Rathmell v. State

653 S.W.2d 498, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4060
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 24, 1983
Docket13-81-095-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 653 S.W.2d 498 (Rathmell 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
Rathmell v. State, 653 S.W.2d 498, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4060 (Tex. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

OPINION

YOUNG, Justice.

James Rathmell was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by a jury, and the jury also assessed his punishment at imprisonment for two years. We affirm.

The evidence shows that on the evening of October 29, 1978, Devary Durrill was driving a Mustang in which Bonnie Watkins was a passenger. A car came up from behind the Mustang as though it was about to pass, then there was a loud noise, and the Mustang bounced into the air, flipped over and caught fire. A bystander, Clyde McClintock, rescued Miss Durrill, but was unable to pull Miss Watkins from the car. Mr. McClintock and his wife, who were the only witnesses to the collision, stated that the only other person at the scene was a six foot tall man wearing a dark colored suit. They saw the man standing beside a Lincoln Continental, the only other car at the scene. Because of their efforts to deal with the emergency, the McClintocks did not observe closely the man’s face.

The autopsy of Miss Watkins showed that she died as a result of whole body burns. Reconstruction of the collision by a special police investigator, Sgt. Ermis, showed that just before the collision the Lincoln was travelling at a minimum of 44 mph on the shoulder of the road. The Mustang was not stationary, but the investigator could not determine its speed. From the absence of skid marks, Sgt. Ermis concluded that the brakes of the Lincoln were not applied before impact. Testing showed a 0.17% alcohol content in Rathmell’s blood.

In his first ground of error, the appellant claims that it was error to admit his oral statements made at the scene. He contends that the statements were inadmissible because they were hearsay and because the police failed to provide him with the procedural safeguards required by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) and by Tex.Rev.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 38.22 (Vernon Supp. 1982). The context in which the statements were obtained is illustrated by the following. A Corpus Christi police officer, Sgt. Gilbreth, who was patrolling the area trav-elled to the scene after he observed flames shooting up in the air. After attempting unsuccessfully to direct Miss Watkins to get out of the side of the car where there were no flames, Officer Gilbreth saw a man in a dark suit leaning against the Lincoln who had lacerations on his hands. That man was the defendant. The officer asked Mr. Rathmell whether he needed treatment and he said “No.” Next, Officer Gilbreth asked whether the vehicle was his and the appellant said “Yes.” In response to another question, the appellant stated that he was driving the Lincoln. Rathmell also stated that “if the bitches hadn’t been parked there he never would have hit them.” While the appellant was answering these questions, the police officer noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, his speech slurred, and that he smelled strongly of alcohol. Officer Gilbreth then directed the appellant to his patrol car, placed him under arrest and *501 administered the standard Miranda warning.

We can dispose of the hearsay contention summarily by noting that his statements were admissions, which are not hearsay. Pinson v. State, 598 S.W.2d 299, 303 (Tex.Cr.App.1980); Russell v. State, 598 S.W.2d 238, 254 (Tex.Cr.App.1980). Therefore, they were not admitted in violation of the hearsay rule.

The argument that the statements were inadmissible because no warning was given or tape recording made in compliance with Article 38.22 requires closer attention. This rule applies only to statements obtained as a result of custodial interrogation. Miranda v. Arizona, supra 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1612; Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 38.22 § 3(a) (Vernon Supp.1982). It is obvious that the statements were elicited in response to express questioning by Officer Gilbreth. Therefore, all that remains for us to decide is whether the appellant was in custody within the meaning of Miranda and Article 38.22.

The appellant was not under formal arrest when he answered the questions. It is not necessary that an accused be under formal arrest prior to the interrogation for Miranda rights to arise. Ancira v. State, 516 S.W.2d 924, 926 (Tex.Cr.App.1974). In order to decide whether a defendant is in custody, the courts have developed a test which employs four factors: 1) probable cause to arrest; 2) the subjective intent of police to hold a suspect; 3) subjective belief of a defendant as to the status of his freedom; and 4) whether or not the focus of the investigation has finally centered on the defendant. Newberry v. State, 552 S.W.2d 457, 461 (Tex.Cr.App.1977). If this test is not met the statements are admissible as responses to general on-the-scene questions, Miranda v. Arizona, supra 384 U.S. at 477, 86 S.Ct. at 1629; Stewart v. State, 587 S.W.2d 148, 152 (Tex.Cr.App.1979). The custody determination is made on a case by case basis. Ancira v. State, supra at 927.

In this case, there was no evidence of the subjective belief of the defendant about whether he was free to leave the scene. Since the officer had no information, except for his observation that appellant was hurt and standing close to a car which appeared to be involved in the collision, he did not have probable cause to arrest the appellant nor had the investigation focused on the appellant when he was asked the questions. The only remaining factor is the subjective intent of the police officer. Officer Gilbreth testified that he would not have allowed the appellant to leave the scene, because he was required to wait for the accident investigator. Tex. Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 6701d § 40 (Vernon 1977), requires that the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to any person give information and render aid. This statute is clearly applicable to all drivers, even those who are blameless. We do not believe that the subjective intent of the police officer in enforcing this statute outweighs the other factors, thereby making this a custodial interrogation. Rather, this was a general investigation into an unsolved cause of a collision to which Miranda and Art. 38.22 do not apply. 1 The first ground of error is overruled.

In his second ground of error, appellant argues that the results of a blood test to which he voluntarily submitted were inadmissible because the State failed to lay proper a predicate. In addition to the blood test results, evidence of the appellant’s inebriation was presented by three police officers. Where other competent evidence proves the same facts as evidence which is improperly admitted, no reversible error is presented. Boles v. State, 598 S.W.2d 274, 279 (Tex.Cr.App.1980).

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653 S.W.2d 498, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4060, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rathmell-v-state-texapp-1983.