Thomas v. State

223 So. 2d 318, 1969 Fla. LEXIS 2285
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedApril 2, 1969
DocketNo. 36629
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 223 So. 2d 318 (Thomas v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas v. State, 223 So. 2d 318, 1969 Fla. LEXIS 2285 (Fla. 1969).

Opinion

ROBERTS, Justice.

This is a direct appeal from a verdict and judgment convicting appellant of murder in the first degree without recommendation to mercy. Jurisdiction of the appeal attaches under Section 4(2), Article V, Florida Constitution, F.S.A.

The victim of the homicide was a young college student who was working as a taxicab driver during his summer vacation. He was found in his cab, fatally wounded and covered with blood, not long after a passenger, later identified as the appellant, had called for a cab and had been picked up by that driven by the victim. From evidence adduced by the State, the jury had the right to find that this was the last fare carried by the victim before his death. Blood stains on the appellant’s shirt and on money found hidden in his shoe after he was arrested were tested and found to be Type “A”, the same as that of the victim. Evidence heard by the jury was ample to show that the appellant had Type “O” blood.

The appellant pleaded not guilty to the charge made against him by the Grand Jury and made no statements or admissions of guilt either before or during the trial. (He did not take the stand in his own defense.) At the trial the appellant adduced evidence tending to show that the blood stains on his clothing could have come from a person other than the victim (although the blood type of such other person was not shown) but made no real attempt to establish an alibi as to his whereabouts at about the time of the murder. On this appeal, he does not directly question the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction. He does, however, question the legality of his arrest and the admissibility of the evidence taken from his person following his arrest. He also attacks the indictment filed against him on the ground that it was returned by an illegally constituted Grand Jury and contends that fundamental error was committed during his trial in respects referred to hereafter.

As to the legality of his arrest without a warrant, the appellant first contends that the arrest made by the sheriff was based on mere suspicion and not on probable cause. This contention is without merit. The cab containing the body of the victim was discovered about 9:15 or 9:20 p. m., and the police were notified at 9:28 p. m. The sheriff was informed that a Negro male, dressed in dark pants and a white shirt, with a bandage on his left arm, had called the cab at Ashmore’s Drug Store at approximately 8:50 p. m. He was also informed that a colored male, about five feet and seven inches tall, wearing a white shirt and dark pants, had been seen about a block from where the cab was found, walking hurriedly, counting money. When apprehended, at about five o’clock the next morning, the appellant was wearing dark pants and a white shirt, had a bandage on his left arm, and answered the same general physical description as that of the Negro seen walking in the vicinity of the cab. These circumstances unquestionably meet the “reasonable man” test for probable cause. See Nelson v. State, 1966, Fla.App., 188 So.2d 353; Rogers v. State, 1947, 158 Fla. 582, 30 So.2d 625.

It is also contended that the arrest was illegal because the appellant was not informed of the charge against him at the time he was taken into custody. It was shown that immediately after he was arrested the appellant was told not to make a statement and that he was informed of the cause of his arrest soon after his arrival at the Sheriff’s office. The arresting officers had probable cause to believe that appellant had murdered the cab driver, and the delay in advising, him of the cause of his arrest does not appear to have prejudiced him in any way whatsoever. We find no reversible error here. See Flowers v. State, 1943, 152 Fla. 649, 12 So.2d 772; City of Miami v. Nelson, 1966, Fla.App., 186 So.2d 535.

The appellant next contends that the failure to take him before a committing [321]*321magistrate until some twenty-seven days after his arrest was also a factor contributing to his “illegal” arrest. This contention can be given short shrift. Clearly, the delay in taking him before the committing magistrate does not invalidate what was otherwise a legal arrest. And it is well settled that the rule of McNabb v. United States, 318 U.S. 332, 63 S.Ct. 608, 87 L.Ed. 819 — that “due process” requires the prompt presentation of an accused before a committing magistrate in federal prosecutions — has not been extended to state prosecutions. See Milton v. Cochran, 1962, Fla., 147 So.2d 137. Moreover, the McNabb rule has been said to be “in 'the nature of a rule to determine the admissibility of evidence rather than a pronouncement of an organic essential.” Leach v. State, 1961, Fla., 132 So.2d 329. In the instant case there was no question concerning the admissibility of a confession since the appellant made none. We find no harmful or reversible error in the delay complained of. See Young v. State, 1962, Fla., 140 So.2d 97; Singer v. State, 1959, Fla., 109 So.2d 7; Romanello v. State, 1964, Fla.App., 160 So.2d 529.

Another assignment of error relating to the arrest has to do with the trial judge’s submitting to the jury the question of whether there was “probable cause” for the arrest without a warrant. It is contended that the legality of an arrest when the facts are not in dispute is a question for the court and not for the jury, and that “to allow hearsay testimony of a prejudicial nature relating solely to the legality of the arrest to go to the jury is reversible error.” There is no merit to this contention.

In Dixon v. State, 1931, 101 Fla. 840, 132 So. 684, relied upon by appellant, this court said that

“ * * * if the facts constituting the reasonable grounds for belief of commission of felony upon which the arrest is made are in dispute, the question is for the jury under proper instructions; but if there is no dispute in the testimony about such facts, the question is for the court.”

In that case the defendant police officers were charged with culpable negligence and aggravated assault arising out of their shooting into an automobile thought to have been stolen in order to apprehend the suspected thief. The trial judge submitted to the jury the question of whether reasonable grounds existed for the arrest without a warrant, and this court held that there was no error in so doing as against a contention on the appeal that a verdict should have been directed for the defendants. The other case cited by the appellant in support of his contention, City of Miami v. Nelson, 1966, Fla.App., 186 So.2d 535, also involved alleged misconduct on the part of police officers in the use of excessive force in making an arrest. In a civil suit for damages filed against the City of Miami, the trial judge submitted to the jury the questions of probable cause and use of excessive force and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. On appeal, the appellate court held that the undisputed evidence showed that the police officers acted in good faith and used no excessive force and that the trial judge should have directed a verdict in favor of the defendants.

The facts of the instant case are different. Here, the validity of the arrest is relevant to the question of the admissibility of the evidence taken from the appellant following his arrest. In a pre-trial order on appellant’s motion to suppress this evidence because of the alleged unlawful arrest, the trial judge ruled that the undisputed evidence showed that probable cause existed for the arrest of the appellant.

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Related

People v. Sims
519 N.E.2d 921 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
Thomas v. State
399 So. 2d 533 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1981)
Ago
Florida Attorney General Reports, 1976

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223 So. 2d 318, 1969 Fla. LEXIS 2285, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-state-fla-1969.