U.S. v. Wilson
| Decision Date | 25 March 1986 |
| Docket Number | 84-2240,Nos. 84-1975,s. 84-1975 |
| Parties | 20 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 636 UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Lawrence A. WILSON, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Henry Francis ENRIQUEZ, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
James A. Bingley and Bernard Edelman, St. Louis, Mo., for appellants.
Frederick R. Buckles, Asst. U.S. Atty., St. Louis, Mo., for appellee.
Before HEANEY, Circuit Judge, HENLEY, Senior Circuit Judge, and JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge.
Lawrence Wilson and Henry Enriquez were convicted in separate trials before the same district judge 1 of taking by force and violence, from the presence of Barbara Ann Dontrich, a manager at the State Bank of DeSoto, money belonging to the Bank, and with forcing Mrs. Dontrich to accompany them against her will, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2113(a), (d), (e) (1982 & Supp. II 1984). 2 In their separate appeals, which are here consolidated, the appellants raise numerous evidentiary and procedural issues which they contend require reversal of their convictions. Principal among these are the following: Wilson contends that the district court erroneously failed to suppress his post-arrest statements which he argues were involuntary. Enriquez contends first, that his fifty-year sentence is grossly disproportionate to the severity of his offense, and second, that the trial court erroneously failed to suppress identification evidence that was the product of an impermissible suggestive photo-identification procedure. We affirm the conviction of both Wilson and Enriquez.
The evidence presented in the two trials varied in only minor details. We will refer to these differences insofar as they are material to the issues discussed. The incident involved in this case began at approximately 10:00 p.m. on August 18, 1983. John and Barbara Dontrich were at home with their two children, aged eight and eleven years. While preparing for bed, John Dontrich answered a loud knocking at the door. A man shouted that he had a special delivery letter. Mr. Dontrich looked through a window in the door, and saw two men on the porch, one masked and attempting to hide. The second man was unmasked and Mr. Dontrich testified that he could see his face and outline. Tr. II-97[E]. 3 Mr. Dontrich testified also that he saw a car located partially in the driveway and the road in front of his home. As Mr. Dontrich ran back toward his bedroom he heard the sound of his door being broken in and the men entering the house.
The intruders entered the bedroom, held Mr. Dontrich at gunpoint on the floor and handcuffed his hands behind his back. The intruders ordered Mrs. Dontrich to douse all the lights in the house. She was then forced, along with her daughter, to get on to the bed. The only light which remained on was a closet light in the children's bedroom. All were forbidden to look at the intruders.
The intruders held the Dontrich family hostage in their home for the entire night. During this time Mr. and Mrs. Dontrich testified, the unmasked intruder did all the talking and appeared to be in control. Tr. II-115[E]. The intruders brandished a device which they described, and which the Dontrichs took to be, a bomb. The device actually was four railroad fuses taped together with a battery and a timing device to look like a bomb. The intruders were armed with a shotgun and either an automatic pistol or a MAC 10, a .45 automatic weapon. 4 Tr. II-109, 110[E]. The intruders told the Dontrichs that there were other members of their group outside, and that all the Dontrichs' neighbors were under similar assault. The unmasked intruder laughed when Mrs. Dontrich asked why they were being terrorized.
During the night the masked intruder left, taking the Dontrich truck, and did not return. The other intruder stood guard over the family in their bedroom for the remainder of the night. Towards morning, he went into the bathroom and donned, for the first time, a false beard beneath a bandana. Later he added sunglasses. At this time the intruder made clear his intention to take Mrs. Dontrich to the bank at the usual opening time and rob the bank. Mrs. Dontrich was responsible for opening the bank that morning.
Before they left the house the intruder directed Mrs. Dontrich to tie her daughter's hands, and to tie her son to a chair in the bedroom. He instructed them that he would leave the "bomb" in the house and detonate it by remote control if he or his waiting accomplices had any reason to believe the police had been called. Tr. II-127[E]. Mrs. Dontrich said goodbye to her husband and children and left.
The intruder took Mrs. Dontrich at gunpoint to her car and forced her to drive to the State Bank of DeSoto. There they met another bank employee, Doris Arnold. The three entered the bank building and Mrs. Dontrich turned off the alarms and opened the bank doors. The intruder told Mrs. Dontrich to tell Doris Arnold what was happening. Ms. Arnold then watched as Mrs. Dontrich, at the robber's direction, took money from the vault and placed it in his briefcase. The robber repeated his threat about the bomb, instructed Mrs. Dontrich to wait thirty minutes before she called the police, and left.
Michael Wright, an unindicted accomplice, testified at both trials pursuant to a plea-bargain agreement. He identified himself as the masked intruder, and Frank Enriquez as the unmasked intruder. He testified that Enriquez planned the robbery of the State Bank of DeSoto and elicited his and Lawrence Wilson's assistance. He also testified that, prior to the invasion of the Dontrich residence, he conducted surveillance of the house and its residents to learn their routine. He went on surveillance missions twice with Enriquez and once with Wilson. On his mission with Wilson, they noted that there were small children in the family and reported that fact to Enriquez. Finally, he testified that he gave Enriquez materials with which to make the fake bomb. Both Wright and Enriquez's fingerprints were found on the device retrieved from the Dontrich home.
Enriquez was convicted and sentenced to fifty years imprisonment and ordered to pay $5600 in restitution under the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3579 (1982). Wilson was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment and ordered to pay $5600 in restitution under the Act.
Wilson challenges his conviction on three grounds. First he charges as error the denial of his motion to suppress two post-arrest statements which he made to the police, in the second of which he confessed to his involvement in the hostage-taking and robbery. Second, he argues that the trial court erred in denying his counsel's motion for a continuance in order to evaluate newly discovered evidence unearthed on the first and second days of trial. Third, he argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence. We address these arguments in turn.
Wilson was arrested in Tampa, Florida on March 1, 1984. He was informed of his Miranda rights and signed a form waiving these rights. He then told the FBI that he was unaware that he had been involved in a crime. In this first statement, Wilson stated that at all times he believed that he was engaged in a sting operation against drug dealers. He admitted that, with Wright and Enriquez, he carried out a plan to "rip off" a teacher who sold drugs at the school where she worked. He denied any knowledge that Mrs. Dontrich was a bank manager. Wright and Enriquez, he claimed, told him that law enforcement authorities approved of the plan because they lacked sufficient evidence to proceed legally against the drug dealers. Wilson admitted that, following this plan, he staked out the Dontrichs' home and noted that a small boy and girl played in the yard. Wilson also admitted that he refrained from asking too many questions because he felt the others were lying to him.
Wilson admitted that he drove Wright and Enriquez to the Dontrich home in his brown 1982 Buick Electra at about 10:00 p.m. in the evening. He stated that Enriquez was armed with a MAC 10, a .45 automatic weapon. After they entered the house, he waited down the street "for signs of a rescue mission" and then left the area. He returned at approximately 5:00 a.m. and picked up Wright. Later that morning he met Enriquez at a pre-arranged point and followed him in his car to St. Louis. They then drove from St. Louis to Tampa, Florida in Wilson's car. Wilson stated that he was to receive a minimum of $3,000 for his efforts. He received only $1,800 and in explanation was told that the mission was incomplete.
Wilson was arraigned after this interrogation, taken to Manatee County, Florida, and held overnight in a drunk tank. Wilson claims that during the night he suffered severe pains in his side. He was examined by a nurse who recorded his blood pressure as elevated. He also claims that he felt isolated because he was jailed some distance from his home. FBI agent Ramey questioned him again the following day. After this second period of interrogation Wilson gave a second statement in which he admitted that he knew that they had conducted surveillance of a bank manager's house and that she would be taken hostage in a planned August 19th robbery of the State Bank of DeSoto. He admitted that his role was to scout the home, drive Wright and Enriquez there, return for Wright early Friday morning, and to pick Enriquez up after the robbery. He also admitted of knowing that guns and a fake bomb would be used.
Wilson claims that during this second interrogation Ramey called him a liar, and told him that in his prior statement he had implicated himself in a number of state crimes. Wilson also claims that Ramey told him Wright had implicated him in the hostage-taking and robbery. Ramey, he...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
US v. Bad Hand
...for Them, 49 F.3d at 415; Jorgensen, 871 F.2d at 729; Rohrbach, 813 F.2d at 144; see also, Winfrey, 836 F.2d at 410; United States v. Wilson, 787 F.2d 375, 386 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 857, 107 S.Ct. 197, 93 L.Ed.2d 129 (1986). Although ultimately declining to decide the issue, th......
-
U.S. v. Haas, 07-CR-26-LRR.
...sentences" approach to the Act. Bryan v. United States, 721 F.2d 572, 575 (6th Cir. 1983) (cited with approval in United States v. Wilson, 787 F.2d 375, 383 (8th Cir. 1986)). Under the "merger of approach, the Act "is treated as creating separate offenses which will permit separate convicti......
-
Hatter v. Warden, Iowa Men's Reformatory, C89-0062.
...was given under such circumstances which would indicate that the defendant was coerced or his will overborne." United States v. Wilson, 787 F.2d 375, 380-381 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 865, 107 S.Ct. 223, 93 L.Ed.2d 151 (1986); Davis v. North Carolina, 384 U.S. 737, 742, 86 S.Ct. 17......
-
Norfolk v. Houston
...specific interrogation tactics employed, the details of the interrogation, and the characteristics of the accused. United States v. Wilson, 787 F.2d 375, 381 (8th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 857, 107 S.Ct. 197, 93 L.Ed.2d 129 In a habeas action, the burden is on the petitioner to demo......