Crane v. State, 65200
| Decision Date | 03 December 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 65200,65200 |
| Citation | 298 S.E.2d 619,164 Ga.App. 638 |
| Parties | CRANE v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
J. Raymond Bates, Jr., Dalton, for appellant.
Elida B. Steele, Asst. Dist. Atty., Stephen A. Williams, Dist. Atty., Dalton, for appellee.
The appellant was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced as a recidivist to life imprisonment pursuant to former Code Ann. § 27-2511 (now OCGA § 17-10-7). On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred in making certain comments and rulings during the course of the trial which reflected adversely on his claim to innocence. In particular, he complains of the court's action in offering to stop the trial at one point to allow him to take a polygraph test.
The evidence of the appellant's guilt was, to say the least, substantial. Co-indictee Ricky Shepperd, who pled guilty to the lesser included offense of robbery by intimidation in exchange for a sentence recommendation by the district attorney, testified that on April 2, 1981, he and appellant went to a rest stop off I-75 for the purpose of robbing passing motorists who might pause there to relieve themselves. They followed one such motorist into the woods, held him at gunpoint, took his wallet, tied him to a tree, and gagged him by stuffing one of his socks in his mouth. Leaving him in this condition, they proceeded to his automobile, from which they took some cash and personal belongings. In the meantime, the victim was able to escape his bindings and contact the authorities, and the appellant and Shepperd were arrested soon thereafter following a high-speed chase which ended when the appellant drove his truck into a pond.
The victim corroborated Shepperd's account of what had taken place and positively identified the appellant as one of his two assailants. He also identified the pistol which the appellant had used and a toboggan hat which the appellant had been wearing, both of which were recovered from the pond.
Twice while the appellant was on the witness stand he stated that he would be willing to take a polygraph test to prove the truthfulness of a statement which he had just made. On the first such occasion, no objection was made by the state. On the second occasion, which occurred during cross examination, the following transpired:
"APPELLANT: You don't want--what I was trying to do is to show the man that they was my glasses, you know." Held:
1. Under the circumstances, the court's challenge to the appellant to take a polygraph test on the central issue of his guilt or innocence could easily have been interpreted by the jury as an...
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