State v. Floyd

347 S.W.3d 115, 2011 Mo. App. LEXIS 1050, 2011 WL 3585493
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 16, 2011
DocketED 95249
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 347 S.W.3d 115 (State v. Floyd) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Floyd, 347 S.W.3d 115, 2011 Mo. App. LEXIS 1050, 2011 WL 3585493 (Mo. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

*118 GARY M. GAERTNER, Jr., Judge.

Introduction

The defendant, Michael R. Floyd (Floyd), appeals his convictions after trial for murder in the first degree and armed criminal action. Floyd raises two points on appeal: 1) the trial court erred and abused its discretion in admitting Floyd’s statement in rebuttal; and 2) the trial court erred in admitting evidence regarding the identification of Floyd in a photo lineup and physical lineup. We affirm.

Background

Floyd was charged with murder in the first degree and armed criminal action for the shooting of Virgil Robinson (Robinson) on March 11, 2008. The following pertinent witnesses testified in the State of Missouri’s (State) case-in-chief.

April Abram

On March 11, 2008 at approximately 3:00 p.m., April Abram (Abram), who had just moved to the area of Atkinson and Pope, was exploring the neighborhood trying to orient herself. When Abram was walking down Holly, she observed two young men, Robinson and Jodeci Brown (Brown), come out of a street gangway. Brown was wearing a black jogging suit and backpack, and Robinson was wearing a red bandana on his head. Brown was talking to Robinson who appeared worried and walked with his head down, as Brown told him it was going to be okay. The young men spoke to Abram who responded back. The young men crossed the street and Abram also crossed the street to avoid a pit bull dog.

As Abram approached the corner of Holly and Carter, she was only a few feet behind Robinson and Brown as they turned the corner towards a store on Ath-lone. She noticed another young man, Floyd, who was wearing a white jacket, white pants with red stripes, and a red and white cap on his head and was kneeling down in the alley by a trashcan. She saw Floyd get up and start walking down Carter. As she was crossing the street, a white car sped off which forced her to turn around and look. She observed Floyd put his hoodie on as he walked up to Robinson and shot him three times.

Abram fell to the ground and covered her head, but she could still see. Abram was as close to the shooting as she was to the jury in the courtroom. Brown hopped a fence as Floyd shot at him three or four times. Floyd smiled at Robinson’s little brother who had run from Yeatman Market crying and hollering. Floyd then walked across the schoolyard, before jogging and disappearing. Abram did not see Brown shoot at Floyd.

Abram talked to the police about what she had seen. When asked if she could identify Floyd, Abram stated, “I didn’t have no other choice. I’m lookin’ him dead in his face, I’m right there on the streets. I’m right there.” Abram described Floyd as her same height and build, six foot and skinny, but with lighter complexion. On March 15, 2008, homicide Detective Matthias Hanewinkel (Detective Hanewinkel) showed Abram a photo lineup. Abram circled and initialed the photograph of Floyd, “[bjecause I thought about his mother. I thought about my only son and if it happened to my son and someone saw it, I would want them to tell — I would want them to do the same thing that I was doin[g].”

Abram picked Floyd out of the photo lineup based upon his face. Abram was 100% sure that she identified him because she could never forget that face. On April 13, 2008, Abram picked Floyd out of a physical lineup and also identified Floyd in the courtroom at trial. Abram had never *119 seen Robinson, Brown or Floyd prior to the day of the shooting. Abram did not see Floyd again until after his arrest.

Brandon Bolhous

Brandon Bolhous (Bolhous) is a special education teacher at Yeatman Junior Preparatory School located at 6321 Athlone. On March 11, 2008 following the end of school at 2:50 p.m., Bolhous looked out a window and saw an individual, wearing a white hoodie, shoot Brown and Robinson, and Brown return fire as he ran down Clarence. He could not identify Floyd as he could not see his face from where he was looking.

Johnny Smith

Johnny Smith (Smith) is Robinson’s younger brother. Robinson went by the nickname of V-Red and often wore a red bandana. Smith ran down the street from Yeatman Market after he heard the gunshots and saw his brother lying on the street. Smith did not see the shooter’s face as he ran on Holly.

Brown

Brown was fifteen on March 11, 2008, and was Robinson’s “Homey.” When Brown and Robinson reached the intersection of Holly and Carter, he heard a shot, turned around, and saw an individual with a blue hoodie standing over Robinson and a white Pontiac Z34 with black tinted windows. Brown asserted that he did not see the shooter’s face or shoot back at the shooter himself. Brown did not want to get involved and did not talk to the police. He maintained that he could not remember anything after the shooting happened. Brown and Robinson knew Floyd from the neighborhood.

Brown stayed in the hospital for three weeks and had a bullet removed from his back. Detective Hanewinkel showed Brown a photo lineup at the hospital, but Brown did not look at it.

Detective James Stagge

Detective James Stagge (Detective Stagge) is a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Detective assigned to the Gang Unit. On March 11, 2008, Detective Stagge was at Yeatman Middle School watching Lieutenant Ronnie Robinson (Lieutenant Robinson) give a talk to the student body about gang activity. Detective Stagge saw Robinson outside the school hanging out around 2:50 p.m. Detective Stagge also knew Floyd prior to March 11, 2008.

Detective Stagge received a call for a homicide and a request for a gang unit detective. Detective Stagge was dressed in plain clothes and stood in the back of the crowd that had gathered at Robinson’s murder scene. He recognized several people from the neighborhood and was told that Fat Loc had committed the murder. Detective Stagge had heard the name Fat Loc before and he eventually associated it with Floyd. Detective Stagge gave this information to the homicide detectives.

Detective Hanewinkel

On March 11, 2008, Detective Hanewink-el responded to the murder scene at approximately 3:58 p.m. No witnesses stepped forward at the scene, but Detective Hanewinkel interviewed Abram at police headquarters later that night. After receiving information about Fat Loc from Detective Stagge, Detective Hanewinkel, on March 15, 2008, compiled one six-person photo lineup with photographs generated by a computer based upon race and build, with the hairstyles chosen by Detective Hanewinkel. Abram instantly picked out Floyd.

Previously on March 12, 2008 at the hospital, Detective Hanewinkel had shown *120 Brown a photo lineup with Floyd in it. Brown was hesitant to talk and would not look at the photo lineup and eventually did not pick out anyone.

Detective Hanewinkel went to Floyd’s residence at 4229 Holly on March 18, 2008. Detective Hanewinkel talked to Floyd’s mother who said she saw part of the shooting as she was driving down the alley and the shooter was not her son.

Floyd was arrested on April 12, 2008, driving a white Pontiac G6.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
347 S.W.3d 115, 2011 Mo. App. LEXIS 1050, 2011 WL 3585493, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-floyd-moctapp-2011.