Poellnitz v. State

263 So. 2d 181, 48 Ala. App. 196, 1972 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 886
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided May 30, 1972·No. 1 Div. 67·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The indictment in this case charged the appellant with burglary in the second degree. The appellant entered a plea of not guilty. The trial resulted in a verdict of guilty and a judgment in accordance therewith. The appellant’s motion for a new trial was overruled by the trial court. Hence, this appeal.

R. L. Morris, a patrolman with the Prichard Police Department, testified in substance that at about 12:05 A.M., March 6, 1968, he and Officer Pitts were on patrol and he noticed a car coming toward him with one headlight out and another car following it; that he turned around and stopped the car which had one light out; that the car following this car pulled over to the other side of the road; that the appellant was driving the car the officers stopped and he stated there was a short in his light and he beat on the fender and the light came on; that the appellant told him he *198 worked in the shipyard in Mississippi and was on the midnight shift and was - running late for work; that about 3:30 or 3:45 A.M. that same morning he again saw the same two cars; that he and Officer Pitts followed the two cars again; that appellant’s car was a 1963 Chevrolet and the other car was a 1960 Chevrolet; that they tried to stop the cars; that appellant did not stop but the other car did; and that he, Morris, got out and remained with the 1960 Chevrolet and Officer Pitts drove on after the 1963 Chevrolet. That witness then testified in substance that he checked the 1960 Chevrolet; that there were five new tires in the back seat of it; that the tires were wrapped with paper bearing trade marks; that the tires were not otherwise covered up; that he did not remove the tires in order to identify them; that they were clearly visible in the back seat of the car; and that the appellant was not in that car but in the other car. The appellant moved to suppress the evidence about finding the tires on the ground the Officer did not have a search warrant and the car in which they were found was not in the possession of the appellant. Thereupon the court asked the witness several questions and in answer thereto the witness testified in substance that at that time a city detective contacted him about a burglary of a service station and he checked the labels on the tires and verified the brands as those of the service station which had reportedly been burglarized.

That witness also testified in substance that Officer Pitts accompanied by appellant returned to the place where the 1960 Chevrolet and the 1963 Chevrolet were stopped; that appellant was driving the car; that they looked in the 1963 Chevrolet and saw a screwdriver and that they, the officers, took possession of both cars, the tires and the screwdriver; that the screwdriver was visible without a search; that the drivers of the two cars were arrested and carried to jail; and that appellant’s car was carried to the police station along with the other car. The appellant objected to the admission of the evidence concerning the tires and the screwdriver and his several objections in that respect were overruled by the trial court.

Officer Terry W. Pitts of the Prichard Police Department testified substantially to the same events to which R. L. Morris had testified.

Detective Andrew Gray Hildreth of the Prichard Police Department testified in substance that at about 4:00 A.M., on March 6, 1968, he had a two-way radio conversation with Officers Pitts and Morris; that at the time he was receiving this call from Morris to meet him at the point where Morris was that he observed the front door of a service station open; that the station was in Prichard; that he checked the station and found the door had been pried open and the cigarette machine had also been pried open; that he called Morris and Pitts and asked them about the merchandise in the car; that he called the owner of the service station and waited until he came to the station; that he then told Morris and Pitts to take the subjects into custody; that when the owner of the station arrived he talked with him relative to the merchandise missing from the station; that he saw the two cars at the police station and the tires in one of them and that the tires were wrapped in “Pure stickers”. and were removed from the car and put in the detective room; that Officer Morris turned the screwdriver over to him and that the screwdriver had been in his custody ever since; that the owner of the station came down to the police station and saw the screwdriver and the tires; that the tires were delivered by the police to the owner of the station broken into after he gave the police a receipt for them; and that this witness kept the screwdriver and identified it in court.

William Richard Wileman testified in substance that he was the manager of a service station which he leased from Pure Oil Company at the corner of Wolf and St. *199 Stevens Roads; that he sold oil, gas, tires and batteries at the station; that in the early morning hours of March 6, 1968, he received a call that his station had been broken into; that he went to the station and two or three police officers were there; that the station had been broken into and the cigarette machine had been broken open and five tires were missing from the tire rack; that he went to the police station and identified the tires which were taken from the back seat of the car as belonging to him; that he identified the screwdriver which was taken from appellant’s automobile as belonging to him; that his screwdriver was missing from the service station and it was identical to the one the police had taken from one of the cars; that he got his inventory list and serial numbers and took them down to the police station and they matched those on the tires and he got his tires from the police; and that the police kept the screwdriver. The screwdriver was admitted in evidence.

When the State rested, the appellant’s motion to exclude the evidence on the ground that the State had not made out a prima facie case was denied by the trial court.

The substance of the evidence on behalf of the appellant was an alibi and also a denial that he committed the offense charged. He stated he saw the officers about 12:05 A.M. and generally confirmed their testimony as to that meeting but denied he knew anything about the other car or its driver at that time. He stated that he was on his way to work when the officers stopped him the second time; that Jerome Bettis was driving the car which had the tires in it when the officers stopped him the second time about 4:00 A.M.; that Bettis was his nephew; and that he had not seen him that night until the second time the officers stopped him. He also said that the screwdriver which the officers took from his car which was admitted in evidence was exactly like one he bought in Mississippi; and that the one he had was in his car when they stopped him. His mother testified in his behalf and stated that she had been with him during the entire night except for a few minutes about midnight when she sent him to the store for some ribs to cook; and that he left her home about 4:00 A.M., in the morning.

One of the grounds of the appellant’s motion for a new trial was:

“34. For that the juror, Marvin R. Courtney, was disqualified to sit as a juror and render a fair and impartial verdict in the case.”

Another ground of that motion stated the complaint in this manner:

“35. For that the juror," Marvin R.

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Poellnitz v. State, 263 So. 2d 181, 48 Ala. App. 196, 1972 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 886 (Ala. Ct. App. 1972).

263 So. 2d 181 (Poellnitz v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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