Craig v. State
| Decision Date | 21 August 1979 |
| Docket Number | 1 Div. 54 |
| Citation | 375 So.2d 1252 |
| Parties | Douglas Leon CRAIG v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Thomas E. Harrison, Mobile, for appellant.
Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and Sarah Kathryn Farnell, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State, appellee.
Appellant-defendant was tried on an indictment charging him with buying, receiving, concealing or aiding in concealing personal property knowing that "said property was stolen or having reasonable grounds for believing that it was stolen and not having the intent to restore it to the owner." The property was described as "a RCA color television of the approximate value of $350.00 and a jewelry box containing assorted jewelry of the approximate aggregate value of $250.00, the personal property of Melba W. and James Irvin Spiller."
A jury found defendant guilty "as charged in the indictment," and the court sentenced him to imprisonment for eight years.
The evidence shows without dispute that on the night of February 22-23, 1978, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Spiller in Chickasaw, Mobile County, Alabama, was burglarized and the property described in the indictment taken therefrom.
About 6:00 on the evening of February 22, a security guard for an industry in the area of Chickasaw, while on his way to work observed a red Ford automobile standing at an intersection in Chickasaw with its motor running. There were three black individuals in the automobile and a fourth black individual between the automobile and a house that appeared to be unoccupied. The fourth individual came to the automobile and entered it. The security guard further testified as a witness for the State that he took down the number of the license plate of the automobile and reported the occurrence to the Chickasaw Police Department when the security guard arrived at his place of work.
About 10:30 the same night, according to the testimony of Detective Joe Smiley, of the Prichard Police Department, while patrolling and having received a relayed message as to the red Ford automobile with the license number given, located the automobile at the dead end of Day Street, called for backups and went to the automobile. He talked to the occupants thereof, who consisted of four black males. He knew all of them, including defendant. In the automobile were the television set, a jewelry box containing assorted jewelry, shown by the evidence to be the property alleged in the indictment, and other items of personal property. The TV set was between defendant and the other person sitting with him in the back seat. The witness said the occupants began to
Defendant and the other three men were arrested. Either the first name or the last name of the other three was called during the testimony, but they were not well identified by the evidence. Defendant in his testimony called them Sherman, Henry and Raymond. There was some evidence to the effect that one or more of them had pleaded guilty. Whether to the crime of burglary, larceny or buying receiving or concealing stolen property, is not shown.
According to the testimony of defendant, he had been at his girl friend's house to about 9:00 or 9:15 that night and was headed "around to Sheppard's Lounge" when he was picked up by Sherman, Raymond and Henry and another man by the name of Adolph, on Main Street. Defendant said that Adolph lived at the house close to where they stopped, and that as the officers came up to the automobile Adolph walked away and passed out of sight. Defendant denied having any part in the burglarization of the Spiller home or the larceny of any of the property. He said that Sherman had stated that they found the television set in the bushes. After he arrived at the police department a medallion was found in defendant's pocket, which was identified as property of Mr. Spiller that was in the jewelry box. Defendant stated that this medallion had been given to him by Sherman while they were in the automobile.
On cross-examination of defendant, the State showed that he had made several statements to investigating authorities that were substantially at variance with his testimony. On rebuttal, the State presented the testimony of Assistant Chief of Police William Pierce of the Chickasaw Police Department, who said that he interviewed defendant the night of the burglary and arrest and took a statement from him as follows:
Defendant had signed the statement.
A major insistence of appellant is upon application of a principle set forth in Booker v. State, 151 Ala. 97, 44 So. 56 (1907) and Gallman v. State, 29 Ala.App. 264, 195 So. 768 (1940) to the effect that where the evidence shows that accused came into possession of stolen property solely through his participation in the burglary of a house, he cannot be convicted for buying or receiving and concealing stolen property. The principle is inapplicable in this case, for the evidence does not show that appellant participated in the burglary. That he may have done so cannot be reasonably doubted, but there is no definite evidence to that effect. On the contrary, defendant's own testimony stands as undisputed repudiation of that theory.
Another major insistence of appellant is that there was error in the overruling of an objection by defendant to a question (or statement) addressed to Assistant Chief (Lieutenant) William Pierce on redirect examination by State's counsel:
No further evidence was presented, and soon thereafter arguments of counsel commenced.
Appellant argues that that which is shown above as the questioning of State's counsel on redirect examination of Lieutenant Pierce constitutes an impermissible comment on the right of an accused to remain silent guaranteed him by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and a resultant violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Section Six of the Alabama Constitution of 1901. Appellant relies largely upon Houston v. State, Ala.Cr.App., 354 So.2d 825 (1977), cert. denied 354 So.2d 829 (1978), in which by reason "of the several references to the silence of the accused following his arrest and Miranda warning the judgment of conviction" was reversed and the case remanded for a new trial. The opinion therein by Judge Bowen treats the issue as one "of first impression before this court," contains a comprehensive analysis of authorities on the subject and constitutes a valuable guide to those confronted with related problems arising thereafter. Appellee attempts to distinguish instant case from Houston by emphasizing that in Houston the comments were as to defendant's refusal to make a statement after he was arrested but that in the instant case the defendant made a statement or statements and the comment was as to his silence, enforced by his lawyer, after he had made a statement. There is a...
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Wasp v. State
...the appellant may have stolen the property cannot reasonably be doubted, but there is no definite evidence to that effect. Craig v. State, 375 So.2d 1252 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 375 So.2d 1257 Dixon v. State, 536 So.2d 959, 961-62 (Ala.Cr.App.1988). III The appellant asserts that "[t]h......
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Qualls v. State
...repeated references to his silence in closing argument, which erroneous ruling in and of itself requires reversal. Craig v. State, 375 So.2d 1252, 1256 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 375 So.2d 1257 596 So.2d at 608. See also Harris v. State, 611 So.2d 1159, 1161 (Ala.Crim.App.1992) (holding t......
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Sankey v. State
...the appellant may have stolen the property cannot reasonably be doubted, but there is no definite evidence to that effect. Craig v. State, 375 So.2d 1252 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 375 So.2d 1257 Id., at 961-62. (Emphasis supplied). However, in the present case, as in Dixon, supra, althou......
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Guerin v. State, 8 Div. 385
...the machine and, as previously stated, the State's evidence indicated that the defendant actually stole the pulverizer. In Craig v. State, 375 So.2d 1252 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 375 So.2d 1257 (Ala.1979), this Court held that, inasmuch as the evidence did not establish that the defenda......