McClelland v. State

2007 WY 57, 155 P.3d 1013, 2007 Wyo. LEXIS 61, 2007 WL 1053864
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedApril 10, 2007
Docket05-280
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 2007 WY 57 (McClelland v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McClelland v. State, 2007 WY 57, 155 P.3d 1013, 2007 Wyo. LEXIS 61, 2007 WL 1053864 (Wyo. 2007).

Opinion

HILL, Justice.

[T1] Appellant, Aubrey MeClelland (McClelland), was convicted of one count of aggravated robbery in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 6-2-401(a)(@i) and (c)(ii) (LexisNexis *1015 2005) 1 and of being a habitual criminal under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-10-201 (LexisNexis 2005). 2 In a judgment and sentence entered on September 30, 2005, McClelland was sentenced to life in prison based on the habitual criminal, sentence enhancement statute (five prior felonies). McClelland asserts that: The district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from his residence; that the district court abused its discretion by allowing inadmissible evidence to be adduced during the habitual criminal phase of his trial; and that a series of errors, to which by and large no objections were made, resulted in cumulative error mandating reversal of his conviction. We will affirm.

ISSUES

[12] MeClelland raises these issues:

I. Whether there was invalid consent authorizing the search of [MeClelland's] residence?
II. Whether inadmissible, improperly adduced evidence was admitted during the habitual phase of [McClelland's] trial?
III. Did cumulative error occur in [MeClelland's] trial?

The State presents these arguments:

I. Does the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. 103, 126 S.Ct. 1515, 164 L.Ed.2d 208 (2006), render the consensual search of Kimberly Brown's apartment unlawful?
ILI. Did the district court err by admitting into evidence the State's documentary evidence related to [McClelland's] habitual criminal status, as against objections based on chain of custody and authenticity?
*1016 III. Does the doctrine of cumulative error warrant reversal of [McClelland's] conviction?

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

[13] By information filed on November 2, 2004, McClelland was charged with aggravated robbery. No motion to suppress evidence was filed by McClelland in the trial court.

[T4] On the evening of October 31, 2004, Gale Gillespie was at work as manager of the Blockbuster Video store in Sheridan. A half hour or so before the store's closing time of midnight, a person entered the store wearing a full-head gorilla mask, as well as black pants, black coat, black gloves, and black shoes. Because it was Halloween, neither Gillespie nor her fellow employee, Luke Johnson, were surprised by that. Indeed, Johnson himself was wearing a Halloween costume. The "Gorilla" asked about two movies, "Van Helsing" and "The Day after Tomorrow." Shortly after the "Gorilla's" arrival, Gillespie looked over to where Johnson was working and saw that the "Gorilla" was holding a pistol to Johnson's head. Johnson confirmed Gillespie's testimony and related how, suddenly, after pointing out the locations of "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Van Helsing," he felt a pistol in his ear. The "Gorilla," now obviously a robber, was about 5' 5" tall and weighed about 150 pounds. Gillespie could also tell that the robber was black because she could see his nose through the large nostril holes in the mask and see that his skin was black. In addition, emphasizing that she did not want to connote racial prejudice (because she said she was not), Cillespie indicated that she thought the robber was black because of his voice intonation. Under cross-examination, she testified that one of her "ex's" was an African-American and that she had been around black people quite a bit when she lived in Maine for two months. Johnson also identified the robber as a black male.

[15] Gillespie took all the money from the store's main cash register and put it in a black "shaving kit case" that the robber put on the counter for that purpose. A black shaving kit seized as evidence in this case was later identified by Gillespie as like the one used in the robbery. After obtaining the money from the cash register, the robber asked about the store's safe. Initially, Gillespie denied having the code for the safe. The robber cocked the pistol, and Johnson told Gillespie to do as the robber asked. Cillespic then went to the store office and retrieved a bag of "petty cash" (but not the money from the safe) and placed it in the black shaving kit. In total, Gillespie put about $500.00 in cash into the shaving kit. After the last batch of cash was placed into the black bag, the robber told both Gillespie and Johnson to lie face-down on the floor of the office, to stay there, and not "dare to get up." Johnson testified that he heard what sounded like a "large vehicle" departing after the robber left. When the employees were certain the robber was gone, Gillespie pulled a nearby phone down onto the floor, called 911, and locked the door to the office.

[T6] Police officers arrived a short time later, and when Gillespie was assured by the 911 operator that it was police officers knocking on the office door, she opened it. Both Gillespie and Johnson described the incident to the police officers. During the course of the discussion, Johnson mentioned the name of Kim Brown, and that caused Gillespie to say that she knew who the robber was. Gillespie knew Brown from high school and had worked with her at another location in Sheridan. Brown patronized the Blockbuster store regularly and on several recent occasions was there with her "boyfriend," who was a black male about the same height and weight as the robber. (Gillespie also recognized the robber's voice to some extent. Brown's account history at Blockbuster showed that she and her boyfriend had rented "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Van Helsing" in the recent past.

[17] Also of note is that one of the items retrieved as evidence in the investigation of this case was a gorilla mask. During her testimony, Gillespie identified it as the mask worn by McClelland the night of the robbery. In addition, she also identified the black coat McClelland wore, as well as the pistol he carried. Johnson also identified the mask, the coat worn by McClelland, and the black shaving kit, but he did not see the pistol. *1017 Johnson also identified MeClelland as the man who came in with Kim Brown to rent movies.

[T8] As the facts eventually developed, Kim Brown was an accessory to the robbery committed by her boyfriend MeClelland. From the very outset of the investigation of this case, he was the prime suspect, and the source of much of the information pointing to McClelland was from John Brown. John Brown was employed as a Sheridan County Deputy Sheriff at the time of the robbery. He was married to Kim Brown, although they were separated at the time this crime was committed. During the period of their separation, John was aware that his wife was meeting men on the internet and that one of those men, McClelland, had moved to Sheridan to live with her.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2007 WY 57, 155 P.3d 1013, 2007 Wyo. LEXIS 61, 2007 WL 1053864, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcclelland-v-state-wyo-2007.