Minnifield v. State

• Decision Date: 07 October 1980
• Docket Number: 2 Div. 280
• Parties: John Willie MINNIFIELD v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 1146

390 So.2d 1146

John Willie MINNIFIELD v. STATE.

2 Div. 280.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Oct. 7, 1980.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 28, 1980.

William S. Poole, Jr., Demopolis, for appellant.

Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and Jean Williams Brown, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

TYSON, Judge.

John Willie Minnifield was indicted for the second degree burglary of Spiller Associated Furniture Stores, Inc., contrary to § 13-2-41, Code of Alabama 1975. At trial Minnifield was found guilty as charged, and because of an extensive criminal record was sentenced to serve the maximum term of ten years in the state penitentiary.

Robert Meigs, a police officer with the Demopolis Police Department, was called as the State's first witness and testified that he was a fingerprint technician with that department and had received training in fingerprint analysis from the F.B.I. He stated that, at 11:39 p. m. on September 8, 1979, he had received a radio call from the Demopolis chief of police requesting that he proceed to the Spiller Furniture Company because the lights were on inside the building. The officer stated that, upon arriving, he checked the front door and found it secure, but that, upon checking the rear door, he noted that it was "standing about six to eight inches open" (R. 47). He entered the building and found that several items, including some bank bags, a cash register drawer, a file and papers were lying on the floor of the office, and that the office safe was closed but not locked.

Officer Meigs further testified that he dusted for fingerprints and was able to lift two latent fingerprints, one from the cash register drawer, and the other from an empty fruit jar. He stated that numerous other prints were evident, but were too smudged to be readable. He stated that he left after Mrs. Avery, an employee at the store, arrived and determined that a bank bag containing cash and checks, and a quantity of change from the fruit jar were missing. Officer Meigs testified that he had occasion to see appellant later that night on a street where appellant's automobile had been stopped by other police officers. He stated that appellant's automobile was a white Plymouth, and that, upon his arrival, the engine was still running. He further stated that he drove the automobile to the Demopolis Police Station, and that it had a very noisy muffler. Officer Meigs testified further that he took appellant's fingerprint impressions at the Demopolis police station, and later compared them to the impressions he had lifted at the Spiller Furniture Company. He stated that, based upon his training and experience, the fingerprints lifted at the store matched impressions from two of appellant's fingers.

John R. Brock, a lieutenant with the Demopolis Police Department, testified that he was on patrol around 11:30 p. m. on Saturday, September 8, 1979, when he saw an individual walking about a block from the Spiller Furniture Store, and about a block from the officer's vehicle. The officer stated that the individual was moving away from him, and that he could not describe in detail anything about the person except that the person was dressed in dark clothing and carrying something. The witness testified that he drove around the block in order to intercept the individual, but was unable to locate the person he saw. It being late on Saturday evening, all downtown stores were closed. At that point, he heard radio calls concerning lights being on in Spiller Furniture Company, and the subsequent discovery of the open door. Lieutenant Brock stated that, after that, he and an Officer Hoven continued to look for the individual that Lieutenant Brock had seen, and that tracking dogs were brought in by the Sheriff's Department. A short time later, the witness stated, Officer Hoven located a white Plymouth parked in an abandoned parking lot near the railroad depot, just a few blocks from Spiller Furniture Company. The automobile was "backed up into some bushes. I had to get there and go in some of the weeds to look at the tag number" (R. 65). After reporting the tag number over the radio, both Lieutenant Brock and Officer Hoven resumed patrol in their respective police cars.

Some time later, around 3:00 a. m. this same night, Lieutenant Brock testified, he was patrolling in his vehicle when he reached the intersection of the street on which the depot and parking lot were located and saw a white automobile moving up that street. The officer stated that he pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store to wait for the white car, and that the car subsequently passed his vantage point. Lieutenant Brock then followed the car and, after confirming by radio that the tag number matched that of the white Plymouth which had been parked near the depot, the officer pulled the car over. Lieutenant Brock testified that the occupant of the white car, identified by his driver's license, was John Willie Minnifield, and that he was dressed in a light gray suit. The officer further stated that he could see dark blue work clothes in view on the back seat, and that he had remembered seeing a "gray suit" on the seat when the car had been parked at the abandoned parking lot.

The officer notified other officers by radio that he had the appellant stopped, and Chief Johnson and a Deputy Mason arrived shortly thereafter. Appellant, when questioned as to why he had left his car parked in the parking lot, responded that he had had car trouble and was now attempting to take the car to get it fixed. Lieutenant Brock further testified that Chief Johnson questioned appellant as to the contents of a bag on the back seat of the car, and that appellant then emptied the bag, which contained "toilet articles, shaving gear, and dirty clothes" (R. 69) into the street. Further, upon being asked permission to examine the car's trunk, appellant removed the trunk key from his key ring and opened the trunk himself.

On cross-examination, Lieutenant Brock stated that he could not identify the individual he had seen about 11:30 p. m., and that no one officer had kept the white Plymouth under continuous surveillance from the time it had first been discovered until appellant was stopped driving it at 3:00 a. m.

Officer Marty Hoven of the Demopolis Police Department testified that he was involved in the investigation of the burglary at Spiller Furniture Company. He stated that he heard the initial radio calls concerning the break-in at the store, but was directed by Chief Johnson to assist Lieutenant Brock in locating the individual that Brock had seen earlier. The witness stated that, though he drove around in the general area, he was unable to find the person, but did locate a white Plymouth automobile parked off the street near the railroad depot. He stated that he checked the car out, finding its hood still warm and a light gray suit lying on the back seat. He further stated that he later saw appellant wearing this suit. After notifying the other officers by radio and noting the tag number of the vehicle, the officer resumed patrol in a five to seven block radius of the location of the car, but saw no one else. He later returned to a routine patrol, and testified that, at 3:09 a. m., he heard on the radio that Lieutenant Brock had stopped the white Plymouth. He testified that he proceeded to the scene and, upon arrival, noted that the car's engine was still running and that its exhaust was very loud. He observed appellant was wearing the gray suit, and stated that appellant gave his trunk key to the chief, who, in turn, opened the trunk of the car. He also observed blue jean pants and a blue jean jacket on the back seat of the car, and witnessed the chief remove a green bank bag from underneath the front seat of the car.

On cross-examination, Officer Hoven stated that Lieutenant Brock had not been present when he first discovered the white Plymouth, and did not come by while he was at that location.

Mrs. Olivia Avery, the bookkeeper for Spiller Furniture Company, testified that, on the night in question, she was awakened by a telephone call from the police concerning the break-in. She stated that, earlier that day, around 5:00 p. m., she and another employee, being the last to leave, had secured the doors, and that the back door was locked by placing a bar across it on the inside and locking it. The store's receipts and miscellaneous change kept in a fruit jar were both locked in the office safe. She further testified that, upon her arrival, she saw that the bar across the back door had been unlocked and removed, and later determined that entry had been initially gained through a sky-light. She stated that approximately $3700.00 had been taken, and that a green bank bag was missing. The witness then identified a State's exhibit as the missing bank bag, and stated that she had identified the bag the morning after the burglary at the Demopolis Police Station.

Johnny Johnson, the police chief of Demopolis, testified that, on the night in question, around 11:30 p. m., he was driving past the Spiller Furniture Company when he noticed a light on inside the building. He radioed other officers on duty to determine if the light being on was unusual, and then dispatched another officer to investigate. About this time, Chief Johnson stated, Lieutenant Brock radioed concerning the individual he had seen, and the chief proceeded to help Lieutenant Brock locate that individual. Subsequently, as he was driving to the area, he received another radio report that a burglary had been discovered at Spiller Furniture Company, and he returned to that store to back up the officer. After arriving on the scene and determining that no one was inside the store, Chief Johnson radioed the remaining police cars to "seal off" the area and locate the individual that Lieutenant Brock had seen. The chief further stated that the Sheriff's Department personnel assisted in the search, and that...