Smith v. State

340 So. 2d 889, 1976 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1653
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided October 12, 1976·No. 8 Div. 822·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

KENNETH P. INGRAM, Circuit Judge.

Appellant was convicted of robbery and sentenced to fifteen years in the penitentiary. Counsel was appointed at the arraignment. His counsel represented him at the arraignment and throughout his trial. The appellant’s plea at arraignment was not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.

After conviction, the Court appointed his trial counsel to represent him on appeal and ordered a free transcript of appellant’s trial.

The facts of the offense were not in conflict. They were stated in the victim’s testimony.

The victim was Bobby Jean McNutt. She testified that some few minutes before 11:00 p. m., on November 6, 1974, she was robbed at her place of employment at Billy’s Mini Market in Decatur, Morgan County, Alabama. She was working as a clerk at the cash register at the time the robbery occurred. She testified that the man who robbed her was wearing a blond “afro” wig and that his face was blackened. He had a brown paper sack in his right hand and a gun in his left hand. He walked into the store, approached Mrs. McNutt and ordered her to open the cash register and put the money into the sack. He told her that if she did not, he would blow her brains out. She did as she was told. She placed the money in the sack. He told her to lift the tray in the cash register and give him the money under there. She told him there was nothing there but checks. He then ordered her to turn around and walk toward the back of the store and not to look around. The robber then left the store. Mrs. McNutt immediately called the Decatur Police.

She testified that she could not identify the robber and that all she could remember about the robber was that he had a gun, was wearing a blond “afro” wig and his face was blackened. She could not identify the defendant, William Jimmy Smith, as the man who robbed her.

Detective Wayne Kyker of the Decatur Police Department testified that shortly before 2:00 a. m., on November 8, 1974, the defendant, William Jimmy Smith, was arrested at his residence which is located at 1101 10th Avenue, Southeast, in Decatur, Morgan County, Alabama. The arrest was made by officers of the Decatur Police Department. Appellant was taken to the police department. At approximately 2:10 a. [891]*891m., on this same day, Detective Kyker advised appellant of certain constitutional rights prescribed by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694. He read the following statements to the defendant concerning these rights:

“Before we ask you any questions, you must understand your rights.
“You have the right to remain silent. “Anything you say can be used against you in Court.
“You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions and to have him with you during questioning.
“If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning, if you wish.
“If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time. You also have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to a lawyer.
“A lawyer will also be provided for you now, if you wish.”

The printed form used by the officer contained a waiver of these rights.

Detective Kyker testified that appellant refused to sign this waiver. He stated that appellant said he understood the rights read to him, but he said he didn’t want to sign the waiver. He did not at any time ask to see a lawyer. He never said that he did not wish to make a statement.

He testified that neither he nor anyone in his presence threatened, coerce.d, intimidated or offered any reward or hope of reward to appellant in order to get him to make a statement.

The State offered appellant’s statement. At his point, the Court excused the jury in order to conduct a voir dire examination of this witness and other witnesses outside the presence and hearing of the jury so as to determine the voluntariness of his statement.

On voir dire, Detective Kyker testified that after appellant refused to sign the waiver of his rights form, that he and appellant started talking. They talked about some general matters and then they talked about robberies that had occurred in the Decatur area.

It is not clear whether appellant gave his oral statement of his involvement in the robbery to Detective Kyker during the early part of their conversation about robberies or after this conversation. Kyker stated that he told appellant at approximately 2:30 or 2:45 a. m. that two young women, Cynthia Keel and Margaret Jones, were in custody. Cynthia is appellant’s girl friend and Margaret Jones is his former wife.

They were soon after brought to the room where Kyker and the appellant were talking. His testimony indicates that the women were shown to appellant before his statement was reduced to writing by Detective Kyker. He also testified that appellant admitted his involvement in the robbery in this case before the women were brought in for appellant to see.

He testified that neither he nor anyone else told appellant that if he would sign a confession that these two women would be released. He also stated that appellant never said, at any time, that he did not want to talk to the officers anymore. Appellant did tell Detective Kyker at one time during their conversation that he was undecided about a statement and that he didn’t know what to do.

Appellant’s statement was completed at approximately 3:30 a. m. and reduced to writing by Detective Kyker. It was then read to appellant and handed to him for him to read. After hearing his statement read to him and reading it himself, appellant signed it. This was at approximately 4:45 a. m., on this same day.

Appellant was then called by his counsel to testify on voir dire as to the voluntariness of his statement and as to his consent to search his apartment.

He testified that he refused to sign the waiver of his rights, and he told the officers that he didn’t want to make a statement. He further testified that Cynthia Keel is his [892]*892girl friend and Margaret Jones is his former wife. He further testified that Detective Kyker told him that the two women had been booked for robbery. He told them he did not believe it. It was at this time that the officers brought Cynthia and Margaret into the room where appellant was with Detective Kyker.

Appellant stated that he was signing something at the time the two women were brought into the room with him and Detective Kyker. After he signed the statement, he also signed a consent to search the apartment where he and Cynthia Keel resided. He said the officers told him they would not release Cynthia and Margaret until he signed the consent to search the apartment. Appellant said the officers also told him that he had to sign the consent to search or they would get a search warrant. Appellant testified that the signature on the consent to search was his.

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Smith v. State, 340 So. 2d 889, 1976 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1653 (Ala. Ct. App. 1976).

340 So. 2d 889 (Smith v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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