Chambers v. State, 178S8

• Decision Date: 08 August 1979
• Docket Number: No. 178S8,178S8
• Citation: 271 Ind. 357,392 N.E.2d 1156
• Parties: Charles Michael CHAMBERS, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Page 1156

392 N.E.2d 1156

271 Ind. 357

Charles Michael CHAMBERS, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.

No. 178S8.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

Aug. 8, 1979.

Harriette Bailey Conn, Public Defender, Howard N. Bernstein, Deputy Public Defender, Indianapolis, for appellant.

Theo. L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., Michael Gene Worden, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

PIVARNIK, Justice.

On December 9, 1975, defendant was found guilty by a jury of first degree murder in the Harrison County Circuit Court. Special Judge Max Apple sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment on December 19, 1975.

Defendant-appellant raises five issues for our review, as follows:

1. Whether the trial court erred in allowing into evidence defendant's statements and testimony regarding defendant's statements.

2. Whether the trial court erred in admitting into evidence State's Exhibit 2(b), a tape recording of defendant's statement of September 30, 1974.

3. Whether the trial court erred in sustaining the State's objection to questions propounded on cross-examination by defendant regarding pending unrelated criminal charges against a State's witness.

4. Whether the trial court erred in admitting into evidence certain photographs of the scene and of the body of the deceased.

5. Whether the evidence is sufficient to establish malice and premeditation.

The evidence demonstrated that Floyd Jordan and his wife operated a security business from their home. Mrs. Jordan monitored the police radio while her husband was on patrol. At approximately 3:00 a. m. on the morning of September 27, 1974, Floyd Jordan came across a suspicious vehicle at the Morgan School construction site. Jordan reported by radio to his wife that he was at Stop 656, the Morgan School Barrymore Construction site, and transmitted a license number and description of a car he observed at the stop. Mrs. Jordan made a written record of this conversation and switched to another radio channel which permitted her to monitor all communications at the scene over a police scanner radio. He stated that the car he found on the scene was a yellow-gold 1964 Ford Galaxie bearing license number 31 A 8942, and that the car was still warm. He further reported that there was gasoline running from a hose in the tank onto the ground and that he saw no one at the scene at that time. He was later heard to state on the radio that he had been shot.

Police officers investigating the incident found Mr. Jordan in his truck. He was dead, but was still holding the radio microphone in his hand. It appeared that he had been shot with a shotgun. The Harrison County coroner testified that Jordan had died as a result of three shotgun wounds. Near his body was found a piece of paper on which was written the license number given by Mr. Jordan in the radio conversation with his wife. This piece of paper matched the pages of a small notebook found on the seat next to the body. The license number was the number issued to the vehicle that belonged to defendant-appellant Chambers.

Wesley Mosier, a half-brother of the appellant, testified at trial that he and Chambers had gone to the Morgan School Construction site in the early morning hours of September 27, 1974, to steal gasoline. When they observed the vehicle approaching, he and Chambers ran and hid. Mosier ran into a field and heard first one and then two other gun shots. He returned to the car and found Chambers standing between the car and the security truck. Chambers said they should leave the area, so they left immediately. Mosier further testified that Chambers had had a shotgun in the trunk of his car when this incident began, and that the shotgun was in the back seat of the car when they left the scene.

I.

Appellant moved to suppress his statements and admissions to the police on the grounds that his statements were not voluntarily given and that he was not afforded his Miranda rights. The motion to suppress was overruled and several officers were permitted to testify at trial as to the statements and admissions made by Chambers. At the motion to suppress hearing on December 1, testimony was taken from ten law enforcement officers and one probation officer.

Officer Kenneth Spencer testified that he advised defendant orally of all of his Miranda rights prior to, during and subsequent to his arrest at his home, but that these warnings were never reduced to written form nor attested to by Chambers. Spencer said that Chambers indicated to him that he understood his rights and that Chambers made no request for an attorney, or any other request based on the warnings presented to him. Officer Spencer's testimony was corroborated by other police officers. Chambers subsequently made statements to several of the officers indicating that he was involved in the incident and that he had, in fact, shot Jordan.

Officer Maxey, a State Police detective, testified that he interviewed the appellant on several occasions. After being advised of all of his Miranda rights, Chambers admitted to Maxey that he and Wesley Mosier were at the school site siphoning gasoline into a can, from which he would pour it into his automobile's fuel tank. He admitted he had his shotgun leaning against the car and shells for it in his pocket. When the Chevrolet truck driven by Jordan came into the construction site, both Chambers and Mosier ran and Chambers hid behind some piles of dirt. He loaded the shells into the gun and came out from hiding and moved toward the truck. The door of the truck was open and Jordan was sitting on the seat and shining a spotlight on Chambers. He stated that he thought Jordan had a gun in his hand so he, Chambers, pulled up and shot at Jordan with the shotgun. He heard Jordan say, "I've been shot," and he then kept going toward him, shooting him two times more. He then shouted for Mosier and told him they had to get out of there. He went to the truck, shut off the ignition and spotlight, took the keys and closed the door. He then attempted to find the spent shells on the ground to take them with him, but Mosier told him to leave them and get out of there immediately, and he did so.

During the first day of his arrest on September 27, appellant was taken before a Justice of the Peace on a preliminary charge filed against him. This was done within six hours of his arrest. Officer Lutgring testified that as he was taking Wesley Mosier to a cell in the jail, he passed appellant Chambers' cell. Chambers stated at that time that he wanted to talk about the incident to Officer Lutgring and told him that he did the shooting. The Officer told appellant that he did not want to talk and that Chambers should talk to Officer Maxey if he wished to say anything.

Wayne Buchinsky was the Harrison County Probation Officer and had known Michael Chambers for some two years. Shortly after his arrest on the morning of September 27, Chambers was given permission to call Wayne Buchinsky, and did call him that morning. He requested that Wayne Buchinsky be present at interrogations, and Buchinsky was present several times. Buchinsky heard the rights advisements given to Chambers by the police officers, and heard Chambers state that he understood his rights. Buchinsky also heard statements of admission made by the appellant. Mr. Buchinsky testified that he continually advised Chambers that anything Chambers told him would not be confidential. He warned appellant many times of his right to remain silent and of his right to have an attorney present, and requested that appellant not talk with him. He testified, however, that appellant insisted upon talking to him. On the evening of September 30, 1974, appellant Chambers made a full confession to Mr. Buchinsky, telling him the details of the incident, which were virtually the same as those related in Officer Maxey's testimony. On September 30, 1974, when the appellant made the statement to Officer Maxey, fully confessing to the details of this crime, a tape recording was made of this conversation and was admitted into evidence and played before the jury as State's Exhibit No. 2(B).

In Richardson v. State, (1978) Ind., 373 N.E.2d 874, 875, with respect to determining the adequacy of Miranda warnings and the admissibility of confessions, this Court stated:

"The question of the admissibility of a confession is to be controlled by determining, from the totality of the circumstances, whether or not it was made voluntarily. Works v. State, (1977) Ind., 362 N.E.2d 144; Ortiz v. State, (1976) Ind., 356 N.E.2d 1188. The same test determines whether a waiver of the Miranda rights has occurred. Ortiz, supra ; Nacoff v. State, (1971) 256 Ind. 97, 267 N.E.2d 165. We review these questions on appeal as we do other sufficiency matters. We do not weigh the evidence, but rather determine whether there is substantial probative evidence to support the trial court's finding. Murphy v. State, (1977) Ind., 369 N.E.2d 411. This court will not ordinarily disturb a trial court's ruling as to the admissibility of a confession when that ruling is based on conflicting evidence. Timm v. State, (1976) Ind., 356 N.E.2d 222."

Defendant, at the time of his arrest, was a nineteen year-old, apparently normal young man. There was no evidence that he was threatened in any way by the police at his residence or at any time during his interrogations. Several officers testified that he appeared normal and calm at all times. During the interviews there were times when breaks were taken so that the defendant could have a cup of coffee or something to eat and that at no time did he complain or ask for anything, including, but not limited to, an attorney, or that the interrogation should stop. Although defendant did not sign a written waiver of rights, that fact is not determinative of the question of voluntariness of a confession. Hill v. State, (1978) Ind., 371 N.E.2d 1303; Mack v. State, (1978) Ind.App., 380 N.E.2d 592. There was ample evidence, which ...