Landrum v. State

329 So. 2d 173, 57 Ala. App. 485, 1976 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1982
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedMarch 16, 1976
Docket1 Div. 618
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 329 So. 2d 173 (Landrum 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
Landrum v. State, 329 So. 2d 173, 57 Ala. App. 485, 1976 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1982 (Ala. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

HARRIS, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of robbery and sentenced to fifteen years in the penitentiary. Prior to arraignment he was found to be indigent and counsel was appointed to represent him. He pleaded not guilty to the indictment. He gave notice of appeal. He is in this Court with a free transcript and new counsel was appointed to represent him on appeal.

The evidence is in sharp conflict. The evidence adduced by the State shows a clear case of robbery. Appellant presented alibi testimony.

Mrs. Catherine O. Gunter testified that on January 2, 1973, she was working in her father’s store in Thomasville, Alabama. Her father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Overstreet, were both in the hospital at that time. She stated that around 11:00 a. m. that day three black men came to the store to buy gasoline, but they broke the pump handle, making it impossible to get any gas. She knew one of the men, Henry Mosley, as he had an account with the store. She asked him if he wanted her to let him have one dollar to go somewhere and buy gas and he said yes. She told him to come in the store and she would give him a dollar. Mosley followed her in the store and she reached under the counter and got the deposit bag which had some billfolds and money in it. She gave Mosley a dollar bill and put the money bag back under the counter. She stated that appellant was standing by the cash register when she got the money bag from under the counter and saw her when she put the money bag back under the counter. Appellant bought some donuts and he and Mosley left the store.

Mrs. Gunter further testified that just after 1:00 p. m. on the same day appellant returned to the store at which time he was alone. Appellant asked her to give him directions to Montgomery and she told him how to get to Montgomery from the store. At this point appellant grabbed Mrs. Gunter by her right arm with his left hand and [486]*486he had a pistol in his right hand and told her to get over there and get the money. She told him she didn’t have any money and he said, “I said get over there and get the money.” Appellant told her to get behind the counter and lie down on the floor with her arms behind her.

From the record:

“Q What words did he use when he told you to lie down on the floor ?
“A He said, ‘Get over there and lie down on the floor.’ And I did. I begged him not to’ hurt me, and he pushed me around, made me get over there and told me to lie down, and he told me to put my hands behind my back and he tied my hands up. Well, I had held my hands where I could get them loose, and by the time he came back — he had gone up to the front of the store and he came back with some string to tie my feet up and he saw that my hands were loose, and he snatched me around and he said, ‘You white bitch, lie down.’ I laid down and I held my hands still and he tied them again, and then he tied my feet.
“Q. He tied your hand and your feet.
“A And my feet.
“Q And you were lying on the floor at that time?
“A Face down.
“Q Were your hands in front of you or behind you?
“A Behind me.
“Q Your hands were behind you tied?
“A They were.
“Q And your feet were tied ?
“A They were.
“Q All right, what happened next ?
“A He went to the cash register to get the money, and he kept asking where is the money? I told him there wasn’t any money, and he kept looking and he looked up under the counter and he got this zipper deposit bag, this bank deposit bag.
“Q Let me ask you this. I ask you whether or not that is the same bag which you had gotten the dollar out of and given it to Henry Mosley in the defendant’s presence earlier that day ?
“A That’s right, it was.
“Q All right, do you have a judgment as to how much money was in that bag?
“A Not exactly, because he got my billfold out of my purse, and my mother’s billfold and my daddy’s billfold, too, so all together it was around six hundred dollars. My parents were in the hospital and I was keeping their money and mine, too.
“Q Now, to whom did the money belong?
“A To me and my parents.
“Q What was your father’s name ?
“A J. L. Overstreet. He is deceased.
“Q Now, what happened after he got the bag?
“A He kept telling me I had better not tell anybody or he would kill me. He told me several times if I told anybody he would kill me. And he asked me where were the keys to the car out front, and I told him the keys were in the car.
“Q Whose car was out front ?
“A Mine.
“Q Were there any other cars parked out front?
“A No.
“Q What happened then ?
“A He left. He got the billfolds and the money and he went out the door, and he left. As soon as I heard the door [487]*487close I got up and went to the door to call for help, but he was gone by then.
“Q Did you make a complaint to any law enforcement officers as a result of this incident?
“A I did. The Thomasville City Police came out and I told them exactly what happened.
“Q Was that on the same day that this occurred ?
“A It was within a few minutes afterward.
“Q And in your best judgment there was between five and six hundred dollars in the bag ?
“A Yes, sir.
“Q Now, describe how the defendant was dresssed that day and his appearance, please, ma’am.
“A He had on blue jeans and a jacket of that type, dark boots, and I don’t know, that’s all I remember.
“Q Did you notice his face? Did you have an opportunity to observe it ?
“A Yes, I studied his face. I surely did.
“Q Did he have a mask or anything on to conceal his face ?
“A No, He had a bandaid over his nose and a bandaid above his eye, but I knew, I remembered him.
“Q You had an opportunity to observe him at that time ?
“A I did.
“Q And you remember who that was?
“A Yes.
“Q Will you point out who that individual was that did that ?
“A He’s sitting over there with the blue and red shirt on unbuttoned in front.”

Mrs. Gunter made a positive in-court identification of appellant as the man who robbed her at gunpoint and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

Mr. J. C.

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Related

Lawhorn v. State
581 So. 2d 1159 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1990)

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Bluebook (online)
329 So. 2d 173, 57 Ala. App. 485, 1976 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1982, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/landrum-v-state-alacrimapp-1976.