Gainer v. State

• Decision Date: 12 January 1978
• Docket Number: No. 54887,No. 1,54887,1
• Citation: 242 S.E.2d 286,144 Ga.App. 703
• Parties: Wallace GAINER v. The STATE
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

Page 286

242 S.E.2d 286

144 Ga.App. 703

Wallace GAINER v. The STATE.

No. 54887.

Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 1.

Jan. 12, 1978.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 7, 1978.

Spivey & Carlton, Robert S. Reeves, Swainsboro, for appellant.

H. Reginald Thompson, Dist. Atty., Charles W. Cook, Asst. Dist. Atty., Swainsboro, for appellee.

SHULMAN, Judge.

Appellant was indicted for the murder of his wife and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Apparently, appellant and his wife had been having some domestic difficulties. The sum and substance of the case, as indicated by the confession of appellant, was that the deceased struck his hand while he was holding a pistol and that the weapon went off accidentally. Appellant then took his wife to the hospital where she died.

The only enumeration of error is the admission into evidence of the confession of the accused.

The sheriff first saw the appellant at the hospital. He testified that upon his arrival at the hospital he saw the appellant sitting at the nurses' station of the emergency room. The nurse told him that appellant had shot his wife. The sheriff then went over to appellant and asked him what had happened, and appellant then told the sheriff that he had shot his wife. At that time appellant had not been advised of his constitutional rights. The sheriff immediately told appellant not to say anything else and that he was going to have to hold him for investigation of murder. The next day, at the jail, the sheriff advised him of his constitutional rights and obtained the confession. The defense presented no evidence and relied on arguments to the jury based on the defense of accident. A Jackson v. Denno hearing was held outside the presence of the jury to determine the admissibility of the confession.

1. Appellant's first contention is that the sheriff's initial inquiry as to what happened without advising appellant of his Miranda rights was improper and tainted the subsequent confession. We hold that such inquiry did not constitute an interrogation and that the sheriff had the right and the duty to make an on-the-scene investigation. At the time of the inquiry appellant was not in custody. In Brackins v. State, 139 Ga.App. 94, 227 S.E.2d 891, the court held: "When the police arrived at the scene after the shooting had been reported, the husband-defendant made certain admissions that he had shot his wife. The case of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 does not apply to admissions made at an on-the-scene investigation, hence there is no merit in the complaint that the statements made by him to the police at the scene were improperly admitted in evidence. See Shy v. State, 234 Ga. 816, 820, 218 S.E.2d 599." Id. at 95, 227 S.E.2d at 892. Here, as in Brackins, " . . . the court made a preliminary determination that the warnings required by Miranda were given to the defendant prior to making the incriminating statements subsequent to his earlier statement. See High v. State, 233 Ga. 153, 210 S.E.2d 673; Nunnally v. State, 235 Ga. 693(12), 221 S.E.2d 547." Id. at p. 95, 227 S.E.2d at p. 892. See also Jackson v. State, 143 Ga.App. 734, 735, 240 S.E.2d 180, 181 which states: "A careful review of the testimony leads us to believe that the law enforcement officer was not interrogating Jackson for the purpose of obtaining evidence to establish her guilt of a crime, but rather was seeking to determine the nature of the situation confronting him and his associate. Shy v. State, 234 Ga. 816, 823, 218 S.E.2d 599 (1975). His threshold inquiry as to whether she knew what had happened evoked no immediate response. 'It was not a custodial interrogation, although the policeman admitted that if he had tried to leave he would not have been allowed to do so. It was a mere threshold inquiry, and a reasonable one.' Jones v. State, 127 Ga.App. 137, 139(4), 193 S.E.2d 38, 40 (1972). Jackson's initial statement was spontaneous and made when she was not in custody, even though under strong suspicion. We hold the statements admissible under the circumstances."

See also Westley v. State, 143 Ga.App. 344, 345, 238 S.E.2d 701, holding: "We find no error. Under similar facts, the court in Jones v. State, 127 Ga.App. 137, 193 S.E.2d 38 (1972), held that the investigating officer's question, 'Where do you stay?', directed to the defendant, was a mere threshold inquiry, and a reasonable one. See, also, Boorstine v. State, 126 Ga.App. 90(1), 190 S.E.2d 83 (1972). Similarly, in Shy v. State, 234 Ga. 816, 218 S.E.2d 599 (1975), wherein a defendant in custody was asked, prior to being given Miranda warnings, what had happened, he replied: ' "I caught my wife and that son of a bitch and I shot him ".' Shy, supra, at p. 817, 218 S.E.2d (599) at p. 602. The court observed that the Miranda warnings are not required in ' "general on-the-scene investigation",' and that '(t)he police on the scene of a crime are likely to detain temporarily anyone who tries to leave before a preliminary investigation.' Shy, supra, at p. 820, 218 S.E.2d (599) at p. 603. See Allen v. United States, 129 U.S.App.D.C. 61, 390 F.2d 476 (1968); Arnold v. United States, 382 F.2d 4 (9th Cir. 1967). The Supreme Court in the Shy case concluded:

" 'Under the facts of the present case, it appears that, for all practical purposes, the appellant was in custody from the moment he was ordered by the officer to spread-eagle himself upon the ground and the officer began to search him for weapons. However, in our opinion, the single threshold inquiry of the officer as to what was happening was not an impermissible "interrogation" under Miranda.' 234 Ga. p. 822, 218 S.E.2d (599) p. 604. See also Tucker v. State, 237 Ga. 777, 229 S.E.2d 617 (1976)." Id. at 345-6, 238 S.E.2d at 702.

See also Dasher v. State, 140 Ga.App. 517(1), 231 S.E.2d 510; Davis v. State, 135 Ga.App. 584(5), 218 S.E.2d 297; Wilburn v. State, 230 Ga. 675(2), 198 S.E.2d 857.

2. Appellant contends further that the confession was inadmissible because prior to the questioning he was not advised of the...