United States v. Clarence S. Howell

447 F.2d 1114, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 8317
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedAugust 27, 1971
Docket1072_1
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 447 F.2d 1114 (United States v. Clarence S. Howell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Clarence S. Howell, 447 F.2d 1114, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 8317 (2d Cir. 1971).

Opinion

MULLIGAN, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal by Clarence S. Howell from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Orrin G. Judd, J., convicting him after a trial before a jury on bank robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) and § 371.

The convictions arose from the robbery of the Royal National Bank of New York in Brooklyn which took place at about 1:30 p. m. on October 29, 1969. On that afternoon four men entered the bank. A security guard, Alexander Cor-bett, was beaten by two of the men in a struggle for his gun. Another pointed a gun at the bank manager announcing that it was a holdup. A female employee was briefly detained as a hostage while another felon scooped up money from the head teller. As the four left the bank they were observed by a passerby who saw them enter a yellow cab marked “Particular People.” He made a mental note of the license plate number which quickly led to the apprehension and subsequent conviction of Faison and Pearson, two of those who had entered the bank. Three others were subsequently indicted, appellant Clarence Howell, William Hutchinson and John Harrison. The jury failed to reach a verdict as to Hutchinson; Harrison was not tried with them and later pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. Howell, the appellant, although acquitted of aggravated bank robbery under § 2113(d) was, as indicated, convicted of bank robbery and conspiracy.

There was no evidence that Howell was present in the bank on October 29, 1969 and the theory of the Government was that, having knowingly supplied the cab used for the robbery, he was an aider and abettor in the crime and thus liable as a principal. 18 U.S.C. § 2. The case against Howell was initiated with the discovery of the cab which had been identified as one belonging to the West Indian Cab Company and which was found abandoned in Brooklyn in the late afternoon of October 29, 1969. The cab had been rented for that day to one Paul Robinson who testified that on the evening of October 28th appellant Howell, who had known Robinson for a year, requested a loan of the cab the next day since “he had to move something.” On the morning of the 29th Robinson brought the cab to Howell’s office and gave him the keys in the presence of Faison and Pearson. Later that afternoon at about 3:30 p. m. Robinson met Howell at a local shoeshine parlor and received from him in payment for the use of the cab $200 in $1 and $5 bills. As. he left the store, Robinson gave the money to a friend, Sam Brown, asking him to hold it since he was “nervous about it.” Not having found his cab, Robinson reported it stolen to the West Indian Cab Company and later that afternoon he was confronted by F.B.I. agents in the Company’s office. Robin *1116 son admitted that he had loaned the cab to Howell, related the story of the $200 payoff and later that night, in the presence of F.B.I. agents, he requested and received $197 (in $1 and $5 bills) back from Brown. The F.B.I. started to search for Howell but did not locate him until August 13, 1970. On this occasion a surveillance team of F.B.I. agents in an automobile drove along the street parallel with Howell, who was walking on the sidewalk. They stopped the car, identified themselves and placed him under arrest. When a crowd began to collect, Howell was placed in the car and driven two blocks away. While spreadeagled against the car for a “pat down” an agent advised him of his rights, under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). He was then driven to F.B.I. headquarters in Manhattan. During the drive Howell stated “You can’t put me in the bank.” He also indicated that his arrest had been caused by Robinson whom he described as “that fink cabbie.” He further admitted that he provided the car to Faison for the bank robbery and that he had received $200 for the use of the car. He repeated these admissions at the F.B.I. office where he was later questioned but he refused to sign either a written statement or a waiver.

On appeal, appellant argues that the Government has failed to meet its burden of establishing that he voluntarily waived his Miranda rights on the occasion of his arrest. The argument is made that the sudden arrest and the frisking of the man against the car while the warnings were being given would indicate a lack of understanding and comprehension by Howell which would negate the voluntariness of any admission.

The trial court, in our view, properly admitted the inculpatory statements after a voluntariness hearing which was held out of the presence of the jury. There is no question but that anyone arrested suddenly under these conditions will be surprised and indignant. However, Howell was driven away from the scene of the arrest and even though the motivation of the agents was admittedly to protect themselves against possible violence from the crowd, there was clearly an opportunity during the course of the ride for Howell to regain his composure. There is no evidence here at all of coercion, fear or duress of any kind. Howell in fact testified that he was told that he had the right to be quiet until he saw a lawyer. Appellant’s reliance on United States ex rel., Stephen J. B. v. Shelly, 430 F.2d 215 (2d Cir. 1970) is misplaced. In that case the defendant was a sixteen year old boy who had no prior experience with police. He was caught in a stolen car and was not warned that his admissions could be used against him. Certainly admissions made by such a youth after a sudden arrest are to be viewed cautiously. However, Howell was scarcely a stranger to arrest or police procedures. He testified on direct examination to his prior convictions of at least six crimes and admitted to the use of several aliases.

Under the circumstances of this case, Howell’s refusal to sign a waiver at F.B.I. headquarters is not significant. Appellant relies on United States v. Nielsen, 392 F.2d 849 (7th Cir. 1968) where the defendant had refused to sign a waiver until he saw his attorney but was interrogated subsequently before he saw his counsel. In this case, there is no evidence at all that any request for counsel was made and it is clear that the Miranda warnings were repeated. He added nothing to the admissions already made on the occasion of his arrest and there is no evidence of continuing interrogation after the refusal to sign the waiver. Hence United States v. Jenkins, 440 F.2d 574 (7th Cir. 1971) is not in point. The Government has amply sus-' tained the burden of establishing that there was a voluntary waiver of Miranda rights.

Appellant also argues, although no exception was taken on the point during the trial, that the charge of the court on aiding and abetting was insufficient. *1117 Judge Judd’s main charge was as follows:

“This [18 U.S.C. § 2

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Bluebook (online)
447 F.2d 1114, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 8317, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-clarence-s-howell-ca2-1971.