Doleman v. State

• Decision Date: 06 June 1991
• Docket Number: No. 21479,21479
• Citation: 812 P.2d 1287,107 Nev. 409
• Parties: Marvin Lewis DOLEMAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Nevada, Respondent.
• Court: Nevada Supreme Court

Page 1287

812 P.2d 1287

107 Nev. 409

Marvin Lewis DOLEMAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Nevada, Respondent.

No. 21479.

Supreme Court of Nevada.

June 6, 1991.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 28, 1991.

Lee Elizabeth McMahon, Las Vegas, for appellant.

Frankie Sue Del Papa, Atty. Gen., Carson City, Rex Bell, Dist. Atty., James Tufteland, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty., Thomas L. Leen, Deputy Dist. Atty., Clark County, for respondent.

OPINION

ROSE, Justice:

During a ten-day period, appellant Marvin Lewis Doleman was involved in the robbery and shooting of two cab drivers in Las Vegas. Appellant was convicted of two counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted murder and one count of murder in the first degree. On the murder conviction, appellant was sentenced to death. On appeal, appellant generally challenges all four convictions and specifically challenges the sentence of death.

On the evening of January 9, 1990, in Las Vegas, a cab driver was shot in the head three times and robbed by two young black males. The cab driver survived the gunshot wounds. On the morning of January 19, 1990, in Las Vegas another cab driver was shot twice in the head and robbed by two young black men. This cab driver died on January 20, 1990, as a result of the gunshot wounds.

On January 19, 1990, based upon information received from an informant, the police believed that appellant and Frederick Paine were involved in the shooting of the two cab drivers and that the two men were staying at the Continental Hotel. Detective Carl Cassell of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Metro) testified that he went to the Continental Hotel looking for Paine and appellant because he had been informed that the two men had been identified as suspects in the robbery and shooting of the cab drivers. Cassell also testified that he could not remember who gave him this information. While talking with hotel security guards at the Continental Hotel, Cassell and another detective noticed Paine enter the casino. After Paine sat down in front of a slot machine, the detectives approached him and arrested him. Paine informed the detectives that appellant was in room 3206 of the hotel.

After notifying Metro that he had Paine in custody, Cassell and the other detective went to room 3206 along with two hotel security guards. Paine was left in the custody of another hotel security guard. Without a warrant, the four men then entered room 3206 unannounced with a pass key. Appellant was found in the room and immediately arrested, at which time he stated, "You have got the wrong guy. Freddie did it." After being informed of his rights, appellant stated that Freddie had come to the room earlier that morning with $50.00 from a robbery.

Detective Cassell testified that he decided to enter the room immediately and unannounced because "there was supposed to be an armed and dangerous person who had shot and robbed at least one person earlier that day, the safety of the guests in the hotel had to be considered." He also testified that the fact that they had just learned of appellant's whereabouts made it "a pursuit type immediate follow-up situation" and it was also Friday afternoon which means it was "very difficult to reach certain members of the system." Cassell was also concerned about the existence of a weapon in the room. He stated that they went in unannounced so that they would not "further arm or alarm the person inside." Cassell testified that he believed that prior to entering the room he asked Paine where the gun was, and Paine told him it was in the room.

Appellant first contends that his arrest was illegal and that, therefore, all evidence obtained as a result of the arrest was improperly admitted at trial. Appellant was arrested in his hotel room without a warrant. The fourth amendment to the United States Constitution forbids unreasonable searches and seizures. Warrantless searches and seizures in a home are presumptively unreasonable. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 587, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 1380, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980). ¹ However, warrantless searches are permitted if based upon both probable cause and exigent circumstances. Id. at 588-590, 100 S.Ct. at 1381-1382.

Appellant maintains that police lacked probable cause to arrest him and that there was no exigent circumstance to justify entry into his hotel room. Based upon this, appellant argues that all evidence subsequently acquired must be suppressed. We disagree.

Probable cause to conduct a warrantless arrest exists when police have reasonably trustworthy information of facts and circumstances that are sufficient in themselves to warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe that an offense has been or is being committed by the person to be arrested. Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225-26, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964); Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175-176, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 1310-1311, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949); Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 162, 45 S.Ct. 280, 288, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925).

Appellant argues that the police officer's decision to enter the hotel room and arrest him was not based upon valid information. He contends that there was no evidence to connect him or Paine with the shooting of the cab drivers. Appellant further contends that, because the police officer could not remember who told him that appellant and Paine were involved in the second shooting, he did not have sufficient evidence to arrest appellant.

Probable cause is not based on the knowledge of a specific police officer but is "based on the collective knowledge of all the officers involved." United States v. Briley, 726 F.2d 1301, 1305 (8th Cir.1984) (citing United States v. Rose, 541 F.2d 750, 756 (8th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 908, 97 S.Ct. 1178, 51 L.Ed.2d 584 (1977)). In the instant case there were numerous facts and circumstances known to the police which linked appellant to the crimes.

First, because of the similarity between the two shooting-robberies, it was logical for the police to suspect that the crimes were committed by the same men. The police knew that two young black men were involved in the January 9 incident, and they knew that two young black men had been seen at the scene of the January 19 incident.

An informant, who knew Paine and appellant through a mutual acquaintance, told the police on January 18, 1990, that she suspected that Paine and appellant were involved in the January 9 shooting based upon the two locations involved and the fact that she connected Paine and appellant with the locations. On January 19, 1990, after the second shooting, the police obtained positive identifications of both Paine and appellant, connecting them with the shootings. Appellant was identified by a witness who had seen him in the vicinity of the second shooting at the time of the shooting.

After arriving at the Continental Hotel, the place where the second cab driver picked up his last ride, the police saw Paine enter the casino. After being arrested Paine informed the police that appellant was in a room in the hotel. This confirmed that Paine and appellant were associates and that they were at the place where the second cab driver picked up his last ride.

Although Detective Cassell may not have been specifically aware of each and every one of these facts, collectively the police involved in this investigation were aware of sufficient facts and circumstances to warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe that a crime had been committed and that appellant had participated in its commission. The police did possess probable cause to arrest appellant.

For the arrest of appellant in his hotel room to be justified it must also be found that exigent circumstances existed at the time of arrest. Exigent circumstances are "those circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to believe that entry (or other relevant prompt action) was necessary to prevent physical harm to the officers and other persons, the destruction of relevant evidence, the escape of the suspect, or some other consequence improperly frustrating legitimate law enforcement efforts." United States v. MaConney, 728 F.2d 1195, 1199 (9th Cir.1984) (en banc) cert. denied, 469 U.S. 824, 105 S.Ct. 101, 83 L.Ed.2d 46 (1984); see also United States v. Good, 780 F.2d 773, 775 (9th Cir.1986) (citing United States v. Manfredi, 722 F.2d 519, 522 (9th Cir.1983)).

In the instant case, Detective Cassell testified that he believed there was an armed and dangerous man in the room that had shot and robbed at least one person that day. He stated that he was concerned about the existence of a weapon in the room and about the safety of the other hotel guests. Cassell also testified that he did not attempt to obtain a warrant because it was around 5:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, and it would have been very difficult to obtain a warrant at that time.

A recognized exigent circumstance in Nevada is "the reasonable belief that there is an urgent need to pursue an investigation which involves a substantial and imminent threat of death or bodily injury." Johnson v. State, 97 Nev. 621, 624, 637 P.2d 1209, 1211 (1981). This exigent circumstance was first recognized in State v. Hardin, 90 Nev. 10, 518 P.2d 151 (1974), in which the police, after learning that a murder suspect had entered a particular hotel room, entered the room with a pass key after knocking on the door elicited no response. Various evidence of the murder was found in the room and eventually found to be admissible by this court based upon the fact that the violent homicide reasonably justified fears that the suspect posed a substantial threat of imminent harm to others. Id. at 15-16, 518 P.2d at 154.

Exigent circumstances were also found in Banks v. State, 94 Nev. 90, 575 P.2d 592 (1978). In Banks, police, while in pursuit of armed robbery suspects, entered an apartment where they had reason to believe the suspect and a weapon were located. They entered after seven people...