Thrush v. State

515 S.W.2d 122, 1974 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1912
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 23, 1974
Docket48684
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 515 S.W.2d 122 (Thrush v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thrush v. State, 515 S.W.2d 122, 1974 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1912 (Tex. 1974).

Opinion

OPINION

ONION, Presiding Judge.

This appeal is taken from a conviction for being an accomplice to robbery by assault, wherein the jury assessed the punishment at confinement in the Texas Department of Correction for twenty (20) years.

The sufficiency of the evidence is not challenged. Suffice it to say the record reflects that appellant advised and aided in the robbery of Jack Boozer, an employee at a coin shop in Waco, on March 8, 1972, wherein rare coins were taken.

Appellant’s first ground of error complains of the trial court’s refusal to grant his motion for continuance. Initially, we observe that appellant did not swear to the motion himself as required by Article 29.08, Vernon’s Ann.C.C.P., and for this reason nothing is presented for review. Galvan v. State, 461 S.W.2d 396 (Tex.Cr.App.1970). Nevertheless, there is another reason why this contention does not call for reversal. The basis for appellant’s motion for continuance was that his retained counsel, Thomas G. Sharpe, Jr., was involved as co-counsel in another criminal trial in a different part of the state. Since Attorney Sharpe was allowed to select a convenient date for the trial of this case by the trial judge, and since appellant was represented at trial by Mr. Sharpe’s law partner, Eduardo Roberto Rodriguez, we cannot say that the trial judge abused his discretion in denying the motion for continuance. In McKnight v. State, 432 S.W.2d 69 (Tex.Cr.App.1968), we said:

“Under the decisions of this court, a judgment will not be reversed because of the refusal to postpone a case on account of the absence of leading counsel where the record shows that associate counsel ably represented the defendant.” McKnight at 71.

Appellant next contends “the Trial Court erred in admitting in evidence tape-recorded conversations between the Appellant and one Thomas Edgar Haas, a Co-Defendant, in violation of Appellant’s Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights.” Although this ground of error is in dubious compliance with Article 40.09, Sec. 9, Vernon’s Ann.C.C.P., we shall consider appellant’s argument as we understand it. Haas, a principal in the robbery charged, negotiated an arrangement with officers of the Department of Public Safety whereby he would implicate appellant in return for dismissal of charges against himself. Of course, his testimony as an accomplice witness would require corroboration. Forbes v. State, 513 S.W.2d 72 (Tex.Cr.App.1974); Hendricks v. State, 508 S.W.2d 633 (Tex.Cr.App.1974). To avoid this problem a plan was devised whereby Haas would lure the appellant into incriminating conversations which would be tape-recorded by D.P.S. officers On two occasions (September 22, 1972, in a Houston apartment, and September 29, 1972, in a Houston motel), such conversations between Hass and appellant were recorded by the D.P.S.

The crux of appellant’s contention, as we perceive it, is that Haas was an agent of the D.P.S. at the time the recordings were made, and for this reason he should have advised the appellant of his "Miranda rights.” Failure to give the appellant such a warning should preclude admission of the tapes according to appellant. In support of this contention appellant cites a number of decisions by the United States Supreme Court. These various decisions may be considered in groups. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478, 84 S.Ct. 1758, 12 L.Ed.2d 977 (1964), are not applicable since appellant was not in custody when the recordings were made. Clearly those two cases concern only cus *125 todial interrogation. Casas v. State, 462 S.W.2d 581 (Tex.Cr.App.1970) (On Appellant’s Motion for Rehearing); Jones v. State, 442 S.W.2d 698 (Tex.Cr.App.1969). The other case in this general area which appellant contends is “controlling,” Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 84 S.Ct. 1199, 12 L.Ed.2d 246 (1964), is likewise in-apposite. Massiah involved conversations between co-defendants which were overheard by government agents by means of a radio transmitter installed with the knowledge of Massiah’s co-defendant. The Supreme Court held that this procedure violated Massiah’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel since it occurred after indictment and after counsel had been retained. Yet in the instant case there had been no arrest or indictment of appellant when the conversations were recorded. For this reason we cannot conclude that appellant’s Fifth or Sixth Amendment rights were impaired.

The remaining Supreme Court decisions relied upon by appellant relate to the Fourth Amendment. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967), is not in point since it involved intercepting a telephone conversation between two persons neither of whom consented to the interception. Appellant’s remaining cases hold diametrically opposite to his position. Uniformly the Supreme Court has refused to overturn convictions solely because they were based upon statements made by a defendant to a cohort he mistakenly trusted with incriminating information. See United States v. White, 401 U.S. 745, 91 S.Ct. 1122, 28 L.Ed.2d 453 (1971); Hoffa v. United States, 385 U.S. 293, 87 S.Ct. 408, 17 L.Ed.2d 374 (1966), and Lopez v. United States, 373 U.S. 427, 83 S.Ct. 1381, 10 L.Ed.2d 462 (1963). See also On Lee v. United States, 343 U.S. 747, 72 S.Ct. 967, 96 L.Ed. 1270 (1952). White specifically states that Hoffa and Lopes were “undisturbed” by the subsequent Katz decision. Indeed, far from indicating a denial of appellant’s Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights, the cases appellant cites specifically sanction the tactics employed in this case. This ground of error is overruled.

Appellant’s final ground of error asserts that admission of the tapes was error because the conversations contained remarks about unrelated extraneous offenses. While it is true that the State introduced the extraneous offenses during its case in chief, this procedure has been held to be harmless where the offenses subsequently become admissible. See Johnson v. State, 494 S.W.2d 870 (Tex.Cr.App.1973). Therefore, when the appellant raised the defense of duress based upon alleged threats by Haas against his life and that of his mother, extraneous offenses became admissible. Refutation of a defensive theory is a recognized exception to the general rule which prohibits admission of extraneous offenses. Powers v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
515 S.W.2d 122, 1974 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1912, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thrush-v-state-texcrimapp-1974.