Coots v. State
| Decision Date | 05 July 1983 |
| Docket Number | 7 Div. 56 |
| Citation | 434 So.2d 864 |
| Parties | Roger Dale COOTS v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Charles A. Mauney, Fort Payne, for appellant.
Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and Richard L. Owens, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Appellant was indicted by the DeKalb County Grand Jury for the offense of sodomy in the first degree. The jury returned a verdict of guilty of the lesser included offense of sexual abuse in the first degree and the trial court sentenced appellant to ten years' imprisonment. Appellant does not raise the sufficiency of the evidence as an issue on appeal.
The testimony of the thirteen year old victim established that he was abducted by appellant while walking to school on the morning of September 1, 1981. The appellant forced the boy into his vehicle and then drove for some distance before stopping at a wooded spot along the highway. Appellant took a bottle of Vaseline lotion from the back seat and then forced the victim to walk up a hill into the woods. He forced the child to lower his pants, and after applying the lotion to both the victim and himself, he committed an act of anal sodomy upon the boy.
After the assault, they returned to the vehicle and appellant took the victim to a location on the highway near a neighbor's house. He pushed the boy out of the automobile and drove away in the direction of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The victim was able to mentally retain the appellant's tag number and to describe his vehicle and clothing in detail to the police. He related the model, color, tag number, and missing accessories of the appellant's vehicle, as well as describing the location of the Vaseline bottle inside the automobile.
Those further facts necessary to the resolution of the issues raised on appeal will be detailed as necessary.
Appellant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence removed from his vehicle during a warrantless search conducted by police with appellant's written consent. At trial, appellant asserted that the vehicle was illegally seized and that the appellant's consent was coerced. In brief, he argues the search was not incident to a lawful arrest, that there were no exigent circumstances justifying the warrantless search, and that the police lacked probable cause to search the vehicle. As will appear below, all of appellant's contentions are without merit.
The evidence which was removed from appellant's automobile and admitted at trial was a bottle of Vaseline lotion.
During the hearing on appellant's motion to suppress, Detective James W. Roach of the Chattanooga, Tennessee Police Department testified he went on duty at 3:00 p.m. on September 1, 1981. At approximately 4:45 p.m., he received a telephone call from Officer John Paul Johnson and Detective Wayne Parker of the Fort Payne, Alabama Police Department. He was informed that there were Alabama warrants for sodomy and kidnapping out on one Roger Dale Coots and that he was believed to be located in the Chattanooga area. Detective Roach was given a tag number, a "good" description of the vehicle and "basically not a real good description" of appellant. He received the address of a local florist and was requested to check that location for the vehicle in order to detain appellant and secure the vehicle. The appellant worked there. Detective Roach located the vehicle at the florist shop at approximately 5:00 p.m. He immediately called for assistance and a detective was dispatched to assist him. However, before the detective arrived, a man hurriedly exited the florist shop, entered the automobile, and began to drive toward Detective Roach. Detective Roach pulled his vehicle in front of appellant's automobile, got out, and ordered appellant out of his vehicle. Appellant identified himself as Coots in response to Roach's inquiry, and Roach immediately arrested him and read him his Miranda rights. Detective Roach testified it was raining very hard at that time. He handcuffed appellant, placed him in his vehicle, and waited for assistance to arrive. Roach stated this arrest was made at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Detective Roach had appellant's vehicle towed from the street to the police impound lot where he secured the vehicle by locking it. Roach had appellant transported by patrol car to his office where he again read appellant the Miranda warnings, and waiver of same, from a form, which appellant then signed. Shortly after the arrest, Officers Parker and Johnson arrived at Detective Roach's office. Appellant refused to cooperate with Parker and Johnson in giving a statement. The officers then talked with him about searching his vehicle for evidence. He agreed to the search and signed an Authorized Consent to Search form. The signed form appears in the record as follows:
(R.62)
Detective Roach testified no threats, promises, or offers of reward were made to appellant to cause him to sign the waiver. Four officers were present and seated in the office when the form was signed. The form was signed at 7:15 p.m., less than two hours after the initial arrest was made.
Detective Roach accompanied Parker and Johnson to the impound lot. Roach observed Parker and Johnson search the interior of the automobile, where they found a plastic container of Vaseline. After the search, the three officers went back to appellant and talked with him about returning to Alabama. Roach filled out a Waiver of Extradition form which appellant signed.
Roach testified on cross-examination that no deal was made with appellant to obtain his consent to search the vehicle; that appellant was told they would like to search the vehicle; and that appellant was cooperative and allowed them to search the vehicle. He stated the authorized policy for searching vehicles for his department was to obtain either an authorized consent form or a search warrant upon reasonable information. Because the appellant voluntarily consented, Roach saw no reason to go further.
Investigator Wayne Parker, of the Fort Payne Police Department, testified during the suppression hearing prior to Detective Roach. He had previously testified during trial that he was informed by the victim of the details of the assault on September 1, 1981. He received a description of the assailant's clothing and vehicle, as well as the vehicle tag number. After talking with the victim, Parker checked on the tag registration, put out a "be-on-the-lookout" report to the Chattanooga Police Department, and obtained a warrant for appellant's arrest.
Investigator Parker testified a telephone call was subsequently made to Detective Roach informing him of a suspected location for appellant in Chattanooga. Later in the afternoon Detective Roach informed him the suspect had been taken into custody. Parker and Officer Johnson then drove to the Chattanooga Police Department.
During voir dire on appellant's motion to suppress, Parker testified he observed appellant in the detective's office in Chattanooga. He was dressed in the clothes described by the victim. Parker, along with Johnson and Roach, went to the impound lot. The vehicle matched the description and tag number given earlier by the victim. Parker observed a plastic Vaseline bottle, lying in plain view, just by peering into the vehicle. Although several items were found in the automobile, Parker testified the only thing removed from the vehicle was the plastic Vaseline bottle.
Appellant presented no evidence to rebut the state's evidence in support of his motion.
The requirement of a search warrant is vitiated when there is in fact a voluntary consent to the search. Scott v. State, 409 So.2d 978 (Ala.Cr.App.1981). The state bears the burden of proving, by clear and positive...
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...trial court's finding unless we are convinced that the conclusion is palpably contrary to the weight of the evidence. Coots v. State, 434 So.2d 864, 867 (Ala.Cr.App.1983). From the evidence adduced at the voir dire hearings, we conclude that the trial court was correct in finding that the S......
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