State v. Greenawalt

• Decision Date: 23 January 1981
• Docket Number: No. 4616,4616
• Parties: STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Randy GREENAWALT, Appellant.
• Court: Arizona Supreme Court

Page 828

624 P.2d 828

128 Ariz. 150

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Randy GREENAWALT, Appellant.

No. 4616.

Supreme Court of Arizona, In Banc.

Jan. 23, 1981.

Rehearing Denied March 3, 1981.

Robert K. Corbin, Atty. Gen., Phoenix by Bruce M. Ferg, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tucson, for appellee.

Robert C. Brown, Casa Grande, for appellant.

STRUCKMEYER, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal by Randy Greenawalt from judgments of guilty to four counts of murder in the first degree, two counts of armed robbery, three counts of kidnapping, and one count of theft of a motor vehicle and from the sentences of death on the murder convictions. Affirmed.

A brief statement of the facts supporting the convictions for murder will be given at this point. Other facts necessary for an understanding of the many claimed errors will be set forth as the occasion demands.

On Sunday, July 30, 1978, appellant and Gary Tison were imprisoned in the Arizona State Prison at Florence, Arizona, serving lengthy sentences for murder. On that day, they escaped from the Arizona State Prison Trusty Annex. They were aided in their escape by Tison's three sons who were visiting the prison. Appellant actively participated in the escape, having access to the trusty annex control center and receiving and using weapons provided by Tison's sons to compel the cooperation of guards and prison visitors. Appellant and the four Tisons left the prison driving a green Ford sedan. A short time later, they transferred to a Lincoln Continental. This vehicle was later found disabled in Yuma County, Arizona, near Quartzsite.

On August 6, 1978, the bodies of John Lyons, his wife, Donnelda Lyons, and his twenty-two-month-old son, Christopher, were found in or near the Lincoln Continental automobile. Five days later, on August 11, 1978, the body of Theresa Tyson, a niece of the Lyonses, was found in a wash approximately one-fifth of a mile west of the Lincoln Continental. The remains of the Lyonses' small dog were found close to Theresa's body.

John Lyons was the the owner of a late model Mazda automobile. It was subsequently found in a forested area in Coconino County near Flagstaff, Arizona, where it was partially buried and covered with pine branches, abandoned when the Tisons and Greenawalt obtained a four-wheel drive truck in Flagstaff.

In the early morning of August 11, 1978, appellant, together with Gary Tison and his three sons, ran through a roadblock in Pinal County, Arizona. At that time they were traveling in a stolen Ford van with a Texas license. At a second roadblock, the van was forced off the road and stopped. Donald Tison, a son of Gary Tison, was found shot and unconscious in the driver's seat. Ricky and Raymond Tison, two other sons of Gary Tison, together with appellant, fled into the desert but were captured. Gary Tison escaped. His body was found several days later where he had died from exposure on the desert.

Appellant assigns twenty-three errors on appeal. It is first urged that the trial court erred in refusing to appoint an expert to conduct a public opinion survey. The purpose of the requested survey was to determine the extent to which pretrial publicity had permeated the community, thereby supplying the basis of a motion for change of venue by showing that prejudicial pretrial publicity would have the probable effect of denying appellant a fair trial.

A.R.S. § 13-1673(B) (now § 13-4013(B)) specifically provides for court-appointed experts in capital cases in this language:

"When a person is charged with a capital offense the court * * * shall upon application of the defendant and a showing that the defendant is financially unable to pay for such services, appoint such investigators and expert witnesses as are reasonably necessary adequately to present his defense at trial * * *."

The question whether an expert can properly be appointed, pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-1673(B), to conduct a public opinion poll for the purpose of substantiating a claim that prejudicial pretrial publicity necessitates a change of venue was answered by this Court in State v. Smith, 123 Ariz. 231, 599 P.2d 187 (1979). We held:

"Jury selection and proceedings for change of venue are not matters having a bearing on the ultimate question of defendant's guilt or innocence and therefore, are not contemplated by the statute's requirement of necessity 'to present his defense at trial * * *'."

The trial court correctly denied appellant's request to have an expert appointed to conduct a public opinion survey.

Appellant urges that the court erred by imposing a limitation on his use of a court-appointed investigator to areas previously presented to and approved by the court. The court ordered that an investigator be appointed from time to time, based upon counsel's in camera representations as to the necessity of investigations, and further ordered:

"* * * if the defendants wish to have any particular area investigated, then the Court will require that in each instance, counsel advise the Court what they wish to have investigated and why it appears to them to be material." (Omnibus Hearing, September 12, 1978)

It is argued that the trial judge did not need to exercise such personal control over the investigatory activities of counsel and that such control had a "definitely chilling effect upon the conduct of the case."

In State v. Knapp, 114 Ariz. 531, 562 P.2d 704 (1977), this Court found that the trial court did not err in refusing to allow the court-appointed expert to conduct a questionable experiment. There we set forth the guidelines to be used by the trial court in effecting A.R.S. § 13-1673(B) as well as the scope of review of such actions on appeal:

"A.R.S. § 13-1673(B) is not to be construed as mandating, in every case, an appointment of investigators or experts, nor the expenditure of public money for their use, merely upon application. There must be a finding, by the trial court, (1) that the defendant is unable to pay for such services himself and (2) that the appointment and expenditure is reasonably necessary to present an adequate defense. This determination * * * rests in the sound discretion of the trial court. In the absence of a showing that the determination was an abuse of that discretion, it will not be disturbed on appeal." 114 Ariz. at 540-541, 562 P.2d 704.

The determination of what expenditures are reasonably necessary to enable the defendant to present an adequate defense is within the sound discretion of the trial court. The requirement that counsel indicate what was to be investigated and why it was believed to be material was not only reasonable but required in order for the court to determine that the expenditure sought was reasonably necessary to enable defendant to present an adequate defense. Appellant made no showing, and our review of the record does not reveal any instance in which the court either denied such a request for an investigator or refused a requested area of investigation presented to the court pursuant to the order.

Appellant's assertion that the disparity between the State's resources and the refusal of the court to appoint an investigator without the prior approval of the court "would seem to be a clear denial of Due Process under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments" was also addressed and answered in State v. Knapp, supra, wherein we quoted, approved, and adopted the language of the Indiana Supreme Court:

"* * * when the court is allocating state funds for the defense of a defendant, it is rational for the court to use discretion in granting or denying the defendant's requests * * * Within the primary goal of the judicial process, which is due process of law for each defendant the court may determine which expenses are probably needless, wasteful or extravagant. Magley v. State, (263 Ind. 618), 335 N.E.2d 811, 816 (1975)."

We conclude the court imposed reasonable limits in order to prevent needless, wasteful or extravagant expenses. Appellant was not denied due process of law and no error was committed.

Appellant urges that the trial court erred in refusing to suppress his statements allegedly obtained by law enforcement officers in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The determination of this question requires an enlargement on the facts of the case.

In the very early morning hours (approximately 3:00 a. m.) of August 11, 1978, appellant and the Tisons, traveling in a late model van, ran a roadblock, fired on the officers manning the roadblock, fired on officers pursuing the van in a high-speed chase, ran through a second roadblock, ran off the highway, and, upon the vehicle becoming disabled, with the exception of Donald Tison, fled on foot into the surrounding desert. Donald Tison was found lying across the front seat of the van, unconscious from a head wound. Subsequently, aided by aerial flares and helicopter search lights, police officers found appellant and Raymond and Ricky Tison lying in the desert at varying distances from the vehicle. The three were taken into custody, disarmed, stripped, handcuffed, shackled, and placed in the bed of a pickup truck while the search continued for Gary Tison.

At daybreak, the pickup truck was moved to a more secured location and the suspects were placed in separate vehicles. Harold Cardwell, a prison official, guarded appellant in the truck. Cardwell gave appellant Miranda warnings and asked if he had any statements to make. Appellant at that time asked for an attorney. Appellant was later moved to the back seat of Cardwell's state-owned car. While in Cardwell's car, interviews were attempted by representatives from three different law enforcement agencies: Pinal County Sheriff's Office (Deputies Solis, Harwell and Martinez), Arizona State Prison officials (MacDougall, Cary and Burd), and Department of Public Safety officers (Sanchez and Greig). Two of the agencies, the Pinal...