State v. Lippi

498 P.2d 209, 108 Ariz. 342, 1972 Ariz. LEXIS 327
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedJune 16, 1972
Docket2024
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 498 P.2d 209 (State v. Lippi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Lippi, 498 P.2d 209, 108 Ariz. 342, 1972 Ariz. LEXIS 327 (Ark. 1972).

Opinion

CAMERON, Vice Chief Justice.

This .is an appeal from a judgment of conviction for the crimes of assault with .a deadly weapon, § 13-249, subsec, B A.R.S.; *344 robbery, § 13-641, § 13-643, subsec. B A.R.S.; and kidnapping, § 13-491, subsecs. A and D A.R.S., for which the defendant received 20-25 years as to each charge, and theft of a motorcycle, § 13-672 A.R.S., for which the defendant received 9-10 years, all sentences to run concurrently.

We are called upon to answer the following questions:

1. Do the facts of the case support separate convictions as to all four charges ?
2. Did the trial court erroneously admit the transcript of the testimony of the victim taken at the preliminary hearing when the victim did not appear for trial ?
3. Did the court improperly instruct the jury on the definition of theft of a motor vehicle?
4. Did the trial court err in admitting into evidence a photograph of defendant?

The facts necessary for a determination of this matter are as follows. On 15 July 1968 Kerry David Burr drove a friend, John Howard King, from Casa Grande, Arizona, to Phoenix, Arizona, on his motorcycle so that King could see a friend in a Phoenix hospital. At the hospital Burr and King met with several members of the “Undertakers”, a motorcycle gang, who invited them to a party at a house where several of the “Undertakers” lived. At the party later that night, as Burr was standing near his motorcycle which he had pushed over to a corner of the house, several members of the “Undertakers” came from inside the house with guns and crowded around Burr. The defendant pointed a pistol at Burr’s head and asked for his wallet. Then, with guns still pointed at Burr, they escorted him inside the house where they forced him to sign over to them the bill of sale for the motorcycle.

It appears from the record that, once this had been accomplished, Burr came outside with the others and started to walk down an alley. His friend, John King, approached him and told him they had a ride back to Casa Grande. So John King and Kerry Burr got into a car and were taken back to Casa Grande by one of the friends of the “Undertakers.” The defendant was not in the car, nor does it appear that he was involved beyond this point. Kerry Burr reported the theft of the motorcycle to the Phoenix Police Department, and a Phoenix police officer testified that an investigation was conducted by the Phoenix Police Department but the motorcycle has not been found.

The defendant Lippi was charged along with five codefendants with assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, kidnapping, and theft of a motor vehicle.

A preliminary hearing at which Kerry Burr testified was held for the defendant Lippi and two of his codefendants who were represented by the Public Defender’s Office. At his arraignment on 30 August 1968 defendant pled not guilty to all four charges and denied having been previously convicted of burglary which was alleged in the information. On 4 October 1968 the Public Defender was granted permission to withdraw as counsel because of a possible conflict of interest. Trial was held before a jury at which defendant was represented by new and separate counsel. After the State had been granted two continuances because of Kerry Burr’s failure to appear as a witness for the State, Kerry Burr’s father, who was at that time Sheriff of Pima County, testified that he had personally served the subpoena upon his son and that he had not seen him for two days. The court then allowed, over objection of defense counsel, the preliminary hearing testimony of Kerry Burr to be read into evidence. The State was also allowed, over defense objections, to admit into evidence a photograph of defendant as he looked at the time of the crime.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty against the defendant on all four counts, and the court found the defendant guilty as to the prior conviction. The court denied defendant’s motion for new trial and sentenced him to serve 20-25 years for the crimes of assault with a deadly weapon, *345 robbery and kidnapping, and 9-10 years for the crime of theft of a motor vehicle, all sentences to run concurrently.

DO THE FACTS SUPPORT FOUR SEPARATE CONVICTIONS?

Defendant contends that his convictions for both robbery and theft of a motor vehicle violate § 13-1641 A.R.S. which provides as follows:

“An act or omission which is made punishable in different ways by different sections of the laws may be punished under either, but in no event under more than one. * * * ”

This same question was raised and answered in State v. Seelen, 107 Ariz. 256, 485 P.2d 826 (1971) which concerned one of the codefendants. In that case we stated:

“It is clear from the testimony in the record that defendant Seelen had a rifle in his possession when the group surrounded Burr, the victim, and when St. Johns held a rifle in his hand and told Burr they wanted his bike, as well as when Burr’s billfold was removed from his pocket. Later, in the house, defendant Seelen held a rifle pointed at the victim’s chest at the time he was compelled to sign the purported Bill of Sale to his motorcycle.
“It is evident there were separate acts which amounted to separate crimes in this case. The defendant was present with the other members of the gang and was aiding and abetting in the robbery of the victim’s billfold from his person. Later, defendant Seelen pointed a rifle at Burr at the time Burr was compelled to sign the alleged Bill of Sale to his motorcycle; hence, Seelen was aiding and abetting in the theft of the motorcycle.
“Inasmuch as there were separate acts by the defendant which amounted to separate crimes of robbery and grand theft, defendant Seelen was not subjected to double punishment when he was sentenced on both convictions.” State v. Seelen, supra, at p. 259, 485 P.2d,. at p. 829.

Defendant further contends that the evidence does not support convictions for both kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. That the evidence presented was sufficient to support a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon there can be no doubt. State v. Seelen, supra, at page 261, 485 P.2d 826.

We faced a similar problem in State v. Mitchell, 106 Ariz. 492, 478 P.2d 517 (1970). There the defendant was convicted of attempted kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. He challenged the convictions under the double punishment statute § 13-1641 A.R.S. In interpreting this statute we said:

"The practical test is to eliminate the elements in one charge and determine whether the facts left would support the other charge.” State v. Mitchell, supra, at 495, 478 P.2d, at 520. See also, State v. Tinghitella, 108 Ariz. 1, 491 P.2d 834 (1971).

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Bluebook (online)
498 P.2d 209, 108 Ariz. 342, 1972 Ariz. LEXIS 327, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lippi-ariz-1972.