gloves which were also identified by Ms. Smith and Ms. Barrow.
“In addition to all the above the officers testified that Mr. Davis had confessed to them of his participation in the robbery and had indicated that the defendant was his accomplice in that robbery. This testimony came only after the Appellant had inquired as to whether or not Davis had in fact confessed and given them a statement.”

The testimony of Alvin Kennard, the defendant, was rather lengthy, but the substance of it is well summarized in the following paragraphs of the brief of counsel for appellant:

“Alvin Kennard took the stand on his own behalf. He testified that he had been with Wendell Davis that night but had left him shortly before the robbery occurred. He stated that he had gone down to the park to meet some friends, but they did not show up. He said he returned to Regina Jones’ [the girl friend of Wendell Davis and a witness called by the State in the instant case] house where he found Wendell Davis. He stated that he had been at Regina Jones’ house earlier in the evening but that Wendell Davis had wanted to go out to his mother’s house to try to get some money. He stated that they went by there but that Wendell’s mother had refused to give him any money. He said shortly after arriving at Regina Jones’ house the police officers arrived.
“He testified that he had pled guilty in 1979 to the charges of burglary, grand larceny, and buying and receiving stolen property. Said pleas were all entered on the same day. He stated that he was on probation for three years and never had any problems. He testified that while in the police car Wendell Davis pulled his knife out and laid it on the seat and Alvin Kennard took the knife and put it in his shoe. He also stated that the police officers mistreated him at the police station and hit him about his face.”

I.

The first issue presented in brief of counsel for appellant is thus captioned:

[930]*930“WHETHER OR NOT THE TRIAL COURT ERRED TO REVERSAL BY ALLOWING THE STATE’S WITNESSES TO TESTIFY AS TO INCULPATO-RY STATEMENTS MADE BY THE DEFENDANT’S ALLEGED ACCOMPLICE.”

In the first paragraph of the argument in support of Issue I, is the following:

“During the course of trial, the court allowed the State to elicit testimony from two of its witnesses, Sgt. Gwin and Regina Jones, concerning inculpatory statements made by the defendant’s alleged accomplice, Wendell Davis. The court, by admitting such testimony erred to reversal as said testimony was inadmissible hearsay and deprived the defendant of his Sixth Amendment Right of confrontation and cross-examination.”

In support of the argument stated, counsel for appellant relies upon

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

Related

Aguirre v. Kijakazi
E.D. Washington, 2023
Keller v. Kijakazi
N.D. California, 2023
Kennard v. State
531 So. 2d 934 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
531 So. 2d 927, 1985 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 5358, 1985 WL 9, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kennard-v-state-alacrimapp-1985.