State v. Riggsbee

515 P.2d 964, 85 N.M. 668
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 9, 1973
Docket9622
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 515 P.2d 964 (State v. Riggsbee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico 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. Riggsbee, 515 P.2d 964, 85 N.M. 668 (N.M. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION

MONTOYA, Justice.

Defendant-appellant Cornwallis Riggsbee (appellant) appeals from his conviction of the crimes of first degree murder and aggravated battery. We affirm both convictions.

The record reveals that, for several years, appellant visited the residence of Andrew Barnes. Frequently, from June to November 1971, appellant was accompanied by his girl friend Jane Murphy. On November 25, 1971, the deceased Mattie Lee Barnes was visiting her father’s home. On that day, appellant visited the Barnes’ residence three times. The first time was around 11:45 a. m., during appellant’s lunch hour, the second visit was around 7:45 p. m., and the final visit was somewhere near 9:00 p. m. During the second visit some words, best characterized as harsh, were spoken to appellant by the deceased. Upon returning for the third visit a short time later, it appears that appellant entered the kitchen where the deceased and other persons, including a Charley Bennett, were seated and that appellant struck the deceased, knocking her to the floor. Appellant and Mr. Bennett began struggling and appellant shot Mr. Bennett, then he shot the deceased. Appellant and his girl friend immediately left the Barnes’ residence. About three hours later, Officer Joseph Tapia of the Santa Fe Police Department arrested appellant in front of his Santa Fe residence. The arrest and frisk search of appellant were both without warrants.

The appellant relies on the following six points for reversal of his conviction:

“I. The trial court was in error in not suppressing evidence taken from the defendant without benefit of a search warrant.
“II. The trial court erred and committed reversible error in allowing the jury to consider the charge of first degree murder because the evidence presented was insufficient to show premeditation or deliberation.
“HI. It was error for the court to permit the district attorney to question the defendant on matters not covered on direct examination and which were not material or relevant to the issues in this case.
“IV. It was error for the court not to declare a mistrial when one of the jurors reported in the morning to the court intoxicated and the court then excused the jury until 1:30 p. m. in the afternoon without conferring with counsel for the defense and then held an informal interrogation in the court’s chambers without presence of counsel for the state or the defense. ,
“V. It was error for the trial court to refuse to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter.
“VI. It was error for the court not to declare - a mistrial after the inflammatory remarks made by the district attorney.”

Under point I appellant contends that the trial court erred by refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing on the motion to suppress prior to trial. Further, that the court erred in admitting the evidence taken without a search warrant.

This issue has been resolved by this court in State v. Deltenre, 77 N.M. 497, 424 P.2d 782 (1966), cert. denied, 386 U.S. 976, 87 S.Ct. 1171, 18 L.Ed.2d 136 (1967), where we said (77 N.M. at 499, 424 P.2d at 783) :

“A search without a warrant is lawful when the search is incident to a lawful arrest and the legality of an arrest without a warrant depends upon whether the arrest was based upon probable cause. Ker v. State of California, 374 U.S. 23, 83 S.Ct. 1623, 10 L.Ed.2d 726. In viewing the facts to determine the propriety of denying a motion to suppress, controverted questions of fact will not be resolved, but the facts found by the trial court will be weighed against the standards of reasonableness. Ker v. State of California, supra. That the trial court’s decision as to the reasonableness of an arrest will not be disturbed if facts found to make the arrest constitutionally reasonable are supported by substantial evidence. United States v. Hilbrich, 341 F.2d 555 (7th Cir. 1965); People v. Guyette, 231 Cal.App.2d 460, 41 Cal.Rptr. 875; and State v. Tuttle, 16 Utah 2d 288, 399 P.2d 580. The facts to be examined on appeal are those facts elicited before the trial court on the hearing on the motion to suppress. People v. Matera, 45 Misc.2d 864, 258 N.Y.S.2d 2.”

While the hearing on the motion to suppress in the instant case was denied, the evidence which was the subject of the motion to suppress was also sought to be excluded during the trial on the grounds that it was the result of an illegal arrest and an illegal search. Consequently, during the voir dire of Officer Tapia, out of the presence of the jury, the motion to suppress was renewed, heard and again denied. Officer Tapia testified during ihat voir dire that he was contacted by car radio by a Sergeant Norbert and, after getting together with him, learned of the shooting, who the suspect was, and that appellant was identified as the suspect by several persons present at the shooting. The officer further stated it was understood that the suspect (appellant) was on foot when he' left the house where the shooting occurred, and so the officer drove up and down the streets checking for him. After no success, Officer Tapia again met with Sergeant Norbert, who advised him to stake out the apartment of appellant. It was at appellant’s apartment that the arrest and frisk search were made. Again, in State v. Deltenre, supra, we considered this issue and stated (77 N.M. at 501, 424 P.2d at 784):

“ * * *. What appears to be the generally accepted definition of probable cause was stated in Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 93 L.Ed. 1879:
“ ‘ * * * Probable cause exists where “the facts and circumstances within their [the officers’] knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information [are] sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that” an offense has been or is being committed. Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 162, 45 S.Ct. 280, 288, 69 L.Ed. 543.’”

The trial court correctly concluded that Officer Tapia had probable cause to arrest appellant. The net effect was that the matters not considered under the motion to suppress before trial were actually heard and presented by the voir dire of Officer Tapia, when the items of evidence were sought to be introduced. The motion to suppress and the voir dire concerned the same issue. Concluding that the substance of the motion was actually heard leaves us to determine only if the facts before the trial court were sufficient for that court to determine that probable cause existed for the arrest of appellant.

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Bluebook (online)
515 P.2d 964, 85 N.M. 668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-riggsbee-nm-1973.