Baker v. State

• Decision Date: 21 May 1997
• Docket Number: No. 72225,72225
• Citation: 956 S.W.2d 19
• Parties: Stanley Allison BAKER, Appellant, v. STATE of Texas, Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 19

956 S.W.2d 19

Stanley Allison BAKER, Appellant, v. STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. 72225.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas En Banc.

May 21, 1997.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 10, 1997.

Michele P. Esparza, Bryan, for appellant.

Deena J. McConnell, Asst. Dist. Atty., Bryan, Matthew Paul, State's Atty., Austin, for State.

Before the court en banc.

OPINION

KELLER, Judge.

Appellant was convicted in April 1995 of a capital murder occurring on September 28, 1994. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.03(a)(2). Pursuant to the jury's answers to the special issues set forth in Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 37.071 §§ 2(b) and 2(e), the trial judge sentenced appellant to death. Article 37.071 § 2(g). ¹ Direct appeal to this Court is automatic. Article 37.071 § 2(h). Appellant raises six points of error. We will affirm.

In his sixth point of error, Appellant complains that the evidence introduced at the punishment phase of the trial is insufficient to sustain a unanimous vote on the special issues concerning future dangerousness and mitigating evidence. He contends first that the evidence does not support a finding that he would be a future danger to society and, second, that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that there were no mitigating factors. See Art. 44.251. First, we will examine the sufficiency of the evidence regarding future dangerousness.

Initially, we note that in examining the sufficiency of the evidence regarding future dangerousness, we look at the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict. Barnes v. State, 876 S.W.2d 316, 322 (Tex.Cr.App.1994). In answering the special issues, the jury may consider all of the evidence adduced at the guilt/ innocence phase of the trial, in addition to the evidence presented at the punishment phase. Id. The evidence, viewed in a light most favorable to the jury's finding, shows the following: Appellant intended to kill his former employer. After walking nearly two miles in pursuit of his plan, he became hot and decided to steal a truck. He went into the Adult Video Store in College Station, where Wayne Williams, the night clerk, was working alone. Appellant took from Williams the keys to his truck, the currency from the cash register, and the night's receipts. Appellant then shot Williams three times. Appellant fled the scene in William's vehicle, returned home and loaded the stolen vehicle with his gear. The items found in the vehicle included the murder weapon, ammunition, a brass knuckled stiletto, a bulletproof vest, a garrote, and a variety of survival gear. In a notebook seized by police, appellant had written his goals for the year, which included, "30+ victims dead. 30+ armed robberies. Steal a lot of cars." Furthermore, on the day of his arrest appellant showed no remorse. We hold that the evidence presented in the instant case is sufficient to support the jury's finding regarding appellant's future dangerousness.

Second, we have previously stated that we will not review sufficiency of the evidence as regards the mitigation special issue. McFarland v. State, 928 S.W.2d 482 (Tex.Cr.App.1996). The weighing of mitigating evidence is a subjective determination undertaken by each individual juror, and we decline to review that evidence for sufficiency. Id., at 498. Finally, we have previously held that article 44.251 does not require this Court to conduct a sufficiency review of the mitigation issue. Id. Appellant's sixth point of error is overruled.

In point of error one, appellant attacks the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress statements he made to the authorities. He contends that the statements were obtained in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) because his unequivocal invocation of his right to remain silent was not scrupulously honored.

At about 6:10 a.m. on the day of the murder, Department of Public Safety Trooper Garry Parker heard a description of a truck involved in the robbery in College Station. About an hour later, he saw a truck matching the description. He followed the truck until it pulled into a driveway. When appellant got out of the truck, Officer Parker ordered him to lie down. Deputy Flores of the Bastrop County Sheriff's Department soon arrived. Officer Parker gave appellant Miranda warnings, and appellant made somewhat incriminating statements. DPS Investigator Ashley happened to come upon the arrest scene, and stopped and called for a Texas Ranger to come to the scene. Investigator Ashley took a recorded statement from appellant (statement # 1) while they waited for the Texas Ranger. During that statement, when appellant was asked if he wanted to talk about "this thing" he said "no." Investigator Ashley asked if appellant was sure he did not want to get it off his chest, and appellant again replied, "no." Investigator Ashley continued to question appellant, and appellant answered all his questions.

When Ranger Coffman arrived, he was not told of the statement that Investigator Ashley had just taken. Ranger Coffman read appellant the Miranda warnings and took another statement (statement # 2) from appellant. At about 8:45 a.m., Detectives Andreski and Prasifka of the College Station Police Department arrived on the scene. Detective Andreski gave appellant the Miranda warnings and took a statement (statement # 3) from him. Appellant was later placed in the Bastrop County jail. Detective Andreski learned that police had obtained an arrest warrant for appellant. At 10:55 a.m. appellant was taken before a magistrate in Bastrop County and was warned pursuant to Article 15.17. Appellant was returned to the jail and fed lunch. The detectives then transported appellant back to the College Station police department. There, at about 2:00 p.m., Detective Andreski again gave appellant the Miranda warnings. Following these warnings, appellant was asked if he would consent to a search of his apartment. He agreed orally and later signed the consent form. From 2:01 p.m. until 2:39 p.m., appellant gave yet another statement.

Appellant filed a motion to suppress all four statements. The trial court granted Appellant's motion to suppress as to the first, second, and third statements but denied the motion as to the fourth. Appellant's fourth statement, however, was never introduced into evidence before the jury. We have held that where evidence obtained as a result of an interrogation has not been used, the appellate court need not entertain a complaint attacking admissibility of that evidence. e.g., Kraft v. State, 762 S.W.2d 612, 613 (Tex.Cr.App.1988) (when statement is not used by State either as evidence or otherwise to obtain a plea or conviction appellate court need not entertain a point of error attacking admissibility of that evidence); Stiggers v. State, 506 S.W.2d 609, 611 (Tex.Cr.App.1974) (no evidence obtained as a result of alleged illegal arrest was introduced into evidence, therefore, no reversible error); Ferguson v. State, 571 S.W.2d 908, 909 (Tex.Cr.App.1978) (overruled on other grounds) ("Where no evidence obtained as a result of a search is introduced in evidence, no error with respect to such search is presented for review"). Thus, even if the denial of his motion as to the fourth statement were error, it would appear that because the fourth statement was not introduced at trial, appellant would be unable to show harm in the trial court's refusal to grant the motion to suppress. Tex.R.App.Proc. 81(b)(2). Point of error one is overruled.

In point of error two, appellant contends that the trial court erred in refusing to exclude evidence obtained from a search of his apartment. The police conducted this search pursuant to a written consent to search form that appellant signed. Appellant contends that the consent to search and the resulting items found were obtained as a result of the Miranda violation alleged in his first point of error. He argues that the evidence obtained should be excluded as fruits of illegal activity in accordance with Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963) and Article 38.23. We disagree.

The "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine espoused in Wong Sun does not apply to mere violations of the prophylactic requirements in Miranda: while the statement taken in violation of Miranda must be suppressed, other evidence subsequently obtained as a result of that statement (i.e. the "fruits" of the statement) need not be suppressed. Michigan v. Tucker, 417 U.S. 433, 452, 94 S.Ct. 2357, 2368, 41 L.Ed.2d 182 (1974); Oregon v. Elstad, 470 U.S. 298, 314, 105 S.Ct. 1285, 1296, 84 L.Ed.2d 222 (1985). The rule in Wong Sun requires suppressing the fruits of a defendant's statement only when the statement was obtained through actual coercion. Tucker, 417 U.S. at 448-449, 94 S.Ct. at 2365-67; Elstad, 470 U.S. at 314, 105 S.Ct. at 1296.

Both Tucker and Elstad involved the failure to give the required warnings rather than the failure to scrupulously honor warnings given. See Tucker, 417 U.S. at 435, 94 S.Ct. at 2359; Elstad, 470 U.S. at 300, 105 S.Ct. at 1288. Neither the Supreme Court nor this Court has addressed whether the Tucker/Elstad rule applies to the fruits of statements made in the latter context. ² But the principle is the same: mere noncompliance with Miranda does not result in a carryover taint beyond the statement itself. The failure to scrupulously honor a suspect's invocation of his right to remain silent by continuing questioning is not necessarily coercive. In finding an absence of coercion in Tucker, the Supreme Court noted that no legal sanctions, such as perjury or contempt, attached to a refusal to answer questions. 417 U.S. at 445, 94 S.Ct. at 2364. Moreover, the case was unlike classical examples of coercion, which ranged from torture, to prolonged isolation from family or friends in a hostile setting, to a seemingly endless interrogation designed to exhaust the accused....