Hill v. State

Citation56 Ala.App. 369,321 So.2d 708
Decision Date01 October 1975
Docket Number8 Div. 466
PartiesMarvin HILL, Jr. v. STATE.
CourtAlabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Roger H. Bedford, Russellville, for appellant.

William J. Baxley, Atty. Gen., and Jane LeCroy Robbins, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

TYSON, Judge.

Marvin Hill, Jr., was indicted for unlawfully selling eighteen grams of Marihuana to Mike Mason on May 15, 1973. The jury found the appellant guilty, and the trial court set sentence at three years imprisonment in the penitentiary.

Mike Mason testified that he was in Russellville, Alabama, working as an undercover agent for the Police Department on May 14, 1973. He stated that he had worked in this capacity for approximately two and one-half years, and that on the date in question, accompanied by one Roger Gandy, he went to the home of the appellant on Hamilton Avenue at about 8:15 in the evening. He stated that he had been furnished money by the Police Department of the City of Russellville in an effort to make an 'undercover buy.' He stated that he and Gandy called to the appellant, and that the appellant replied by asking them what they wanted. From the record:

'A Mr. Hill stuck his head out the window and asked us what we wanted and we told him we wanted to get a six-pack of beer and Hill replied he was out of beer, at this time, and I then asked Mr. Hill if he had any marijuana and he asked me how much I wanted and I replied I wanted a lid, which is one ounce or $20.00 worth and Hill told me and Gandy both to come into the house and we both went into the house and to sort of explain the way you get into the house, you go through a hallway, then you come to another room which has tables and chairs like a cafe, then he's got another room back there where a bar is. There were two other men back there, at this time, and I don't recall what their names were and Hill then told us, he would have to go get the marijuana, so Hill then left and stayed gone approximately 15 to 20 minutes and Hill returned back to the house where me and Gandy were waiting and he called me over to the hallway where we first went into the house and I went over to where he was standing and he handed me a plastic bag containing the green plant material.'

Mason further stated that he gave the appellant a twenty dollar bill for the green plaint material, that he and Roger Gandy then left and drove to the Colonial Inn Motel where he delivered this to Captain Burns Saint of the Russellville Police Department shortly before 9:00 p.m. The plastic bag containing the green plant material was then placed in a white envelope and sealed, that each of them then placed their initials across the envelope label, and the date was then written on it, May 15, 1973.

Mason stated that he next say this envelope in the possession of Russellville Police Officer Carl D. McNatt on May 29, 1973, when he picked this officer up at his home on the morning of the 29th. He testified that Officer McNatt, Roger Gandy and he then drove to the State Toxicology Office in Huntsville, Alabama, where the envelope in question was delivered to John J. Kilburn, that it was still sealed with the initials on it at the time of this delivery.

Mason further testified that the sale in question took place in Franklin County, Alabama, on May 15, 1973.

On cross-examination, Mr. Mason testified that Dr. Kilburn gave him a receipt for the white envelope which contained the green plant material at the Toxicology Office, which receipt he then turned over to the Russellville Police, who, in his presence, gave it to the District Attorney's Office.

Carl D. McNatt testified that he was a police officer in the City of Russellville on May 29, 1973. He stated that on the preceding evening at Police Headquarters, Captain Saint called him in and explained that he was going to have to be out of the city the next morning and asked him to lock a white envelope with the initials of Mike Mason and Roger Gandy in his locker overnight. He testified that the envelope was sealed at the time of delivery, that he did not unseal it, that he removed it the following morning and took it with him to his apartment house where Mike Mason and Roger Gandy picked him up shortly after 8:00 in the morning, and that the three of them then drove in Mike Mason's automobile to the State Toxicology Office in Huntsville, Alabama. He testified that the envelope was handed to Dr. John Kilburn, that Dr. Kilburn's secretary made out a receipt for the white envelope, which Dr. Kilburn signed and handed to Mike Mason. Officer McNatt testified that the envelope was still sealed when it was handed to Dr. Kilburn.

Roger Gandy testified that he accompanied Mike Mason on May 15, 1973, to the home of the appellant, Marvin Hill. He testified that the two of them drove over in a 1969 black and white Chevrolet Impala about 8:00 that evening. He stated that they first asked the appellant for some beer, that the appellant told them he was sold out. They then asked him for some Marihuana and he told them he would go get it, that he was gone for about fifteen or twenty minutes and when he returned he handed a plastic envelope to Mike Mason. He stated that Mike Mason and the appellant were standing down the hallway at the time a short distance from him. He testified that within a few minutes thereafter, he and Mason drove to the Colonial Inn Motel and there met his uncle, Captain Burns Saint, Chief of the Russellville Police Department. He stated that he and Mike Mason delivered this plastic bag containing the green plant material to Captain Saint, that they were in Mike Mason's motel room, that it was placed in a white envelope and sealed, and that each of the three of them put their initials and the date, May 15, 1973, on it. He testified that he next saw this envelope in the possession of Russellville Police Officer Carl D. McNatt about 8:00 on the morning of May 29, 1973, when he and Mike Mason picked up Officer McNatt at his apartment. He testified that the three of them then drove to Huntsville, and that he was present when this envelope was handed over to State Toxicologist John Kilburn, who gave a receipt for it to Mike Mason.

Captain Burns Saint testified that he was a Captain with the Russellville Police Department on May 15, 1973. He testified that he met his nephew, Roger Gandy, and Mike Mason about 8:45 on the evening of May 15, 1973, at the Colonial Inn in Mike Mason's room. He testified that the two men delivered to him a plastic bag containing a green plant material, which they stated had just been purchased that evening. He stated that at this time it was placed in a large white envelope and sealed, and that each of the three of them placed their initials on the envelope, then wrote the date. Captain Burns testified that he then took this envelope, placed it in his personal locker at Police Headquarters and that he was the only person who had a key to his locker. He stated that on the night of May 28, 1973, he called Officer Carl D. McNatt, who then went with him, Saint, to his locker, that he opened it and handed the envelope, still sealed, to Officer McNatt. He testified that at no time while he was in possession of the envelope was it opened. He further testified that he asked Officer McNatt to contact Mike Mason and Roger Gandy.

John H. Kilburn testified that he was State Toxicologist in a Huntsville, Alabama, office. He testified that at about 10:10 on the morning of May 29, 1973, a Russellville Police Officer, called McNatt, and Mike Mason, accompanied by Roger Gandy, delivered one white envelope, which bore a Russellville letterhead, and which was sealed, with the initials of Mason, Gandy and Captain Burns Saint, with the date May 15, 1973, 9:00 p.m., across it, to him. The envelope also contained the words, 'Purchased from Marvin Hill, May 15, 1973, at 8:35 p.m.,...

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9 cases
  • Dickerson v. State
    • United States
    • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
    • 20 avril 1982
    ...So.2d 393 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 335 So.2d 397 (Ala.1976); McKenzie v. State, 57 Ala.App. 69, 326 So.2d 135 (1976); Hill v. State, 56 Ala.App. 369, 321 So.2d 708, cert. denied, 295 Ala. 405, 321 So.2d 713 (1975); Haynes v. State, 54 Ala.App. 714, 312 So.2d 406, cert. denied, 294 Ala. ......
  • Campbell v. State
    • United States
    • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
    • 22 janvier 1985
    ...term "marijuana". See Haynes v. State, 54 Ala.App. 714, 312 So.2d 406, cert. denied, 294 Ala. 758, 312 So.2d 414 (1975); Hill v. State, 56 Ala.App. 369, 321 So.2d 708, cert. denied, 295 Ala. 405, 321 So.2d 713 (1975); Smith v. State, 335 So.2d 393 (Ala.Crim.App.1976), cert. denied, 335 So.2......
  • Hagendorfer v. State
    • United States
    • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
    • 24 mai 1977
    ...the testimony of the several officers a prima facie case, and that venue of the offense was also properly established. Hill v. State, 56 Ala.App. 369, 321 So.2d 708, cert. denied 295 Ala. 405, 321 So.2d Moreover, the State Toxicologist, Mr. Small, and three of the officers identified the su......
  • Sharpe v. State
    • United States
    • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
    • 27 mai 1980
    ...312 So.2d 414 (1975), it was held that: "marijuana" contains "tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)." To the same effect are Hill v. State, 56 Ala.App. 369, 321 So.2d 708, 712 (1975), cert. denied, 295 Ala. 405, 321 So.2d 713; Smith v. State, Ala.Cr.App., 335 So.2d 393, 394-395, cert. denied, 335 So.2......
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