State v. Platt

637 P.2d 1073, 130 Ariz. 570, 1981 Ariz. App. LEXIS 584
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedSeptember 18, 1981
Docket2 CA-CR 2264
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 637 P.2d 1073 (State v. Platt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Platt, 637 P.2d 1073, 130 Ariz. 570, 1981 Ariz. App. LEXIS 584 (Ark. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

HOWARD, Judge.

Appellant was convicted by a jury of nine offenses involving three separate incidents. Counts I through IV, first-degree burglary, armed robbery, theft and kidnapping, occurred on March 30, 1980; Counts V through VIII, first-degree burglary, armed robbery, kidnapping and theft, occurred on May 1, 1980. Count IX, unlawful possession of a narcotic drug, occurred on May 2, 1980. Allegations of the dangerous nature of the burglary, kidnapping and armed robbery offenses were found by the jury to be true. The state also alleged Count II (armed robbery—March 30, 1980) as a prior offense in relation to Count VI (armed robbery—May 1, 1980).

On Counts I through IV the trial "court gave concurrent sentences of imprisonment, the longest sentence being IOV2 years and the shortest five years. On Counts V through VIII the trial court sentenced appellant to concurrent prison terms, the shortest being five years and the longest 15.75 years. Appellant was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on Count IX. The trial court then ordered Counts V through VIII to be served consecutively to the longest term in Counts I through IV and Count IX to be served consecutively to the longest sentence on Counts V through VIII.

The main two incidents, Counts I through VIII, involved the same victim. On March 30, appellant broke into the victim’s house while she was present, threatened to shoot her, stole her television set, jewelry case, purse and 1976 Chrysler Cordoba. During this incident, the victim said appellant had a “silvery” object in his hand which she described as being shaped like a gun. On May 1,1980, appellant again broke into the victim’s house while she was present, threatened to shoot her, took her purse and her newly purchased 1980 Chrysler Cordoba after he demanded that she give him the keys.

The day before the second incident, the police found the victim’s 1976 Chrysler. Appellant’s fingerprints were inside the car as was a receipt for photographs left to be developed at a Foto Stop. The police secured a search warrant for the photographs which they then picked up. After recognizing appellant in several of the photographs, they went to his old address but found that he had moved. One of the pictures showed a panoramic view of Tucson. By driving around and lining up the landmarks reflected in the photograph, they sought to find the location which would duplicate the view. They finally arrived at 2141 West Tanglewood. After receiving permission from a boy to enter the backyard of his home, which was next door, they determined that the photographs were taken in the backyard of the 2141 residence.

The officers got a search warrant, entered and discovered! that appellant, although not then present, lived there with his girlfriend. They searched the premises and found the victim’s 1980 Chrysler in the garage with her purse inside the car. In a closet they found a cardboard box which contained her purse from the first robbery and the jewelry box. A loaded, chrome-plated revolver was found with the clothes that appellant wore when he committed the crimes.

Appellant was subsequently arrested and taken to the police station. He was given his Miranda rights and! told the officers that he did not wish to speak to them and wanted an • attorney. Appellant, thereafter, spontaneously engaged in a conversation with the officers, where he stated that they “got him” and he would probably “do” fifty years. He also asked the officers how they found out that he had committed the crime and the officers described how they had done so.

Prior to trial, the court appointed two psychiatrists to examine appellant and de *573 termine his competence to stand trial. At the competency hearing Dr. John LaWall, one of the examining psychiatrists, testified that during the interview, appellant said that since the doctor was not his attorney, he didn’t think it was a good idea to say anything about the allegations against him. He also told Dr.. LaWall that he had experienced a recent religious conversion. It was Dr. LaWall’s opinion that appellant was intentionally vague and evasive and that he was competent to stand trial.

Dr. Gurland, who was also appointed to examine appellant, believed there were some definite questions as to appellant’s competency to stand trial because of what appeared to him to be appellant’s vagueness and preoccupation with religion. However, under cross-examination by the prosecution, Dr. Gurland admitted that appellant probably could meet the Rule 11 standards and go to trial.

Prior to trial, appellant’s counsel moved to withdraw on the grounds that appellant refused to speak to him about the case. When questioned by the court, however, appellant stated he did not want a new attorney and the trial court refused to allow appellant’s counsel to withdraw.

Appellant contends that when the officers entered his neighbor’s backyard, in order to line up the landmarks on the photograph, they conducted an illegal search because (1) he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his rear yard and (2) because the boy was incapable of giving consent to the officers’ entry of his backyard. Assuming arguendo that the act of lining up the objects in the photograph with the objects on the ground constituted a “search”, this argument is without merit. Appellant cannot object to any claimed illegal entry of his neighbor’s yard. His rights were not infringed since he did not own his neighbor’s house and had no possessory interest in it. See State v. Vassar, 7 Ariz.App. 344, 439 P.2d 507 (1968); State v. Hill, 10 Ariz.App. 599, 461 P.2d 168 (1969) and see also Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978).

Equally devoid of merit is appellant’s “reasonable expectation of privacy” argument. Appellant’s backyard was open to physical access and viewing from his neighbor’s backyard. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy under such circumstances. Cf., State v. Cobb, 115 Ariz. 484, 566 P.2d 285 (1977).

Appellant further contends that the motion to suppress evidence found in the cardboard box in the closet in appellant’s house should have been granted because of the officers’ illegal act of adding items to the search warrant after the warrant was issued and approved by the magistrate. This argument is also without merit. Appellant has mistaken the return of the search warrant as an alteration of the search warrant authorized by the magistrate. The evidence in the box was discovered during a lawful search for the objects described in the warrant. Under such circumstances the discovered goods may be seized. State v. McMann, 3 Ariz.App. 111, 412 P.2d 286 (1966). And see State v. Reynolds, 11 Ariz.App. 532, 466 P.2d 405 (1970). Assuming arguendo that the items were wrongfully seized, their introduction into evidence was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Chapman v. California, 386 U.S.

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Bluebook (online)
637 P.2d 1073, 130 Ariz. 570, 1981 Ariz. App. LEXIS 584, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-platt-arizctapp-1981.