Powell v. State

837 S.W.2d 809, 1992 WL 205523
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 13, 1993
Docket01-91-00325-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 837 S.W.2d 809 (Powell v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Powell v. State, 837 S.W.2d 809, 1992 WL 205523 (Tex. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

OPINION

SAM BASS, Justice.

A jury found the appellant, Johnny Raymond Powell, guilty of aggravated robbery, found at least two enhancement paragraphs numbered 12, 13, 14, and 16 true, and assessed punishment at confinement for life.

We affirm.

On May 28, 1989, at about 10:00 p.m., James and Laura Goodrum, stopped at a convenience store in Pearland to buy some cokes and Twinkies. Mrs. Goodrum went into the store, and Mr. Goodrum stayed in the car. A man walked up to Mr. Good-rum, pulled a gun on him, and told Mr. Goodrum to get out of the car. Mr. Good-rum got out and the man pointed the gun at his stomach. The man told Mr. Good-rum to give him his wallet. Mr. Goodrum gave him a checkbook. The man pushed Mr. Goodrum away, and got into the Good-rums’ car to leave. The man was unable to move the car, so he got out and ran away.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Goodrum had paid for the cokes and Twinkies and was preparing to leave the store. She saw a man holding a gun on her husband, and asked the clerk to call 911. The police arrived just a few minutes later.

The Goodrums described the man to the police, and got into the squad car to go to the police station. As they were getting into the car, a radio message was received that the police had apprehended a man a few blocks away. The Goodrums went with the police to that location, and identified the appellant as the man who had robbed them.

In his first point of error, the appellant asserts the trial court erred in failing to suppress the in-court identification testimony because the out-of-court identification procedures were overly suggestive. The appellant complains the “showup” was im-permissibly suggestive because: (1) the two witnesses were shown him together; (2) he was handcuffed and on the ground; (3) there was no line-up or photographic spread; (4) a spotlight was shined on his face; and (5) the police told the witnesses they had a suspect.

Before trial, the appellant moved to suppress the identification by Mr. Goodrum because he might have seen a set of photographs of the appellant at the Pearland Police Department and because he was allowed to observe the appellant by himself without a line-up of similar individuals. After a pretrial hearing, the trial court denied the motion. The error raised on appeal comports with the motion because Mr. Goodrum’s only observation of the appellant happened when he identified him the night of the robbery near the convenience store. When a pretrial motion to suppress identification is overruled, the defendant need not subsequently object to the admission of the same evidence at trial in order to preserve error. Livingston v. State, 739 S.W.2d 311, 334 (Tex.Crim.App.1987), cert. denied, 487 U.S. 1210, 108 S.Ct. 2858, 101 L.Ed.2d 895 (1988). The appellant preserved his complaint about the out-of-court identification procedures.

Courts have long been concerned that the practice of showing suspects singly to crime witnesses in the presence of police officers is suggestive and conducive to mistaken identification. See Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 293, 302, 87 S.Ct. 1967, 1972-73, 18 L.Ed.2d 1199 (1967); Jackson v. State, 682 S.W.2d 692, 695 (Tex.App. — Houston [1st Dist.] 1984, pet. ref’d). At the same time, identification at or near the scene of the offense shortly after its occurrence may be appropriate because the witnesses’ memories are still fresh and accurate. Such a procedure also allows the police to release innocent suspects after exoneration [812]*812and continue the search while the perpetrator may still he in the area.

To determine whether a single showup violates due process, we must examine whether the confrontation was: (1) unnecessarily suggestive; and (2) conducive to the irreparable misidentification of the defendant. Jackson, 682 S.W.2d at 695. We look at the totality of the circumstances. Stovall, 388 U.S. at 302, 87 S.Ct. at 1972-73. Mr. Goodrum acknowledged that the police told him they had a suspect in custody when they arrived at the location where the appellant was being held. Mr. Goodrum did not remember if the appellant was handcuffed, although the testimony of police officers indicated that he was. Mr. Goodrum made the identification from the back seat of a patrol car. He noted that there were several police officers at the scene and that the police cars had their headlights on. He did not recall if the headlights were pointed at the appellant.

While the procedure may have been unnecessarily suggestive, we must also consider whether irreparable misidentification was likely. We are guided by five factors: (1) the witness’ opportunity to view the suspect at the time of the offense; (2) the witness’ degree of attention; (3) the accuracy of the witness’ prior description of the suspect; (4) the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness at the confrontation; and (5) the length of time between the offense and the confrontation. Jackson, 682 S.W.2d at 695.

Mr. Goodrum estimated that the appellant’s gun was “stuck” in his stomach for 15 or 20 seconds, that he was looking at the appellant’s face the entire time, and that the appellant was about two feet away from him. However, the elapsed time, from when the appellant approached Mr. Goodrum’s car window and finally ran away, was probably a minute to a minute and a half. Mr. Goodrum testified that his corrected vision was 20/20, that he was wearing his glasses the night of the robbery, and that the lighting was very good in front of the convenience store. Mr. Goodrum stated his attention was strictly on the appellant. Mr. Goodrum estimated that his identification of the suspect, a few blocks from the convenience store, took place no more than 10 minutes after the holdup.

Viewing the evidence in light of the Jackson factors, the identification procedure did not result in irreparable misidentification.

We overrule the appellant’s first point of error.

In his fifth point of error, the appellant argues that the trial court erred in failing to file written findings of fact and conclusions of law concerning the admissibility of the in-court identification of the appellant by Mr. Goodrum. The appellant relies on Sims v. Georgia, 385 U.S. 538, 87 S.Ct. 639, 17 L.Ed.2d 593 (1967).

The appellant filed a pretrial motion to suppress identification because Mr. Good-rum was allowed to observe the appellant near the scene without a line-up and because of impermissibly suggestive pretrial photographic procedures. After a hearing, the appellant’s motion was overruled, and on March 18, 1991, the appellant requested findings of fact and conclusions of law from the hearing. The trial court agreed and placed the burden on the State of preparing them. Findings of fact and conclusions of law have not been filed.

In Sims, the United States Supreme Court stated that the trial court need not make formal findings of fact or write an opinion, but its conclusion, that the defendant’s confession was voluntary, “must appear from the record with unmistakable clarity.” 385 U.S. at 544, 87 S.Ct. at 643. The reasoning in Sims does not support the appellant’s contention that a trial court’s findings on the admissibility of an in-court identification must be entered into the record.

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837 S.W.2d 809, 1992 WL 205523, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/powell-v-state-texapp-1993.