United States v. Bebik

220 F. Supp. 572, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7393
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. North Carolina
DecidedAugust 27, 1963
DocketCrim. Nos. 2509-2511
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 220 F. Supp. 572 (United States v. Bebik) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Bebik, 220 F. Supp. 572, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7393 (W.D.N.C. 1963).

Opinion

WARLICK, District Judge.

This action came before the Court as a third motion filed by petitioner under the provisions of 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255, in which he seeks to vacate a sentence of twenty-five (25) years imposed upon him on November 23, 1955.

Petitioner, Norman Bebik, together with his co-defendants Carl Virgil Wacker and Bernard Edward Gosnell, were tried in this Court on November 21-23, 1955, under two bills of indictment, in which the following charges were laid.

1. Criminal No. 2511 — 3 counts charging violations of the Bank Robbery Statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2113, — in that Petitioner and Carl Virgil Wacker took from the Hot Springs Branch of the Citizen’s Bank of Marshall, North Carolina, $19,-434, by force and violence and by use of dangerous weapons, pistols, said bank having had its deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

2. In Criminal No. 2509, Petitioner, Wacker, and Gosnell were charged with the conspiracy to violate the provisions of the Bank Robbery Statute, said indictment containing five (5) overt acts, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 18 U.S. C. § 2113.

The offenses were alleged to have taken place between the dates of May 15, 1955 and May 18, 1955.

When the trial came on at the November 1955 term of this court at Asheville, petitioner was represented by I. C. Crawford of the Buncombe County Bar, a lawyer of fine reputation and one whom petitioner employed of his own choosing. The defendant, Gosnell, in No. 2509 entered a plea of guilty. Petitioner and Wacker pleaded not guilty in both cases and were tried by a jury. Wacker was also represented by counsel of his own choosing. The jury returned a verdict of guilty as to both defendants and judgment was consolidated in the cases as to Bebik and Wacker and each was given twenty-five (25) years to serve. Gosnell was sentenced to serve a term of ten years. Incidentally none of the money taken in the robbery was ever recovered, presumably being carried to the State of Ohio where Wacker and Bebik lived and disposed of by them and their associates.

Petitioner and Wacker filed an appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, but failed to perfect the appeal within the time allowed; and, accordingly, the appeal was dismissed. However, the Court of Appeals, before granting the motion to dismiss, and in view of the length of the sentences imposed, undertook an examination of the entire record to determine whether there was any merit in the appeal. The appeal was disposed of by per curiam opinion in Wacker and Bebik v. United States, 231 F.2d 659, wherein the Court, among other things, stated:

“ * * * a careful examination of the record satisfies us that there is no merit whatever in the appeal and that the motion to dismiss should be granted.”

Thereafter, on July 19, 1961, petitioner filed a motion to vacate sentence before this Court on the ground that the District Judge did not afford him an opportunity to address the Court on the matter of punishment before sentence was im- * posed. That motion was denied without hearing by this Court on July 24, 1961, and petitioner appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. By an opinion filed May 2, 1962, entitled United States' v. Bebik, 302 F.2d 335, the Court of Appeals, through Judge Soper’s opinion, affirmed this Court’s dismissal of the motion without hearing.

Petitioner filed the motion under consideration on May 15, 1962, alleging in said petition that he was incompetent at the time of trial and sentence, as well as insane at the time of the commission of the crime and that, therefore this Court was without jurisdiction to proceed to judgment. Delay came about in this inquiry through the Court’s effort to secure the facts therein. Thereafter, on January 22, 1963, a supplementary motion was filed by petitioner, and his. original co-defendant, Carl Virgil Wacker, joined with him in said motion, and sought similar relief under the same motion. The supplementary motion seto [574]*574forth the further argument that the Court Reporter failed to transcribe the respective arguments of Government counsel and his counsel to the jury, and that such argument alluded to his mental capacity at that time. A hearing was granted in this matter and on February 28, 1963, the petitioner was returned from the United States Penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia, and brought before the Court. At that time petitioner advised the Court that he was without counsel and requested that counsel be appointed to represent him. Following this request Thomas A. Uzzell, Jr., formerly United States Attorney of the Western District of North Carolina was appointed to represent the petitioner. Following conferences between petitioner and his attorney, the matter came on for hearing. At the beginning of the hearing the petitioner’s attorney stated that the question involved and upon which they would proceed was that, in accordance with the opinion of Judge Soper of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on a prior review of this case, there were “other aggravating circumstances during the trial which would make the petitioner’s denial of the right of allocution prejudicial.” The pertinent part of Judge Soper’s opinion, as quoted by the attorney for the petitioner, is as follows:

“The Court did not consider whether such an error would entitle the prisoner to relief in a proceeding under § 2255 if it were shown that the denial of the right was accompanied by other aggravating circumstances. It merely held that collateral relief is not available when all that is shown is failure to comply with the formal requirements of the rule. “Since nothing else was shown in the pending case, the decision of the District Court was correct and will be affirmed.”

The petitioner was sworn and gave testimony alleging the “other aggravating circumstances” to be:

1. That he was incompetent at the time of trial and sentence as well as insane at the time of the commission of the crime;

2. That Government officials and witnesses were aware of the defendant’s abnormal behavior and failed to impart such to the Court;

3. That the United States Attorney in his argument to the jury made certain prejudicial accusations as to the character of the petitioner, and,

4. That the petitioner was faced with completing a sixteen (16) year sentence in the State of Ohio, which should have been brought to the attention of the Court for consideration in passing sentence.

Initially, it must be stated that these matters should have been presented upon appeal from the conviction of November, 1955. However, as a full hearing has been conducted, the following facts are found:

FINDINGS OF FACTS:

1. Petitioner, having been charged with the crime of bank robbery, was committed to the Buncombe County Jail in default of bond approximately six (6) months prior to the time of his trial.

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Related

United States v. Norman Bebik Carl Virgil Wacker
333 F.2d 736 (Fourth Circuit, 1964)

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Bluebook (online)
220 F. Supp. 572, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-bebik-ncwd-1963.