Jones v. State

• Decision Date: 02 October 1968
• Docket Number: No. 22,22
• Citation: 245 A.2d 897,5 Md.App. 180
• Parties: James Lawrence JONES v. STATE of Maryland.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

Page 180

5 Md.App. 180

245 A.2d 897

James Lawrence JONES v. STATE of Maryland.

No. 22.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

Oct. 2, 1968.

[245 A.2d 898] Howard J. Goren, Towson, for appellant.

Thomas N. Biddison, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., with whom were Francis B. Burch, Atty. Gen., Samuel A. Green, Jr., and Charles E. Foos, State's Atty., and Asst. State's Atty., for Baltimore County respectively, on brief, for appellee.

Before MURPHY, C. J., and ANDERSON, MORTON, ORTH, and THOMPSON, JJ.

ORTH, Judge.

The appellant was convicted of breaking a storehouse and stealing goods of the value of $5 and upwards at a court trial On appeal from the judgment six questions are presented on his behalf by his attorney, five of which go to the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction (discussed herein under three subheadings) and the other of which concerns the admission of testimony of a witness produced by the State, and four questions are presented sua sponte.

in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 6 years.

The corpus delicti of the crime was proved by the testimony of the owner of a sporting goods business and the testimony of Officer William R. Balk of the Baltimore County Police Bureau. The owner testified that the storehouse of the business, located in Baltimore County, had been closed and secured on 26 November 1966, a Saturday. The next day, about 10:30 A.M., he stopped by the premises and observed that a panel in a large overhead door of the storehouse had been removed and that a large glass display case in the storehouse had been forcibly entered. Seventeen pistols of a total value of $1400 had been stolen therefrom. One of the pistols was a Colt official police .38 caliber, serial number 903434, wholesale value $52, fair market value $75 or $78 which the State produced and offered in evidence for identification purposes upon the identification of it by the witness as a pistol stolen from the storehouse. Officer Balk, responding to a call, arrived at the storehouse about 10:33 A.M. He said that the entry to the building was made by drilling a hole in one of the wooden panels of the overhead door and by sawing out the entire panel, about two feet by three feet in size. Tools, including a brace and bit, a two and a half foot pinch bar, a twelve inch pinch bar, a compass saw, hack saw blades, two pry-type instruments-one a rasp type and the other a punch type, were found in the building. The tools were admitted in evidence.

Officer Raymond McGuirk of the Baltimore City Police Department, testified that he was on duty about 9:15 P.M. on 17 December 1966 in the 2400 block of Hollins Ferry Road when he 'heard a weapon discharged three times.' He went to the 2400 block of Annor Court to investigate and saw the appellant holding a revolver. The appellant threw the revolver on the ground when he saw the officer. The officer arrested The appellant, testifying in his own behalf, at one point said he had possession of the gun, that he was present when it was discharged and that he knew who discharged it but did not know the name of the person although 'I know him when I see him.' He did not know what happened to the gun after it was fired. 'The police come around the corner, and I was the closest one to them, and they snatched me.' ¹ Later in his testimony he denied that he had the gun, denied throwing it away when the police approached, denied knowing anything about the breaking of the storehouse-'I didn't even know how to get to Towson'-and alleged that it was not McGuirk but another officer who 'grabbed' him. He admitted to a prior criminal record-'I know it makes me vulnerable to take the stand because I got a record.'

him and recovered the revolver. The revolver was the .38 caliber Colt, serial number 903434 which had been offered in evidence for identification purposes and upon identification by the officer as the weapon he had recovered, was admitted in evidence over objection. No more than 10 seconds elapsed between the time the officer heard the shots and the time he saw the revolver in the hand of the appellant.

THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

1) The appellant contends that his arrest was illegal, therefore the seizure of the gun was unreasonable and as it was unlawfully seized it was inadmissible in evidence; if the gun was not in evidence against him, the evidence was not sufficient to sustain the conviction. But the legality of the arrest was not material for when evidence is not obtained as a result of an unlawful search or seizure, it is not rendered inadmissible by an illegal arrest. Fisher v. State, 1 Md.App. 505, 231 A.2d 720. The evidence was clear that the gun was not obtained by a search of the appellant nor was it seized from him. The arresting officer testified 2) The appellant's possession of the recently stolen gun was enough to give rise not only to the inference of fact that the possessor was the thief but would also support an inference that as the possessor he was the one who broke into the storehouse as well as the thief. Boggs v. State, 228 Md. 168, 172, 179 A.2d 338; Bury v. State, 2 Md.App. 674, 236 A.2d 751. The testimony of Officer McGuirk that the gun was in the hand of the appellant was sufficient to show exclusive possession by the appellant. The trial court could properly consider the possession about 3 weeks after it was stolen to have been 'recent.' The Court of Appeals and this Court have declined to set a yardstick to measure 'recent' but have ruled that what is 'recent' depends upon the circumstances in each case. Butz v. State, 221 Md. 68, 77, 156 A.2d 423; Musgrove v. State, 1 Md.App. 540, 544, 232 A.2d 272. So in Cason v. State, 230 Md. 356, 187 A.2d 103, stolen property found in possession of the defendant over 4 months after its theft was deemed 'recent'; in Anglin v. State, 1 Md.App. 85, 227 A.2d 364, over 6 months; in Gamble v. State, 2 Md.App. 271, 234 A.2d 158, about 6 months. The appellant claims that the possession was not 'unexplained' but his 'explanation' was that the gun was not in his possession, in direct contradiction 3) The identity of the appellant as the criminal agent having been fixed by his guilty possession of the gun, the trial court could properly infer that he broke the storehouse and stole the gun. The inference did not change because nothing more was shown. There was no credible evidence offered that the theft was committed by someone else so that the appellant would become a receiver of stolen goods. See Jordan v. State, 219 Md. 36, 148 A.2d 292.

that the appellant discarded the gun before the arrest. One who abandons or discards property cannot complain with effect of the later seizure of such property by the police, or of its use against him in court. Davis v. State, 2 Md.App. 630, 632, 236 A.2d 307. The appellant does not contend that it was seized from his actual or constructive possession, denying that he ever had possession. ² to the testimony of the officer. The credibility of witnesses is a matter for the trier of facts, David v. State, 1 Md.App. 666, 232 A.2d 553, who was not obliged to believe the denial of the appellant, Tillery v. State, 3 Md.App. 142, 238 A.2d 125.

Nor was it essential to the verdict that the trial court specifically find that the appellant stole all the goods taken. He was convicted of breaking the storehouse and stealing goods of the value of $5 and upwards. The fair market value of the stolen gun found in his possession was shown to be $75 or $78, proving the offense charged.

The test of the sufficiency of the evidence in a case tried before the court without a jury is whether the evidence, if believed, either shows directly or supports a rational inference of the facts to be proved, from which the court could fairly be convinced, beyond a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt of the offense charged. Sadler v. State, 1 Md.App. 383, 230 A.2d 372. As the evidence here met this test the finding of the trial court thereon was not clearly erroneous. Md.Rules, 1086.

THE CHALLENGED TESTIMONY

Prior to trial, the appellant moved for discovery under Md.Rule 728, which motion included a request, pursuant to paragraph a3 of the rule, that the State furnish a list of the names and addresses of the witnesses whom it intended to call to prove its case in chief. No order appears to have been passed by the court on the motion. The State answered, giving the names and addresses of such witnesses, but the list did not contain the name of Officer Raymond McGuirk of the Baltimore City Police Department. The motion had been prepared by the attorney then representing the appellant and whose appearance had thereafter been stricken. When the case came on for trial the attorney then representing the appellant adopted the motion 'as if I had filed it.' The Court said, 'So you are aware of both the motion that was filed by other counsel and the response of the State and you're satisfied with that state of the record?' Defense counsel replied in the affirmative and in answer to a question by the Assistant State's Attorney as to whether he challenged anything 'to the answers to the motion for discovery', said, 'Not as to what's in the motion, no.' During its case in chief the State called Officer McGuirk and defense counsel objected to his testifying because his name was not listed in the answer to the motion. Colloquy between counsel and the court showed that McGuirk's name had been disclosed to defense counsel by the State the day before trial by a message to his secretary, telling her 'briefly what Officer McGuirk would testify to.' Defense counsel had no opportunity to discuss the matter with the prosecutor until the morning of the trial. The prosecutor told the court that McGuirk's name had not appeared in the report of the Baltimore County Police and in preparing the case he realized that the officer would be required and had immediately telephoned the...