Stock v. State

191 P.3d 153, 2008 Alas. App. LEXIS 87, 2008 WL 3876596
CourtCourt of Appeals of Alaska
DecidedAugust 22, 2008
DocketA-9732
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 191 P.3d 153 (Stock v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stock v. State, 191 P.3d 153, 2008 Alas. App. LEXIS 87, 2008 WL 3876596 (Ala. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

COATS, Chief Judge.

Kevin M. Stock was convicted, after a jury trial, of assault in the first degree, a class A felony. 1 The State alleged that Stock invited David Lynch back to his apartment, where he beat up Lynch with a boot east that belonged to Lynch. On appeal, Stock asserts that Superior Court Judge Eric Smith erred in admitting his statements to the police. He contends that the police violated his constitutional rights in obtaining the statements.

Stock also argues that Judge Smith erred in allowing Lynch’s mother to testify, in response to a question submitted by a juror, about whether she noticed injuries to Lynch that resulted from the assault. Stock argues that Lynch’s mother had insufficient personal knowledge to answer the question and that her testimony introduced a new theory of the case (that Lynch suffered protracted impairment of his health as a result of the assault).

For the reasons explained here, we reject Stock’s claims of error.

Factual and 'procedural background

On May 12, 2005, Palmer Police Officers Jamie Hammons and Kelly J. Turney responded to a 911 call reporting a disturbance at an apartment building in Palmer. Upon arrival, Officer Hammons placed Stock in handcuffs and asked him some questions while Officer Turney attempted to get a statement from Lynch, who was injured. Because Turney was unable to get a coherent statement from Lynch, he left Lynch with the medics and joined Hammons in questioning Stock. Hammons told Turney that he had established that Stock had asked Lynch to leave his apartment. Stock stated that he told Lynch to leave four times. Turney asked Stock why he had not called the police. Stock responded that he wanted to see if *155 Lynch would leave on his own. At this point, Turney asked Hammons whether he had given Stock Miranda 2 warnings. When Ham-mons said he had not, Turney read Stock his Miranda rights.

After reading Stock his Miranda rights, Officer Turney asked Stock whether he understood each of his rights. Stock affirmatively answered, “Yes, sir.” Turney then asked Stock, “Having those rights in mind, do you want to answer some questions for me?” Stock responded, “It depends what the questions are.” Turney suggested “go[ing] one [question] at a time.” Stock responded by stating, “Ask me one.”

From this point on, Stock chose to answer some questions but not others. In refusing to answer one question, Stock stated, “I know my rights.” He refused to answer some questions by simply not answering. At other times, he told Turney, “Ask me another question.”

During this questioning, Stock stated that Lynch was a hitchhiker that he picked up and brought to his apartment. They consumed some alcohol. Lynch then tried to steal some of Stock’s things. Stock told Lynch to leave several times. When Lynch refused to leave, Stock defended himself. Turney asked Stock several times what happened. But Stock refused to answer some of those questions, either by remaining silent or telling Turney to ask another question.

Toward the end of this interview, Stock stated that he was tired of answering questions.

Stock: I’m tired of answering questions.
Officer Turney: You’re tired of answering questions?
Stock: That’s my right, right?
Officer Turney: Of course it is. So you’ll tell me everything except for how he got hurt. That’s what I don’t understand. But no one else was in the apartment but you two?
Stock: Yes, sir.
Officer Turney: So obviously ...
Stock: And ...
Officer Turney: Did he hurt himself?
Stock: (inaudible reply) [Note: From listening to the tape, it is clear that Stock remains silent here.]
Officer Turney: Did he break his own arm and cut his own head?
Stock: The arm, I don’t know now.
Officer Turney: Okay. Then how did he— did he cut his own head?
Stock: (inaudible reply) [Note: From listening to the tape, it is clear that Stock remains silent here.]
Officer Turney: Did he hit himself with that boot by himself?
Stock: I’m tired of answering questions.

At this point, Turney placed Stock under arrest and transported him to the police station. At the police station, Turney asked Stock several questions about his sobriety and asked Stock to take a breath test to determine his level of sobriety. Turney told Stock that the jail needed to do the test to determine if Stock was sober enough to be placed in the general population of the jail. Stock refused to take a breath test. He told Turney that he was “not sober.”

The critical part of the interview occurred next. After booking, Stock was placed in a holding cell. He was interviewed in the holding cell about one-half hour after the interview in which he asserted his right to silence. Officer Turney initiated the interview in the following manner:

Officer Turney: Hi, Kevin.
Stock: Hi.
Officer Turney: Can I come in and talk to you for a minute?
Stock: Sure. Have a seat.
Officer Turney: Okay. Okay. Remember your Miranda rights I read you before we left the apartment building?
Stock: (inaudible reply) [Note: From listening to the tape, it is clear that Stock remains silent here.]
Officer Turney: Remember? That I read-that I read to you, do you remember those?
Stock: Yeah.
Officer Turney: Okay.
*156 Stock: So I can deny any questions that yon do ask me.
Officer Turney: That’s correct. You understand all those still?
Stock: Well (indiscernable).
Officer Turney: Okay. Well, I’m just asking if you still understand.
Stock: Yes.
Officer Turney: Okay. I’d like to ask you a couple more questions if I can.

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Related

Forster v. State
236 P.3d 1157 (Court of Appeals of Alaska, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
191 P.3d 153, 2008 Alas. App. LEXIS 87, 2008 WL 3876596, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stock-v-state-alaskactapp-2008.