Hafdahl v. State

• Decision Date: 13 June 1990
• Docket Number: No. 69646,69646
• Citation: 805 S.W.2d 396
• Parties: Randall Wayne HAFDAHL, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 396

805 S.W.2d 396

Randall Wayne HAFDAHL, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. 69646.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas,

En Banc.

June 13, 1990.

Rehearing Overruled Dec. 19, 1990.

Mallory G. Holloway, Amarillo, for appellant.

Randall Sherrod, Dist. Atty. and John L. Davis, Asst. Dist. Atty., Canyon, Robert Huttash, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.

Before the court en banc.

OPINION

McCORMICK, Presiding Judge.

Appellant, Randall Wayne Hafdahl, appeals from his conviction for capital murder where the death penalty was assessed as punishment. On direct appeal to this Court appellant raises six points of error. We find all points to be without merit and affirm the conviction.

A review of the facts pertaining to the investigation of an alleged kidnapping by appellant in Dallas County is necessary to appellant's first three points of error. Appellant was charged with the capital offense of killing a police officer. Evidence at trial indicated that appellant shot and killed the police officer as the officer investigated an automobile accident in which appellant had been involved. Appellant took the stand on his own behalf. He testified he shot the officer but he did not recognize that he was an officer until after he had fired. Appellant testified he believed the officer to have been an angry driver that had also been in the accident:

"All I seen was a gun and hand. That's all I had seen. It scared me. I just had the wreck. I was pretty messed up. I had been drinking ... and we had taken some mushrooms.... I just thought that I had run someone off the road, and they was going to kill me."

Appellant substantiated his defense with the testimony of Daniel Halgren. Halgren testified that he was also in the car that appellant drove on the night of the killing. Further, he testified that he did not hear the officer identify himself as such before appellant shot him.

In addition to his direct testimony, Halgren upon cross-examination testified that appellant had dyed his hair and had used a false name because he had been in trouble in Dallas and did not want to be identified:

"Q. [By State's Attorney] Do you recall [appellant] making the statement to you about some problems he had in Dallas.

"A. Yes.

* * * * * * "Q. Did he indicate to you that he had jumped a $10,000 bond that he made in Dallas, and that was the reason he used a false name, and false identification?

"A. He said something like that."

After appellant presented his defensive testimony and over his objection, the State introduced the testimony of a police officer from Rockwall, Texas. The officer testified that he arrested appellant in 1982 for the offense of aggravated kidnapping based on a warrant originating from Grand Prairie. Thereafter, authorities transferred appellant to Grand Prairie and released him without bond pending an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A police officer from Grand Prairie testified that Dallas County officials closed their case against appellant after turning their evidence over to federal authorities. He did not know what occurred after the FBI received the case but related that the State could re-initiate kidnapping charges at any time.

In his second point of error, appellant insists this testimony demonstrates State authorities had merely investigated--as opposed to prosecuted--him for the offense of aggravated sexual assault and therefore it should not have been introduced into evidence before the jury. That is, appellant asserts that evidence of the kidnapping should not have been admitted before the jury because it was never shown that he actually committed the offense. Appellant has misconstrued the purpose of the State's evidence.

The evidence of appellant's arrest for aggravated kidnapping was introduced to show the motive appellant would have to shoot at the officer. Because appellant wanted to avoid apprehension by State authorities, which could produce a subsequent investigation and/or prosecution of the aggravating kidnapping charges, he would more likely than not shoot at the officer knowing him to be an officer. See Porter v. State, 623 S.W.2d 374, 385-86 (Tex.Cr.App.1981) cert. denied, 456 U.S. 965, 102 S.Ct. 2046, 72 L.Ed.2d 491 (1982); Barefoot v. State, 596 S.W.2d 875, 878 (Tex.Cr.App.1980) cert. denied, 453 U.S. 913, 101 S.Ct. 3146, 69 L.Ed.2d 996 (1981). The existence of a potential for further investigation, along with the potential that federal or State aggravated kidnapping charges could occur, is the reason the evidence was introduced. The important factor is appellant's awareness of this potential along with his fear of apprehension. The State proved his awareness and fear through Daniel Halgren who specifically testified that appellant was in fear of prosecution for his actions in Dallas. ¹

The case before us is similar to Barefoot v. State. In Barefoot, the defendant was also charged with the murder of a police officer. The State introduced testimony that the officer had stopped the defendant to question him about an arson case. It was shown that appellant had been arrested and charged with the offense of kidnapping a minor and that he had escaped from a New Mexico jail while these charges were pending. It was never shown that the defendant actually committed these offenses just that he was wanted by New Mexico authorities for them. This Court determined that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it allowed the introduction of these offenses. This Court wrote:

"Appellant argues that is was unnecessary to admit the New Mexico offenses because there was other evidence of motive, including the apparent arson at the Silver Spur and statements appellant had made to friends threatening to kill a Harker Heights Policeman. That appellant may have had other motives for killing [the complainant] does not mean that he was not motivated by a desire to avoid his return to New Mexico." 596 S.W.2d at 875.

We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the jury to hear that appellant was investigated for aggravated kidnapping in Dallas. Appellant's second point of error is overruled.

In his first point of error, appellant alleges that the State suppressed exculpatory evidence. His specific complaint is that the State failed to inform him that kidnapping charges had not been further investigated and prosecuted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ² Appellant claims that this was exculpatory information which should have been provided to him for his defense. He relies upon, among other cases, United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976) and Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963).

The State counters, arguing that testimony concerning the FBI's inactivity is not exculpatory because it is not contrary to why the testimony was introduced, to wit, the testimony demonstrated that appellant fired at the officer because he thought the officer would learn of the investigation after his arrest for the traffic offense and that further action may result in prosecution for the offense. Therefore, the FBI's failure to bring formal charges is not Brady material and consequently the State was under no obligation to release such information to appellant even if the State possessed such information or knew of its existence. ³ We agree with the State's arguments.

As discussed above, appellant's arrest for kidnapping was introduced not for the purpose of showing that he was guilty of the crime but because he thought authorities were pursuing him, making the fact that appellant knew he was firing at an officer more likely than not. The FBI's inactivity might be exculpatory if all charges against appellant had been dropped and appellant was aware that the federal authorities were no longer pursuing him for the offense. However, there is no indication that appellant was unaware of the FBI's failure to investigate further. Moreover, there is testimony that formal charges could be reinstated at any time. The State is required to disclose to defendants all favorable evidence that is material either to guilt or punishment and suppression of such favorable, material evidence denies a defendant's constitutional right to due process but the Court's holding in Brady "requires disclosure only of evidence that is both favorable to the accused" and " 'material either to guilt or to punishment.' " United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 674, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3379, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985) quoting Brady, 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. at 1197 (emphasis added). The Supreme Court explained in Agurs that "[a] fair analysis of the holding in Brady indicates that implicit in the requirement of materiality is a concern that the suppressed evidence might have affected the outcome of the trial." 427 U.S. at 104, 96 S.Ct. at 2398. The FBI's failure to continue its investigation, however, is not exculpatory information in that it is not material to any defense presented by appellant; therefore, the State was under no obligation to turn this information over to him. See Robinson v. State, 701 S.W.2d 895, 900 (Tex.Cr.App.1985). Cf., Ex parte Adams, 768 S.W.2d 281 (Tex.Cr.App.1989). Accordingly, appellant's second point of error is overruled.

In his third point of error, appellant complains that the trial court should have at least entertained his motion for new trial and, as such, should have held a hearing thereon. We disagree.

Appellant's motion for new trial alleged in pertinent part that "[t]he trial court erred in admitting evidence of an alleged aggravated kidnapping during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial in order to prove motive." Neither in the motion nor in an affidavit attached thereto did appellant offer additional reasons for the trial court to conduct another hearing on what he had already unsuccessfully asserted to be error in the original trial. No hearing was held upon the motion and it...