Williams v. State

395 N.E.2d 239, 271 Ind. 656
Indiana Supreme Court·Decided October 2, 1979·No. 1278S281·Published·Cited by 96 cases

Opinion

HUNTER, Justice.

Defendant Andre Williams, was convicted by a jury of four counts of armed robbery, a class B felony, Ind.Code § 35-42-5-1 (Burns 1979), and one count of attempted involuntary manslaughter, Ind.Code § 35-42-1-4 (Burns 1979), and sentenced to fifteen years on each armed robbery count and five years for attempt, all sentences to run concurrently. Defendant, Romain Odessa Carter, was convicted by the same jury of four counts of theft, a class D felony, Ind.Code § 35-43-4-2 (Burns 1979), and sentenced to four years on each count, those sentences to run concurrently. They now appeal raising the following issues:

1. Whether the warrantless search of defendants’ car constituted an illegal search and seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution;

*242 2. Whether the in-court identifications of defendant Williams were constitutionally tainted by a pretrial show-up or the products of an unlawful search;

3. Whether the trial court erred in overruling defendant Williams’s motion for judgment on the evidence with respect to the attempted murder charge, and whether defendant Williams’s conviction of attempted involuntary manslaughter is supported by the evidence;

4. Whether the trial court erred in instructing the jury as to its duty and in giving the jury verdict forms which did not give the jury the right to choose the sentence;

5. Whether the trial court erred in giving the state’s tendered instruction and refusing defendants’ instruction on the issue of flight;

6. Whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the theft conviction of defendant Carter;

7. Whether the trial court erred in overruling defendants’ motion to dismiss; and

8. Whether the trial court erred in sentencing defendant Carter.

The facts most favorable to the state follow.

On March 21, 1978, defendant Williams, wearing a dark ski mask, entered the Old National Bank in Evansville, Indiana. He clicked a short barreled revolver twice in an attempt to fire shots signalling a robbery. When the gun failed to fire, he announced that a robbery was in progress. Williams approached the bank manager and warned her not to sound the alarm, which, unbeknownst to Williams, she had already done.

Williams then ordered everyone to lie on the floor. He then approached each of four tellers and ordered them at gunpoint to fill a white pillow case with money. The tellers did as Williams ordered, including marked “bait money” in the pillow case. The evidence showed that Williams discharged his weapon once in the bank, although no one was injured. Williams then fled the bank.

Assistant bank manager, Ronald McConnell, chased Williams down an alley and a street. When Williams noticed his pursuer, he turned and fired his gun a second time. McConnell ducked safely behind a tree. A passing motorist observed Williams fire the gun, run to a silver-blue Camaro, driven by defendant Carter, and jump into the trunk. The motorist recorded the license number and relayed the information to McConnell who hailed a police vehicle and gave the police officer the information. A general police broadcast alerted several police officers to this information and a chase ensued on United States Highway 41 involving the Camaro, Evansville police, state police and the FBI.

Defendant Carter did not pull over until police boxed in her vehicle. She was immediately arrested and handcuffed. Police were then informed, over the radio, that the suspect had jumped in the trunk. One officer tapped the trunk of the vehicle and received acknowledgment from Williams. Carter did not have the key to the trunk so police pried it open. Inside they found Williams, a ski cap, a revolver, two spent cartridges, one unused cartridge and a white pillow case with money in it, all of which were later admitted into evidence at trial.

Two officers were driving Williams to the police station when they received a radio call telling them to take Williams back to the bank and secure witness identification. Williams, handcuffed and shackled, was removed from the squad car and stood up in front of bank personnel. Williams was then taken to the police station and booked. His clothes were removed for purposes of placing them into evidence.

I.

Defendants first allege that the warrant-less search of their getaway car constituted an illegal search and the seizure of items in the trunk constituted an illegal seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We do not agree.

This Court has held that where police have probable cause to believe that an automobile contains instrumentalities and evi *243 dence of a crime, they may search that automobile without a warrant. Montague v. State, (1977) 266 Ind. 51, 360 N.E.2d 181; Brown v. State, (1976) 264 Ind. 484, 346 N.E.2d 559. In Brown we held:

“[W]e conclude that the officers had probable cause to believe that seizable items would be found inside the car. They knew that a holdup had taken place, and that a shot had been fired. Yet no gun had been found with the suspect. It was reasonable, under such circumstances, for the officers to search the vehicle for instrumentalities and evidence of the crime.” 264 Ind. at 489, 346 N.E.2d at 561.

Courts have consistently sustained police intrusions into automobiles in lawful police custody. The United States Supreme Court in South Dakota v. Opperman, (1977) 428 U.S. 364, 96 S.Ct. 3092, 49 L.Ed.2d 1000, ruled that:

“the inherent mobility of automobiles creates circumstances of such exigency that, as a practical necessity, rigorous enforcement of the warrant requirement is impossible.” 428 U.S. at 367, 96 S.Ct. at 3096, 49 L.Ed.2d at 1004.

The United States Supreme Court also noted the low expectation of privacy associated with automobiles because of the public nature of auto travel. Ibid.

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Williams v. State, 395 N.E.2d 239, 271 Ind. 656 (Ind. 1979).

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