Geimer v. State
| Decision Date | 27 May 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 01S00-9112-CR-1000,01S00-9112-CR-1000 |
| Citation | 591 N.E.2d 1016 |
| Parties | Michael F. GEIMER, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Donald C. Swanson, Jr., Stanley L. Campbell, Swanson & Campbell, Fort Wayne, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Richard C. Webster, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
Michael F. Geimer was found guilty of murder by a jury in June of 1991. He was sentenced to 60 years. In this direct appeal, Geimer urges that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress and admitting into evidence statements he made to police when taken into custody. Geimer argues that the statements should have been suppressed as tainted evidence because both his arrest in Livingston Parrish, Louisiana, and the search of the home in which he lived with the victim (his father) were in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution because neither a search nor an arrest warrant had been issued. Additionally, Geimer claims that the warrantless search of the scene of the crime was also violative of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and, thus, justified the suppression of evidence obtained there because that search was also not conducted under the authority of a warrant. We disagree.
The defendant lived with his father, Ambrose Geimer. The relationship between the two had apparently been strained by the defendant's inability to get a job or pay his bills. In December of 1990, the Adams County Sheriff's Department received a call from Jackie Geimer, daughter-in-law of the decedent, in which she expressed concern about her father-in-law's whereabouts. She asked deputies to meet her husband, David Geimer, at the victim's house. At the scene, David Geimer stated that it was unlike his father to leave town for a period of time without notifying anyone. David was also concerned by the fact that the defendant had told various persons differing stories regarding the victim's sudden absence. The defendant had told Lawrence Greenleer, a friend of the victim, that the victim had gone to Elkhart to be with his daughter, Nancy, who had been in a traffic accident. The defendant told a neighbor, Terry Meyers, however, that the victim was going to Ohio for a few days to visit some Army buddies. The detectives and David Geimer received no response from the house. They investigated the home, the grounds, and the outbuildings and discovered that the victim's car was in the garage, the doors and windows were all locked, and there were no signs of a burglary or break-in. The deputies concluded that there was not enough evidence to justify a police break-in to the victim's home. A deputy informed David that two options existed: first, to wait and see whether he was able to contact the victim or, second, to break into the victim's home himself and to let the police in. While considering his options, David received word from his wife that she had spoken with Nancy, the victim's daughter, who, in fact, was all right and had not been in a traffic accident. At that point, David Geimer chose to break into his father's home. The deputies' search of the home revealed the victim's body hidden in the basement under several bags of water softener salt. The victim had been shot several times.
An investigation revealed that the defendant and a companion, Anthony Berry, were on their way to Louisiana to visit Berry's brother. Armed with that information, Adams County Sheriff's Deputy Stephen Mosser sent a teletype to the Livingston, Louisiana, Sheriff's Department informing them that the defendant and Berry might be in their jurisdiction. The teletype While being transported to the Livingston jail, the defendant admitted to having shot and killed his father. Upon arriving at the jail, he was re-advised of his Miranda rights. He indicated that he understood them and signed the advice of rights and waiver form, then gave a taped statement in which he admitted to shooting the victim with a .22 caliber rifle. Adams County authorities were informed by the Livingston police that the defendant was in custody and had confessed to the murder. They obtained an arrest warrant for the defendant and went to Livingston the next day. During conversations between the Adams County authorities and the defendant, he again admitted to having killed his father. At trial, the defendant filed a motion to suppress his statements on the basis that he was arrested in Louisiana without a warrant. He also sought to suppress evidence recovered from the victim's house because the police entered without a search warrant. Both contentions are meritless.
gave a description of the two and requested Livingston authorities to apprehend them in connection with the homicide. The Livingston Sheriff's Department officers proceeded to the address provided by the Adams County police. Upon arriving at the location, police observed a vehicle parked in front of the house with an Indiana license plate. The detective spoke with a Mrs. Ganey, who lived at the address, and asked whether two men from Indiana were staying there. When she responded affirmatively, the two Louisiana officers verified the suspects identity, asked for and received permission to enter the house, entered and retrieved the two men, returned to the front porch and there placed the defendant under arrest. The defendant was advised of his Miranda rights at that time.
It is well settled that a warrantless arrest is permissible if at the time of the arrest the officer had probable cause to believe that the defendant committed a felony. Probable cause exists when, at the time of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Krise v. State
...into her home, we find no authority for her proposition that their initial entry into the residence was unlawful. See Geimer v. State, 591 N.E.2d 1016, 1018-19 (Ind.1992) (holding that valid, voluntary consent to enter residence did not taint subsequent arrest despite absence of any warrant......
-
Holder v. State
...officers and others. Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 298-99, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 1646, 18 L.Ed.2d 782, 787 (1967); see also Geimer v. State, 591 N.E.2d 1016, 1019 (Ind.1992). The Court of Appeals recently decided State v. Crabb, 835 N.E.2d 1068 (Ind.Ct. App.2005), where it determined that a comp......
-
Vitek v. State
...premises [was] in need of aid" where "it was unlike [the victim] to leave town for a period of time without notifying anyone." 591 N.E.2d 1016, 1019 (Ind.1992). Other courts have also recognized that warrantless searches may be appropriate to seek an occupant reliably reported missing. See ......
-
Green v. State
...officers and others. Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 298–99, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 1646, 18 L.Ed.2d 782, 787 (1967) ; see also Geimer v. State, 591 N.E.2d 1016, 1019 (Ind.1992).Id. at 936–37. A police officer's subjective belief that exigent circumstances exist is insufficient to justify a warrant......