United States v. William Raymond Slipka

735 F.2d 1064, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 21947
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJune 1, 1984
Docket83-2086
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 735 F.2d 1064 (United States v. William Raymond Slipka) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth 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. William Raymond Slipka, 735 F.2d 1064, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 21947 (8th Cir. 1984).

Opinion

ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

William Raymond Slipka was convicted of bank robbery under 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), (d) (1982) and sentenced to twenty-one years in prison. He appeals, contending that (1) there was no probable cause for his warrantless arrest, and (2) the District Court 1 improperly considered prior unconstitutional juvenile convictions in setting the sentence. We affirm the conviction but vacate the sentence and remand for further proceedings.

I.

On the morning of March 23, 1983, FBI Special Agent John F. Gunn was watching Slipka’s home in Columbia Heights, a suburb of Minneapolis. 2 At about 10:40 a.m., Agent Gunn saw Slipka approach his (Slip-ka’s) car, a blue Chrysler with a white top, carrying a pair of white athletic shoes with blue trim. Slipka was wearing sunglasses, a black leather coat, a white or light-colored shirt, blue jeans, and dark-colored shoes. When Slipka drove away, Agent Gunn followed but lost him in traffic.

About 12:20 p.m., Agent Gunn heard a report over his car radio that the Macales-ter-Groveland branch office of the Minnesota Federal Savings and Loan Association had been robbed. The suspect was described as a white male, six feet, two inches tall, with a heavy build, and wearing a dark leather jacket, blue jeans, white and blue athletic shoes, sunglasses, and a dark blue knit cap. He was reported to have left the scene in a white-topped car. 3

Some three hours later, Agent Gunn again saw the Chrysler parked by Slipka’s home. Slipka was standing by the open trunk of the car.. When the two men made eye contact, Slipka slammed the trunk and ran. Agent Gunn gave chase until Slipka tripped and fell on the ground. As Agent Gunn approached, Slipka tried to throw away several items, later discovered to be a dark blue knit cap, a set of car keys, and a towel.

After arresting Slipka, Agent Gunn and his partner, Agent Sena, found two bills on Slipka’s person which proved to be “bait money” taken in the robbery. When the agents retraced the chase route, they also found a red sock containing a gun and some plastic bags containing small amounts of white powder. A subsequent search of Slipka’s car revealed several more bills which were part of the “bait money” taken in the robbery, along with other cash and a black leather jacket.

II.

Slipka argues that the transmitted description of the robber was not sufficiently detailed, but rather was a general description applicable to a large number of people and could not give rise to probable cause to arrest any one individual. He also points out that flight from a police officer, standing alone, will not justify an arrest. We reject this argument. “The determination of whether probable cause exists ... depends on the cumulative effect of the facts in the totality of circumstances.” United *1066 States v. Everroad, 704 F.2d 403, 406 (8th Cir.1983) (citing United States v. McGlynn, 671 F.2d 1140, 1143 (8th Cir.1982)).

Here, Agent Gunn knew that Slipka’s appearance less than two hours before the robbery matched the description of the robber in almost every respect. This, coupled with Slipka's flight, would "warrant a prudent man in believing that [Slipka] had committed ... an offense.” Ibid, (quoting, e.g., Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964)). Thus, Slipka’s arrest was supported by probable cause, and the evidence subsequently seized was properly admitted at trial. See generally, e.g., Sibron v. New York, 392 U.S. 40, 66-67, 88 S.Ct. 1889, 1904, 20 L.Ed.2d 917 (1968) (“[Deliberately furtive actions and flight at the approach of strangers or law officers are strong indicia of mens rea, and when coupled with specific knowledge on the part of the officer relating the suspect to the evidence of crime, they are proper factors to be considered in the decision to make an arrest.”); United States v. Martinez-Gonzalez, 686 F.2d 93, 99-100 (2d Cir.1982); United States v. Green, 670 F.2d 1148, 1152 (D.C.Cir.1981). Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of conviction.

III.

Slipka also argues that, in setting the twenty-one-year sentence, the District Judge considered several uncounselled, and therefore unconstitutional, juvenile adjudications listed in the presentence report. The convictions antedate In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 378 (1967), in which the Court held that the constitutional right to counsel applies to juvenile delinquency adjudications as well as to adult criminal prosecutions.

The first issue is whether Gault’s recognition- of the right to counsel at juvenile-delinquency adjudications is retroactive. We hold that it is. The right is one “that goes to the heart of the truth-finding function,” the type of right that the Supreme Court has “consistently held to be retroactive.” Solem v. Stumes, — U.S. -, 104 S.Ct. 1338, 1343, 79 L.Ed.2d 579 (1984). Since Gault essentially extends the protections of Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963), to juveniles, and since Gideon is retroactive, see Pickelsimer v. Wainwright, 375 U.S. 2, 84 S.Ct. 80, 11 L.Ed.2d 41 (1963), Gault should be given the same retroactive effect. Further, neither adult criminal convictions nor juvenile-delinquency adjudications, when constitutionally infirm, may be used to enhance a defendant’s sentence. See, e.g., United States v. Tucker, 404 U.S. 443, 92 S.Ct, 589, 30 L.Ed.2d 592 (1972); Del Piano v. United States, 575 F.2d 1066 (3d Cir.1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 944, 99 S.Ct. 2889, 61 L.Ed.2d 315 (1979); United States v. Norcome, 375 F.Supp. 270, 292 (D.D.C.), aff'd mem., 497 F.2d 686 (D.C.Cir.1974); State v. Flores, 13 Or.App. 556, 511 P.2d 414 (1973).

The District Court denied Slipka’s motion to strike references to his juvenile adjudications from the presentence report.

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735 F.2d 1064, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 21947, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-william-raymond-slipka-ca8-1984.