Grooms v. State

• Decision Date: 24 August 1978
• Docket Number: No. 576S154,576S154
• Citation: 379 N.E.2d 458,269 Ind. 212
• Parties: Robert Morgan GROOMS and Arthur James McBride, Appellants, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Page 458

379 N.E.2d 458

269 Ind. 212

Robert Morgan GROOMS and Arthur James McBride, Appellants, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.

No. 576S154.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

Aug. 24, 1978.

Harriette Bailey Conn, Public Defender, Bobby Jay Small, David P. Freund, Jerrilee P. Sutherlin, Deputy Public Defenders, Indianapolis, for appellants.

Theodore L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., Daniel Lee Pflum, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

PIVARNIK, Justice.

Appellants Grooms and McBride were found guilty of first-degree murder at the conclusion of a jury trial in the Elkhart Superior Court on November 7, 1975. They were sentenced to life imprisonment. The crime in question is the murder of one Katherine Whitman, whose body was found on a county road on the morning of December 1, 1974.

Fourteen errors are asserted in this appeal concerning: (1) the denial of appellants' motions for change of venue; (2) an alleged non-compliance with the alibi statute by the state; (3) the admission of Appellant Grooms' custodial statements to police into evidence; (4) the admission of appellant Grooms' statements to a polygraph expert into evidence; (5) the admission of testimony concerning an armed robbery by appellants into evidence; (6) the impeachment of a defense witness by the state; (7) an alleged violation of the trial court's discovery order; (8) the admission of autopsy photographs into evidence; (9) foundation for the admission of shell casings and test bullets into evidence; (10) the admission of a prison letter of appellant Grooms into evidence; (11) the exclusion from evidence of certain cigarette butts; (12) the denial of a motion for continuance, made in view of the absence of a defense witness; (13) the exclusion from evidence of appellant Grooms' version of his last encounter with the victim, and; (14) the sufficiency of evidence as to appellant McBride's conviction.

I.

Appellants argue that it was error for the trial court to deny their motions for change of venue. First, it is argued that change of venue should have been automatic pursuant to Ind.R.Crim.P. 12, providing for such change of venue in death penalty cases. However, the death penalty was not in effect during the time of this case. Next, it is argued that appellants were entitled to change of venue because of pre-trial publicity. This record contains evidence of several local news stories concerning the investigation of this case, some referring to appellants. However, the record does not demonstrate that impressions or opinions had been formed by jurors on the basis of this publicity. See Monserrate v. State (1976) Ind., 352 N.E.2d 721, 723. Also, appellants did not exhaust their peremptory challenges. See Morris v. State (1977) Ind., 364 N.E.2d 132; McFarland v. State (1975) 263 Ind. 657, 336 N.E.2d 824. Thus appellants were in no way harmed by the court's denial of the change of venue motions, and there was no error in their denial.

II.

It is next argued that this case should be reversed because of alleged non-compliance with the alibi statute, Ind.Code § 35-5-1-2 (Burns 1975). It is argued that the state, in response to appellants' notices of alibi, did not give the "exact time and place" of the murder. Thus, it is claimed that testimony in the state's case-in-chief pinpointing the time and place of the killing should have been excluded. The state's response, in question here, stated that the crime occurred in Elkhart County, between 12:15 a. m. and 9:00 a. m. on December 1, 1974. The purpose of the alibi statute is not to compel the exclusion of evidence for purely technical errors. Monserrate v. State (1976) Ind., 352 N.E.2d 721, 725. Further, the exact time of a killing does not have to be given, only the date. Hampton v. State (1977) Ind.App., 359 N.E.2d 276. The state's response here was sufficiently specific to comply with the alibi statute, and no error is presented here.

III.

Appellants next argue that the trial court erred in denying appellant Grooms' Motion to Suppress, and in admitting evidence derived from an inadmissible statement. It is argued at length that statements given by appellant Grooms to police were in violation of the requirements of Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694. Grooms' statements to the police, however, were never introduced as part of the state's case-in-chief in this trial. The only part of Grooms' custodial statements to police, admitted on direct testimony in this case, was a part admitted by Grooms himself. Then, other parts of Grooms' statements were admitted by the state in rebuttal, for impeachment purposes. There was no error in this use of Grooms' statements. Harris v. New York (1971) 401 U.S. 222, 91 S.Ct. 643, 28 L.Ed.2d 1; Johnson v. State (1972) 258 Ind. 683, 284 N.E.2d 517, 288 N.E.2d 553. It is further argued that Grooms' allegedly inadmissible statements were the police's only source for their knowledge of a state's witness, who testified at trial. This witness's testimony is thus argued to be "the fruit of a poisonous tree." However, the purpose of having this witness testify was to identify a gun which she said she saw in the possession of appellant Grooms, and neither appellant objected to the admission into evidence of this gun. Thus, whatever the merit of the "fruit of the poisonous tree" theory, no harm is apparent to the appellants from this witness' testimony. We thus find no error in the use of Grooms' custodial statements in this trial.

IV.

Appellants next argue that the testimony of a polygraph expert, Leonard Harrelson, was improperly admitted into evidence. Harrelson did not testify about any polygraph examinations in the investigation of this case, or the results of such tests. Rather, he testified about a conversation with appellant Grooms in a lounge, in which Grooms admitted killing the decedent. Harrelson testified that he advised Grooms of his rights on the day of this conversation. Further, Harrelson only testified as a rebuttal witness, after Grooms had testified on direct examination that he did not kill the decedent. Harrelson's testimony was thus admissible as a prior inconsistent statement of Grooms, and there is no error here.

V.

Appellants next claim that it was error to admit evidence that they had engaged in an armed robbery the evening before the murder. However, evidence which is relevant to the facts in issue is admissible even if it tends to show guilt of another crime, especially if the two crimes are related. Woodard v. State (1977) Ind., 366 N.E.2d 1160; Maldonado v. State (1976) Ind., 355 N.E.2d 843. The armed robbery in evidence here took place on the night before the crime in question. The victim was seen with appellant Grooms on that evening, before she was found dead the next morning. Further, both a gun used in the robbery and a gun seized in the robbery were used in the murder. The robbery thus being related to this murder, there was no error in the admission of evidence concerning it.

VI.

Appellants claim it was error to allow the state to impeach defense witness Ruth Croatson on the subject of an armed robbery. They cite Bryant v. State (1973) 261 Ind. 172, 301 N.E.2d 179, for the proposition that one cannot be impeached on a collateral matter, and that the test of whether a matter is collateral is whether it can be proved as part of the state's case-in-chief. However, as shown in issue V, Supra, it was proper to discuss this armed robbery in question in the state's case, because it was related to the murder for which appellants were being tried. This robbery was thus not a collateral matter, and it was proper for the state to attempt to impeach this witness by reference to her statements about it.

VII.

In their next argument, appellants claim a violation of the trial court's pre-trial discovery order. This issue arose during the testimony of a police officer, Sergeant Petgen, who had prepared reports while investigating this case. The trial court found that such reports had never been in the possession of the prosecutor's office, nor in the prosecutor's file, and that the discovery order had thus not been violated. Appellants never requested a continuance at this point, or showed the necessity of prejudice in their preparation of the case because of Sergeant Petgen's testimony. There is thus no error here. Hudson v. State (1976) Ind., 354 N.E.2d 164, 167.

VIII.

Certain autopsy photographs of the decedent were admitted into evidence. These photographs were admitted in conjunction with the testimony of one Dr. Sankey, who testified without objection about the path of bullets through the decedent's neck, causing death. The witness then referred to these photographs, which were illustrative of his testimony. Photographs may be admitted when testimony concerning that which they depict would be proper. Their relevancy may be determined by an inquiry as to whether a witness would be permitted to describe verbally the objects photographed. Murphy v. State (1977) Ind., 369 N.E.2d 411, 416. Autopsy photographs that are illustrative of the witness' testimony and tend to prove the cause of death are admissible under these general principles. Tinsley v. State (1977) Ind.,358 N.E.2d 743, 744; Walker v. State (1976) Ind., 349 N.E.2d 161, 165. The same is true regardless of the natural gruesomeness of the pictures. Quinn v. State (1976) Ind., 356 N.E.2d 1186, 1187. There was thus no error in the admission of these photographs into evidence.

IX.

Appellants claim there was not an adequate foundation laid for the admission of both certain shell casings and certain test bullets and test casings into evidence. The shell casings in question were identified as having been found near the feet and head of decedent's body. The test bullets and test casings in question were identified as having been used by police in a test of a gun, which gun was identified as the one which appellants had told others they used in this crime....