State v. Taylor

324 S.E.2d 367, 174 W. Va. 225, 1984 W. Va. LEXIS 501
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 20, 1984
DocketNo. 16085
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 324 S.E.2d 367 (State v. Taylor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia 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. Taylor, 324 S.E.2d 367, 174 W. Va. 225, 1984 W. Va. LEXIS 501 (W. Va. 1984).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

David Taylor appeals from his conviction in the Circuit Court of Jackson County of four counts of breaking and entering. On October 26, 1982, a Grand Jury returned a five-count indictment charging the appellant with breaking and entering various buildings, other than a dwelling house, in 1980 and 1982, with intent to commit a larceny. He was convicted on four of the counts and sentenced to four concurrent terms of one to fifteen years.1

In September of 1982, the police department of Ravenswood, West Virginia conducted an investigation of several burglaries, involving homes and businesses during the preceding two years. Police reports provided to the appellant pursuant to his discovery request, disclosed the following information:

[227]*227On February 1, 1980, entry was gained into Jack’s Sports Center by the removal of a piece of plywood from the window of the men’s restroom. $120 in coins was taken including $20 from a jar behind the bar and $15, in pennies, from a cigar box.

On March 1, 1982, a breaking & entering occurred at the Checkerboard Restaurant. Five video game machines were pryed open, and approximately $220 in change was taken from the machines and the cash register.

On May 7, 1982, there was a breaking and entering at the Double Nickel Bar. Entry was gained through the rear door. Approximately $270 was taken from a cigarette machine, video games, and a pool table. Doors on all the machines were damaged.

On June 8, 1982, a breaking and entering occurred at J Co Lumber, Inc. Entry was gained by breaking the window in a rear door. Someone used a hack saw and chisel in an unsuccessful attempt to open the safe. The report states: “While cutting the safe someone cut themselves.” Approximately $5 was taken, and there was $500 worth of damage to the safe.

During two interrogations conducted on September 20 and 27, 1982, by the Police Chief of Ravenswood (Edward Speece), the appellant confessed to those breaking and enterings. Each confession was preceded by the reading of a statement of rights, consisting of Miranda warnings plus the following statements: “5. You have the right to be taken before a magistrate immediately. 6. You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements and be taken before a magistrate immediately.”

The first time the warnings were given, Chief Speece told the appellant that number 5 — the right to be taken immediately to a magistrate — did not apply because the appellant was not under arrest, and Speece placed an “x” in front of the number “5.” The rights form was read, in its entirety, four more times. On each reading, Speece gave a similar admonition that the appellant did not, under the circumstances, have the right to be taken to a magistrate, and he placed an “x” next to the number “6.” The confessions were reduced to writing, signed by the appellant, and witnessed by Chief Speece and another police officer. At the end of the interrogation, the appellant agreed to help with an investigation of some house burglaries. He was not placed under arrest and was permitted to leave.

The appellant moved for suppression of the confessions on the following grounds (1) the confessions were not voluntarily given; (2) the Miranda warnings were defective and confusing; and (3) the appellant should have been taken to a magistrate prior to the interrogation. Following an in camera hearing, the trial judge denied the motion to suppress.

At trial, Chief Speece read four confessions to the jury. The State also presented testimony of the owners or employees of the businesses that were broken into.

An acquaintance of the appellant, Kim Grinnan, was called as a witness by the State. She testified that the appellant came to her home three times in 1982, that he had a large quantity of coins with him, and that on one occasion he had a hack saw, screwdriver, hammer and crowbar. In March or April of 1982, the appellant had a tennis racket cover containing more than $200 in coins.

The appellant, for his defense, introduced three police reports in an effort to show differences between the details in appellant’s confessions and the facts as they were reported to the police by the victims. Ms. Grinnan and her husband John were the only witnesses called by the appellant. Ms. Grinnan testified that she was questioned by Chief Speece concerning the appellant’s whereabouts and that she later tried to contact the appellant to inform him that the police wanted to talk to him. During cross-examination, Mr. Grinnan confirmed that the appellant had about $200 in coins in March or April of 1982.

The appellant contends that it was error not to suppress the confessions. First, the appellant argues that the confession was involuntary in that (1) it was coerced by a threat to invoke the habitual criminal of[228]*228fender statute and imprison the appellant for life; and (2) the police chief offered to talk to the prosecutor about a plea bargain. Chief Speece denied making any threats, and he also testified that he told the appellant, after taking the statements, that the judge might accept a plea of guilty to one charge and allow the others to be dismissed. At the close of the suppression hearing, the court found that the appellant’s testimony was not credible and that there was neither intimidation nor coercion in the manner in which the statements were elicited. He further found the appellant to be sophisticated and well educated. For these reasons, the court concluded that the confessions were voluntary. The vol-untariness issue was also submitted to the jury with a proper instruction, as requested by the defense.2

Using the principle that a “trial court’s decision regarding the voluntariness of a confession will not be disturbed unless it is plainly wrong or clearly against the weight of the evidence,” Syl. pt. 3, State v. Vance, 162 W.Va. 467, 250 S.E.2d 146 (1978), we find no error on the issue of voluntariness of the confessions.

Second, the appellant contends that the confession should have been suppressed because the Miranda warnings were defective and confusing.

The trial court found, and we agree, that at the time of the interrogations, the appellant was not under arrest. Therefore, he had no right to be taken to a magistrate. In one of his statements, the appellant says that he understands he is not under arrest and that he is free to leave. His testimony at the suppression hearing reveals that the entire litany of rights was read to him by Chief Speece, who told him that the right to see a magistrate did not apply. An examination of appellant’s testimony reveals that he was not confused about the nature and extent of his rights. Under these circumstances, the alteration of the Miranda form was not improper.

Third, the appellant contends that he was under arrest and should have been taken to a magistrate prior to the interrogations. We reiterate that the trial court found that the appellant was not under arrest, and we find no reason to disturb that finding.

The appellant’s final contention with regard to the admissibility of the confessions is that two of them (Checkerboard Restaurant and J Co Lumber) were irrelevant because the dates of the offenses which the appellant admitted were different from the dates of the offenses as reported to the police by the victims.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Garrett
466 S.E.2d 481 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Parsons
381 S.E.2d 246 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1989)
State v. Cook
332 S.E.2d 147 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
324 S.E.2d 367, 174 W. Va. 225, 1984 W. Va. LEXIS 501, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-taylor-wva-1984.