Wright v. State

487 So. 2d 962
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedOctober 22, 1985
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 487 So. 2d 962 (Wright v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wright v. State, 487 So. 2d 962 (Ala. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

487 So.2d 962 (1985)

Gissiander Clifford WRIGHT
v.
STATE.

1 Div. 793.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

February 12, 1985.
On Return to Remand October 22, 1985.
Rehearing Denied January 28, 1986.
Certiorari Denied May 2, 1986.

*963 Stephen K. Orso, Mobile, for appellant.

Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and Jean Alexandra Webb, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

Alabama Supreme Court 85-541.

LEIGH M. CLARK, Retired Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction and sentence on a jury trial on an indictment that charged in pertinent part the following:

"GISSIANDER CLIFFORD WRIGHT... did in the course of committing a theft of lawful currency of the United States of America, the specific denomination(s) of said currency being unknown to the Grand Jury, of the approximate aggregate value of five hundred dollars ($500.00), the property of Winn-Dixie Louisiana, Incorporated, a corporation, used or threatened the imminent use of force against the person of Jane McCall, with intent to overcome her physical resistance or physical power of resistance, in violation of § 13A-8-43 of the Code of Alabama."

Alabama Criminal Code, § 13A-8-43, provides:

"(a) A person commits the crime of robbery in the third degree if in the course of committing a theft he:
"(1) Uses force against the person of the owner or any person present with intent to overcome his physical resistance or physical power of resistance; or
"(2) Threatens the imminent use of force against the person of the owner or any person present with intent to compel acquiescence to the taking of or escaping with the property.
"(b) Robbery in the third degree is a Class C felony."

At a duly conducted sentence hearing, after the State had given defendant notice it would proceed against him under the Habitual Felony Offender Act, it was shown he had been previously convicted of three or more felonies. The court sentenced him to imprisonment for life, which is within the permissible limits, as provided by § 13A-5-9(c)(1), which states:

*964 "On conviction of a Class C felony, he must be punished by imprisonment for life or for any term not more than 99 years but not less than 15 years; ..."

At the close of the State's case, defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal, alleging in the motion that the State had failed "to prove a prima facie case against the appellant ... and had failed to present sufficient evidence to prove the allegations of the indictment." The trial court denied defendant's motion, and such action is made the basis of the fourth issue presented by appellant, by which he contends the trial court committed reversible error. We think it appropriate to consider this issue first and thereby give a brief resume of the material evidence presented by the State before it rested its case.

Ms. Shirley Jean McCall testified she was working for Winn-Dixie on Broad Street in Mobile on May 2, 1983, at cash register No. 6 and that while she was making change for a lady in the line, the following occurred:

"A. I was making change and all of a sudden this guy had walked up behind me and pushed me over the side of the register.
"Q. Stop right there. You say he walked up beside you?
"A. Behind me. I don't know whether he'd walked or ran or what, but when I realized it he had pushed me.
"Q. You were facing—If you could imagine that I'm you on that particular day; I have got the cash register in front of me and I'm looking toward the back of the store—
"A. Right.
"...
"Q. What happened as you were making change for the lady?
"A. He walked up behind me and pushed me and started taking money out of the register.
"Q. All right. Stop right there. Someone pushed you?
"A. Right.
"Q. Do you know whether you were pushed with—Were you pushed with hands?
"A. Yes.
"Q. Do you know whether it was one or two hands?
"A. It felt like both hands.
"Q. Was it a hard push or a soft push?
"A. It was just enough to knock me off balance. You know, get me out of the way.
"Q. All right. Did you happen to look at this person?
"A. Yes.
"Q. How did you look at this person?
"A. Well, when I was giving the lady her change and I recognized some hands in my drawer, and I turned around and he was taking money out of my register as I turned around.
"Q. Was this after he pushed you?
"A. Right.
"Q. Okay. Did you look at this person in the face?
"A. Right.
"Q. Do you see that person in court today?
"A. Right.
"Q. Where is that person?
"A. Sitting right there.
"Q. Are you identifying this person right here?
"A. Yes, sir.
"MR. McGREGOR [State's counsel]: Let the record reflect, please, that the defendant has been identified.
"Q. Had you ever seen that person before?
"A. No.
"Q. How far was he from you?
"A. Well, about from here to here, because he was right up on me when I turned around.
"Q. You have indicated a distance of approximately three and a half feet?
"A. Maybe, if not closer.
"Q. All right. Did you get a good look at his face?
"A. Yes, sir.
"...
*965 "Q. For approximately how long?
"A. For a momentary second.
"Q. For more than one second?
"A. Yes.
"MR. ORSO [Defendant's attorney]: Judge, that's not what she said. She said a momentary second.
"THE COURT: And he is asking her to explain what she meant.
"Q. For approximately how long?
"A. Well, maybe two or three seconds or something like that.
"Q. Okay. What did you do after you were pushed?
"A. Well, like I said, I turned around and I saw him taking the money and I realized it and I hollered for my manager.
"Q. This was money from the cash drawer?
"A. Right.
"Q. Who was your manager?
"A. Mr. Sellers.
"Q. Did you scream?
"A. Yeah. I just hollered, I said, `He is taking my money.' I said, `Mr. Sellers he is taking my money.'
"...
"Q. Go back to when he pushed you. Did he knock you off balance?
"A. Yes.
"Q. And then you looked around and saw the hands in the cash register?
"A. After I got my balance, I turned back around and he was still getting the money out.
"Q.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Donnie Walton
881 F.3d 768 (Ninth Circuit, 2018)
LaFontaine v. State
668 So. 2d 119 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1995)
Jones v. State
591 So. 2d 569 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1991)
Owen v. State
586 So. 2d 958 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
487 So. 2d 962, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wright-v-state-alacrimapp-1985.