Bain v. State

• Citation: 677 S.W.2d 51
• Decision Date: 19 September 1984
• Docket Number: No. 1118-83,1118-83
• Parties: Thomas J. BAIN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas

Page 51

677 S.W.2d 51

Thomas J. BAIN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. 1118-83.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas,

En Banc.

Sept. 19, 1984.

Jim Duvall, Dumas, for appellant.

Barry E. Blackwell, Dist. Atty., Dumas, Robert Huttash, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.

Before the court en banc.

OPINION ON STATE'S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

TOM G. DAVIS, Judge.

Trial was before the jury upon appellant's plea of not guilty of murder. After finding appellant guilty, the jury assessed punishment at life. The conviction was reversed by the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Supreme Judicial District (Amarillo) in an unpublished opinion. We granted the State's petition for discretionary review in order to examine the Court of Appeals' holding that appellant's confession was the fruit of an illegal arrest. ¹

Appellant was convicted of intentionally or knowingly causing the death of James Langford by stabbing him with a knife.

The probable cause question presented in this petition requires a detailed review of the facts surrounding Langford's murder.

Ken Carley was a patrolman with the Dalhart Police Department in April of 1981. On Sunday the 26th at approximately 10:30 a.m., Carley drove to the Winetree section of Dalhart after receiving a tip from a private citizen. The Winetree is an area frequented by transients. Upon arrival at the Winetree, Carley discovered the deceased's body. There were numerous stab wounds to the deceased's chest and contusions and abrasions about his face. His hands were bound with a shoelace to a piece of machinery.

This discovery set off an intense investigation of Langford's murder by law enforcement personnel in Dalhart. Officer Eddie Bias headed the investigation.

Shortly after Bias arrived at the crime scene on the 26th, he left in order to pick up Judge E.G. Carter, a justice of the peace. Judge Carter was at the crime scene for part of the morning and afternoon of the 26th. Bias surmised that Langford had been dead since the preceding afternoon or evening.

Bias went to the local rescue mission to investigate further. He spoke to Paul West the director of the mission and to several transients including Clarence Voris, Rex Boyce, Lee Leno, and Walter Waldrop. Apparently Bias knew some of these individuals prior to the investigation, but had never before met Leno and Waldrop.

Bias received the following information on Sunday the 26th from West, Voris, Boyce, Leno, and Waldrop: ²

(1) Appellant, who at the time of the murder investigation went under the name of William R. Hall, and his friend, George Erwin, were seen at the murder site with the deceased on the previous afternoon;

(2) Appellant, Erwin and the deceased were drinking Mogen David wine and Old Milwaukee beer;

(3) Appellant had been wearing brown corduroy pants and a pair of brown corduroy pants was missing from the rescue mission;

(4) Erwin was wearing a blue jacket;

(5) Appellant and Erwin were carrying a large plastic bag;

(6) Appellant and Erwin were at the rescue mission late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Appellant's knuckle was skinned. Somebody asked how it happened and appellant replied that another man tried to take his and Erwin's wine and appellant "busted him." Appellant turned to Erwin and said, "But he won't do that again will he?"

Bias already knew from the police investigation at the murder scene that the following items were found near the deceased's body:

(1) a blue jacket;

(2) a bloody pair of brown corduroy pants;

(3) a large plastic bag;

(4) Old Milwaukee beer cans and various wine bottles. ³

At trial, Bias was unsure of the precise time on Sunday the 26th by which he had gathered the above information. Bias estimated, however, that he felt he had probable cause to arrest appellant and Erwin at around 3:00 or 4:00 p.m.

The dispatcher sent out a bulletin on the police radio to Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico calling for the apprehension of appellant and Erwin and giving descriptions of each man. Later, teletypes to the same effect were sent to Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.

Bias did not obtain an arrest warrant before sending out the radio dispatches and teletypes calling for the apprehension of appellant or before he commenced his own search for appellant.

Bias failed to obtain a warrant because the district attorney was not in town. He was under the erroneous impression that in order to obtain an arrest warrant he had to procure a written complaint from the district attorney first. Bias made no attempt whatsoever to obtain an arrest warrant from any local magistrates including Judge Carter who had been at the crime scene for part of the day.

Constable Frank Coulson of Texline was driving his automobile on official duty between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday the 26th when he received a call over the police radio from Dallam County Deputy Sheriff E.H. Little. Texline and Dalhart are both located in Dallam County.

Coulson testified that he knew and often took advice from law officers located in Dalhart since he considered them more experienced in police matters.

Little informed Coulson of the murder and gave him the names and descriptions of appellant and Erwin. Coulson began to search Texline for the suspects. Texline is on a railroad route that runs in part from Dalhart through Texline and on into New Mexico and Colorado.

Coulson initially checked the cafes in and around Texline for suspects fitting the description At approximately 10:30 p.m., Coulson went to bed. Coulson was later awakened by a telephone call from Martha Sandoval, a train dispatcher at the Texline train depot. While he was dressing in order to go down to the depot, Coulson was again phoned by Sandoval. The gist of Sandoval's telephone calls was that a "suspect" had been spotted in one of the trains and that railroad employees wanted Coulson's assistance in removing the suspect.

given by Little. He also checked the incoming trains, "not going up on it, but just kept watching it--it was a coal train--as it went through town."

After arriving at the depot, Coulson spoke with Sandoval and then approached the head unit of a train where two railroad employees were waiting for him. The employees were the head brakeman and Robert Dean Tregallas, the engineer. Tregallas instructed Coulson to remove the suspect from the train.

This particular train had six engines or units on it. Coulson asked the trainmen for assistance in searching the units, but they were reluctant to help given the purpose of the search.

Accordingly, Coulson gave the head brakeman a sawed-off shotgun. Tregallas held an air hose, preparing to use it as a club if necessary.

Coulson proceeded to search the head unit, with the brakeman and Tregallas standing by in case the suspect attempted to flee.

Coulson found the first unit empty and then searched the second unit. Upon entering the unit, Coulson opened a panel door but found only train instruments inside. He opened another panel door and found a person seated and reading a book.

Coulson, with flashlight in hand, unsnapped his holster, ordered the suspect to get up, and asked him for identification. The suspect gave Coulson a social security card which had the name William R. Hall on it. This was one of the two men Coulson was searching for, and he told the suspect, whom he identified at trial as appellant, to raise his hands. Coulson then handcuffed the suspect and removed him from the train. He notified Dalhart, requested instructions, and was told to bring appellant to police headquarters in Dalhart.

It took Coulson thirty-seven minutes to drive appellant to the Dalhart Police Department. Coulson did not speak to appellant about the murder or anything of substance and did not tell appellant why he was arrested.

Halfway between Texline and Dalhart, Coulson was stopped by Deputy Little. Little got in Coulson's car and, after ascertaining that Coulson had not given the Miranda ⁴ warnings, read the warnings to appellant.

At the Dalhart police station, Coulson turned appellant over to Officer Brian Edward Smith. The Dalhart Police Department booking sheet reflects that appellant was booked into jail for trespassing. Smith testified that Coulson told him to book appellant on trespassing charges. Coulson denied making any such statement.

At approximately 1:30 a.m. on the 27th, one-half hour after appellant's incarceration, Officer Bias removed him from his cell in order to take a statement. Bias gave appellant the Miranda warnings and after preliminary mention by Bias of the deceased's murder appellant confessed to stabbing the deceased to death in order to obtain his money.

Appellant signed a typewritten confession at 3:15 a.m. At approximately 5:00 p.m. on the 27th appellant was brought before the magistrate.

At the hearing on the motion to suppress appellant's confession, appellant contended that: (1) there was no probable cause for his arrest on murder charges; (2) even if there was probable cause, the arrest was warrantless and therefore improper; (3) Constable Coulson did not arrest appellant for criminal trespass; (4) if there was an arrest for criminal trespass it was an illegal The State countered that: (1) there was probable cause to arrest appellant for murder and Officer Bias had probable cause to believe appellant was about to escape, thus authorizing a warrantless arrest under Art. 14.04, V.A.C.C.P.; (2) Constable Coulson properly arrested appellant for an offense committed within his view, that is, criminal trespass; and (3) assuming an illegal arrest, there were significant intervening circumstances between arrest and confession, making the confession valid.

pretext arrest; and (5) there were no significant intervening circumstances between appellant's arrest and confession.

The trial court found that: (1) there was no probable cause to arrest appellant for murder; (2) Coulson did not arrest appellant for criminal...