DeBRULER, Justice.
Appellant William L Wethington and David Pemberton were arrested in connection with a robbery and associated crimes which occurred on October 2, 1986. Their causes were initially joined for trial, but after Pemberton was granted a motion for severance, each was tried in a separate jury trial. Appellant was found guilty on Count I, robbery, a Class B felony, LC. 35-42-5-1; Count II, theft, a Class D felony, 1.0. 85-48-4-2; Count III, criminal confinement, a Class B felony, 1.C. 85-42-3-8; and Count IV, intimidation, a Class C felony, .C. 85-45-2-1. The trial court sentenced appellant to twenty years on Count I and four years on Count II, these sentences to run concurrently, and to twenty years on Count III and eight years on Count IV, these sentences to run consecutively to the sentences imposed on Counts I and II and to each other. Appellant therefore received an executed sentence of forty-eight years. He now brings this direct appeal, claiming that errors were committed in the contexts of 1) search and seizure, 2) pre-trial identification procedures, 3) pretrial publicity, 4) chain of custody, 5) admission of photographs, and 6) sentencing.
Between 7:80 and 8:00 a.m. on October 2, 1986, appellant and Pemberton were walking south along State Road 39 just outside of New Brunswick. Boone County Deputy Sheriff Dennis Brannon stopped his police car near the two men and asked them where they had been and where they were going. They responded that they had been at a girlfriend's house and were on their way back to Indianapolis. Brannon testified that he told appellants that there had been a "situation that morning and that [he] would like to take them back so that the deputies could talk to them just to see if they were, in fact, maybe involved in the situation...."
The "situation" to which Brannon was referring had occurred about two hours previously at the home of Pat Adair, which was approximately three miles away from where the men were stopped. At about 6:00 a.m., two men had forced Pat and her two adult children, Danny and Dianne, to lie on their living room floor. The first man was armed with an automatic handgun, and the other was armed with a shotgun or a rifle. Pat's bedroom was ransacked by the first man, who was looking for marijuana, while the one with the shotgun stood over the Adairs. The first man found $120 in a purse and demanded to know where the marijuana was hidden. Pat told him it was in the freezer, and he took out a package of clothesline rope, cut it with a knife, and bound the hands of the Adairs. He tore up a sheet and gagged them. A blanket was then put over them, and gasoline was poured onto it from a container the intruders had brought with them. At one point, Dianne stuck her head out and was told to keep under the blanket or her head would be blown off. Both Pat and Dianne testified that they were told that they would be burned if. they did not eooperate. The man with the shotgun was about to go upstairs to look for others in the house when a woman's voice called out from the porch that she had seen something, and the two men left the house. The money, in denominations of a hundred dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill, and a large freezer bag containing six smaller plastic bags of marijuana were taken. David Presley, who is Dianne's boyfriend, their child, and Presley's cousin had been upstairs throughout the incident, and after [500] the men left, Dianne freed herself and ran up to check on the baby. Presley exchanged shots with the departing intruders. Danny then took Dianne next door to summon the police.
Deputy Brannon was one of the officers called to the Adair residence, and on his way back to the station, he heard a police radio broadcast that "two scruffy looking hitchhikers" had been seen walking along State Road 89. After stopping appellants as noted above, he patted them down because he had noticed something protruding from above Pemberton's belt. It was a large freezer bag with six smaller plastic bags of marijuana in it. His patdown of appellant revealed an automatic handgun, a knife, some gloves, and a billfold containing some change and the following bills: one hundred, one fifty, six twenties, one five, and four ones.
Brannon then received a radio dispatch that he was to take the two men to a nearby intersection. Upon their arrival, appellant and Pemberton got out of the police car and stood behind it so that, from across the road, they were visible from the waist up. The items taken from them were placed on the hood of the car. Danny and Dianne Adair were seated in separate police cars across the road, from which they viewed the men. Upon Danny's request, his police escort drove by them so that he could get a closer look. At one point, Brannon picked up the handgun and the knife and handed them to Sheriff Ern Hudson in full view of both the Adairs.
The men then got back in the police car, and while en route to the Boone County jail, Brannon got another radio dispatch that he was to take them instead to the Center Fire Station. There, the items produced by the patdown were placed on a chest freezer in the meeting room of the station, clearly visible from a table and chairs set up in the room. In turn, Pat, Danny, and Dianne Adair were seated at the table with a police officer. The men were brought in before each victim, one at a time and accompanied by a policeman. Each walked from a side door, across the room in front of the table, then turned and walked back out the door.
I Search and Seizure
Appellant claims that the gun and knife taken from him by Deputy Brannon were the products of a warrantless search conducted without probable cause and should have been suppressed at trial. Under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), a police officer may make an investigatory stop and limited search of an individual, even without a warrant and in the absence of probable cause to arrest, if the police officer is "able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion" on the individual's right of privacy. Id. at 20-21, 88 S.Ct. at 1879-80, 20 L.Ed.2d at 906; see also Coates v. State (1989), Ind., 584 N.BE.2d 1087; Owens v. State (1986), Ind., 497 N.E.2d 2830.
Deputy Brannon responded to the call to investigate the crimes committed against the Adairs, but was released from the scene by Sheriff Hudson shortly after his arrival. While en route back to the jail, Brannon heard a police radio dispatch regarding two hitchhikers in the area. At that time, Brannon knew that one of the intruders had been armed with a shotgun and that two white male suspects were believed to have fled on foot through a plowed field south of the house. The woman was believed to have driven north in a blue Camaro, which Presley had seen parked in the driveway. Brannon testified that he located the hitchhikers and stated,
As I got closer I could tell that one of them had a, something sticking[,] a pro-tusion [sic] sticking out in the front of the pants in the belt buckle area and uh, I, then their jeans were wet from about the knees down, wet and muddy, uh, which I just started putting things together....
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DeBRULER, Justice.
Appellant William L Wethington and David Pemberton were arrested in connection with a robbery and associated crimes which occurred on October 2, 1986. Their causes were initially joined for trial, but after Pemberton was granted a motion for severance, each was tried in a separate jury trial. Appellant was found guilty on Count I, robbery, a Class B felony, LC. 35-42-5-1; Count II, theft, a Class D felony, 1.0. 85-48-4-2; Count III, criminal confinement, a Class B felony, 1.C. 85-42-3-8; and Count IV, intimidation, a Class C felony, .C. 85-45-2-1. The trial court sentenced appellant to twenty years on Count I and four years on Count II, these sentences to run concurrently, and to twenty years on Count III and eight years on Count IV, these sentences to run consecutively to the sentences imposed on Counts I and II and to each other. Appellant therefore received an executed sentence of forty-eight years. He now brings this direct appeal, claiming that errors were committed in the contexts of 1) search and seizure, 2) pre-trial identification procedures, 3) pretrial publicity, 4) chain of custody, 5) admission of photographs, and 6) sentencing.
Between 7:80 and 8:00 a.m. on October 2, 1986, appellant and Pemberton were walking south along State Road 39 just outside of New Brunswick. Boone County Deputy Sheriff Dennis Brannon stopped his police car near the two men and asked them where they had been and where they were going. They responded that they had been at a girlfriend's house and were on their way back to Indianapolis. Brannon testified that he told appellants that there had been a "situation that morning and that [he] would like to take them back so that the deputies could talk to them just to see if they were, in fact, maybe involved in the situation...."
The "situation" to which Brannon was referring had occurred about two hours previously at the home of Pat Adair, which was approximately three miles away from where the men were stopped. At about 6:00 a.m., two men had forced Pat and her two adult children, Danny and Dianne, to lie on their living room floor. The first man was armed with an automatic handgun, and the other was armed with a shotgun or a rifle. Pat's bedroom was ransacked by the first man, who was looking for marijuana, while the one with the shotgun stood over the Adairs. The first man found $120 in a purse and demanded to know where the marijuana was hidden. Pat told him it was in the freezer, and he took out a package of clothesline rope, cut it with a knife, and bound the hands of the Adairs. He tore up a sheet and gagged them. A blanket was then put over them, and gasoline was poured onto it from a container the intruders had brought with them. At one point, Dianne stuck her head out and was told to keep under the blanket or her head would be blown off. Both Pat and Dianne testified that they were told that they would be burned if. they did not eooperate. The man with the shotgun was about to go upstairs to look for others in the house when a woman's voice called out from the porch that she had seen something, and the two men left the house. The money, in denominations of a hundred dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill, and a large freezer bag containing six smaller plastic bags of marijuana were taken. David Presley, who is Dianne's boyfriend, their child, and Presley's cousin had been upstairs throughout the incident, and after [500] the men left, Dianne freed herself and ran up to check on the baby. Presley exchanged shots with the departing intruders. Danny then took Dianne next door to summon the police.
Deputy Brannon was one of the officers called to the Adair residence, and on his way back to the station, he heard a police radio broadcast that "two scruffy looking hitchhikers" had been seen walking along State Road 89. After stopping appellants as noted above, he patted them down because he had noticed something protruding from above Pemberton's belt. It was a large freezer bag with six smaller plastic bags of marijuana in it. His patdown of appellant revealed an automatic handgun, a knife, some gloves, and a billfold containing some change and the following bills: one hundred, one fifty, six twenties, one five, and four ones.
Brannon then received a radio dispatch that he was to take the two men to a nearby intersection. Upon their arrival, appellant and Pemberton got out of the police car and stood behind it so that, from across the road, they were visible from the waist up. The items taken from them were placed on the hood of the car. Danny and Dianne Adair were seated in separate police cars across the road, from which they viewed the men. Upon Danny's request, his police escort drove by them so that he could get a closer look. At one point, Brannon picked up the handgun and the knife and handed them to Sheriff Ern Hudson in full view of both the Adairs.
The men then got back in the police car, and while en route to the Boone County jail, Brannon got another radio dispatch that he was to take them instead to the Center Fire Station. There, the items produced by the patdown were placed on a chest freezer in the meeting room of the station, clearly visible from a table and chairs set up in the room. In turn, Pat, Danny, and Dianne Adair were seated at the table with a police officer. The men were brought in before each victim, one at a time and accompanied by a policeman. Each walked from a side door, across the room in front of the table, then turned and walked back out the door.
I Search and Seizure
Appellant claims that the gun and knife taken from him by Deputy Brannon were the products of a warrantless search conducted without probable cause and should have been suppressed at trial. Under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), a police officer may make an investigatory stop and limited search of an individual, even without a warrant and in the absence of probable cause to arrest, if the police officer is "able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion" on the individual's right of privacy. Id. at 20-21, 88 S.Ct. at 1879-80, 20 L.Ed.2d at 906; see also Coates v. State (1989), Ind., 584 N.BE.2d 1087; Owens v. State (1986), Ind., 497 N.E.2d 2830.
Deputy Brannon responded to the call to investigate the crimes committed against the Adairs, but was released from the scene by Sheriff Hudson shortly after his arrival. While en route back to the jail, Brannon heard a police radio dispatch regarding two hitchhikers in the area. At that time, Brannon knew that one of the intruders had been armed with a shotgun and that two white male suspects were believed to have fled on foot through a plowed field south of the house. The woman was believed to have driven north in a blue Camaro, which Presley had seen parked in the driveway. Brannon testified that he located the hitchhikers and stated,
As I got closer I could tell that one of them had a, something sticking[,] a pro-tusion [sic] sticking out in the front of the pants in the belt buckle area and uh, I, then their jeans were wet from about the knees down, wet and muddy, uh, which I just started putting things together....
Given these circumstances and the facts known to Brannon at that time, along with the reasonable inferences to be drawn from them, Brannon was justified in stopping appellant and Pemberton to investigate fur[501] ther, and under the standards set forth in Terry, the search and seizure at issue here was reasonable. The police dispatch alerted Brannon to the presence of two men walking in the opposite direction of a crime scene from which armed perpetrators had escaped on foot. As he pulled his car to the side of the road, Brannon noticed that both were wearing flannel shirts and jeans, which matched the description of the clothing worn by the intruders, and that their jeans were wet and muddy from the knees down, which would be consistent with having come through a plowed field. He also noticed something protruding from the belt of one of the men. A policeman may search a person prior to questioning to remove any weapons that might be used to harm the officer or to effect an escape. Jones v. State (1985), Ind., 472 N.E.2d 1255.
When Brannon put the two men in his car to transport them to the location of the first identification, he effectuated a full custodial arrest which had to be supported by probable cause. At the time Brannon made the Terry stop, probable cause to arrest did not exist. However, even if probable cause to arrest does not exist at the time a legitimate investigation commences, probable cause may develop during the course of that investigation. Fyock v. State (1982), Ind., 486 NE.2d 1089. When Brannon discovered the handgun and marijuana during his patdown of appellant and Pemberton, probable cause to arrest was established. Jones, 472 N.E.2d 1255.
The items of physical evidence were not the product of an unlawful search and seizure, and the trial court did not err in denying appellant's motion to suppress their admission into evidence.
II Identification Procedures
Appellant contends that the confrontations conducted by the police at the roadside and the fire station were imper-missibly suggestive and that evidence of identification resulting from these confrontations should have been suppressed. This Court must determine whether "the confrontation[s] conducted in this case [were] so unnecessarily suggestive and conducive to irreparable mistaken identification" that appellant was denied due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment. Dillard v. State (1971), 257 Ind. 282, 286, 274 N.E.2d 387, 889 (quoting Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 298, 801-02, 87 S.Ct. 1967, 1972, 18 LEd.2d 1199, 1206 (1967)).
The practice of conducting a one-on-one show- up between a suspect and a victim has been widely condemned as being inherently suggestive both by the United States Supreme Court, see Stovall, supra, and by this Court, see Slaton v. State (1987), Ind., 510 N.E.2d 1348, 1348, and cases cited therein. Identification evidence gained from such show-ups, however, is not subject to a per se rule of exclusion. Id. Rather, the admissibility of the evidence turns on an evaluation of whether, under the totality of the circumstances, the confrontation procedure was conducted "in such a fashion as to lead the witness to make a mistaken identification," Dillard, 257 Ind. at 286, 274 N.E.2d at 889. In making this determination, this Court considers the factual details of how the confrontation was conducted. Any exigencies associated with the police decision to utilize a show-up procedure as opposed to other alternatives are also relevant because the admission of show-up identification evidence where the procedure occurred shortly after the commission of the crime has been approved by this Court, recognizing "the value of permitting a witness to view a suspect while the image of the perpetrator is fresh in the witness's mind," or where the circumstances rendered alternatives such as a photo or corporeal lineup impossible. Sletor, 510 N.E.2d at 1848 (quoting Head v. State (1982), Ind., 448 N.E.2d 44, 55).
The circumstances surrounding the two confrontations were as follows: Shortly after Dianne called the police, numerous law enforcement officials arrived at the Adair residence to investigate the incident. While some of the policemen searched and examined the house and grounds, other officers questioned the Adairs, and a collective description of each of the intruders [502] was compiled. Two hours after the commission of the crime, Danny and Dianne Adair were transported in separate police cars to an intersection near where appellants had been stopped by Deputy Bran-non. Danny testified that while en route, Officer Campbell told him that they had "picked up a couple of hitchhikers and wanted us to come and see if they was the right ones that had been to our house." Dianne testified that Officer Myers "told me [on the way] that they had picked up two hitchhikers on State Road 389 and they didn't know for sure if they was the men that was at our house, they just wanted us to go look at them to make sure." There were three police cars and at least seven law enforcement officials, most of whom were in uniform, at the intersection. At the scene of the crime, the three Adairs had collectively described both of the intruders as being 58" to 54" tall and wearing jeans and plaid flannel shirts. At the intersection, appellant and Pemberton, both of whom are about 5 7 " tall, stood in handcuffs behind a police car and beside Deputy Brannon, who is 66" tall. Bran-non was not in uniform and was wearing a solid colored cotton shirt. The gun and knife taken from appellant were on the hood of Brannon's car. Both Danny and Dianne identified appellant immediately as the man with the handgun who had tied them up, but they were less sure that Pem-berton was the man with the shotgun. Danny was then driven past the men for a closer look. At some point, Brannon picked up the gun and handed it to Sheriff Hudson. He then handed Hudson the knife. When Dianne saw these transactions, she told Officer Myers that those were the weapons she had seen earlier that morning.
Three hours after the commission of the crime, Pat, Danny, and Dianne Adair were taken to the Center Fire Station. Each in turn was seated at a table in the station's meeting room. Numerous police and fire officials, some in uniform, milled about the room. The gun, knife, gloves, and package of marijuana were displayed on a chest freezer such that all three victims testified that they noticed the items before the men were brought in. Pat testified that Hudson brought these items over to her to identify. Each of the victims viewed Bran-non as he brought in one of the men and a captain from the Lebanon Police Depart- , ment as he brought in the other. As noted previously, Brannon was not in uniform. The record does not disclose whether the Lebanon policeman was in uniform. As at the roadside, the victims positively identified appellant as the man with the handgun, but were more tentative in identifying Pemberton.
The manner in which the police conducted both of these pre-trial confrontations was egregious and is deserving of the strongest judicial condemnation. Displaying the suspects to Danny and Dianne Adair at the roadside and parading them before all three Adairs at the fire station, with the items of physical evidence so prominently featured and with so many law enforcement officials in attendance in each instance, was highly suggestive of guilt and totally unnecessary. No exigent circumstances existed which precluded setting up a properly constituted lineup for the Adairs to view, and the intervening time and events between the incident and the confrontations negated the freshness of the image in the minds of the victims as a justification for a one-on-one show-up. The testimony regarding the identification of appellant at both of the pre-trial confrontations should have been suppressed.
Where it is established that evidence of an out-of-court identification has been erroneously admitted based on a finding that the confrontation procedure was impermissibly suggestive, such error may be harmless constitutional error under Chapman v. California, 886 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 LEd.2d 705 (1967), see also Moore v. Illinois, 484 U.S. 220, 98 S.Ct. 458, 54 LEd.2d 424 (1977), and furthermore, a subsequent in-court identification may still be admissible if the State establishes by clear and convincing evidence that an independent basis for that in-court identification exists. Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188, 98 S.Ct. 875, 84 LEd.2d 401 (1972); Heiman v. State (1987), Ind., 511 N.E.2d [503]*503458; Lyons v. State (1987), Ind., 506 N.E.2d 818. A determination that an in-court identification by a witness was properly admitted will, in many instances, render the erroneous admission of a pre-trial identification by the same witness harmless. United States ex rel. Moore v. Illinois, 577 F.2d 411 (7th Cir.1978).
The inquiry with reference to the in-court identification is whether, under the totality of the circumstances surrounding the witness's initial observation of the perpetrator at the scene of the crime, the witness could resist any suggestiveness inherent in the improper confrontation staged by the police and make an accurate decision, based on that earlier contact with the perpetrator, that the person presented to him at trial was the one who committed the crime. Brooks v. State (1990), Ind., 560 N.E.2d 49 n. 1; Dillard, 257 Ind. 282, 274 N.E.2d 887. Factors relevant to the determination of whether an independent basis exists to support the admission of the in-court identification are the amount of time the witness was in the presence of the perpetrator and the amount of attention the witness had focused on him, the distance between the two and the lighting conditions at the time, the witness's capacity for observation and opportunity to perceive particular characteristics of the perpetrator, the lapse of time between the crime and the subsequent identification, the accuracy of any prior descriptions, the witness's level of certainty at the pre-trial identification and the length of time between the crime and the identification. Brooks, 560 N.E.2d at 55 n. 1 (citing Heiman, 511 N.E.2d at 460; Dillard, 257 Ind. at 286-87, 274 N.E.2d at 389).
The evidence regarding the victims' initial observation of the intruders at the scene of the crime showed the following: At the time of the crime, it was dark outside, but the living room was illuminated by a ceiling light which was on at all times during the fifteen-minute incident. The man with the handgun, who was identified at trial by all three Adairs as appellant, was not wearing a mask and was within inches of each victim's face as he tied their hands in front of them and put gags in their mouths. None of the Adairs was blindfolded. Appellant's appearance, in terms of age, complexion, hair color and length, and facial hair and with the exception of the the estimate of the intruder's height, corresponded roughly with the collective description of the man with the handgun which the victims had given at the scene. The description they gave of the intruder's clothing matched with appellant's attire very closely, down to the kind of shoes he was wearing. All three Adairs testified that when they saw appellant at each of the pre-trial confrontations, they were immediately certain that he was the one with the handgun, but were less sure of Pemberton's identity as the man with the shotgun. Given the totality of these circumstances, we find that there was a sufficient basis independent of the improper confrontations to support the admissibility of the in-court identifications of appellant as the perpetrator of these crimes. Then, given the additional inferences of identification stemming other sources, such as discovery of the physical items taken from him during the initial patdown, it is clear as well that the error in admitting the evidence of the pre-trial confrontations was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
Appellant also claims that these pretrial confrontations were conducted in derogation of his constitutional rights in that he was not afforded the assistance of counsel. In Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, 92 S.Ct. 1877, 82 L.Ed.2d 411 (1972), the United States Supreme Court rejected a claim that the defendant's right to counsel under United States v. Wade, 888 U.S. 218, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 18 LEd.2d 1149 (1967), had been violated because the defendant was not assisted by counsel at a pre-trial one-on-one show-up. The Court cited a long line of cases addressing the right to counsel and noted that "all of those cases have involved points of time at or after the initiation of adversary judicial criminal proceedings-whether by way of formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information, or arraignment." Id. at 689, 92 S.Ct. [504] at 1882, 32 LEd.2d at 417 (emphasis omitted).