Richardson v. State

Decision Date18 February 1966
Docket NumberNo. 41834,No. 2,41834,2
Citation147 S.E.2d 653,113 Ga.App. 163
PartiesHenry L. RICHARDSON v. The STATE
CourtGeorgia Court of Appeals

John M. Wyatt, LaGrange, for appellant.

Wright Lipford, Sol. Gen., Newnan, for appellee.

Syllabus Opinion by the Court

DEEN, Judge.

1. The right to arrest a suspected person without a warrant is broader in felony than in misdemeanor cases. Thompson, alias Eaker v. State, 4 Ca.App. 649(2), 62 S.E. 99. It has been stated that, as to felonies but not as to misdemeanors, an officer has authority to arrest anyone of whom he has a reasonable suspicion that he had committed a felony, without waiting first to procure a warrant. Robinson v. State, 93 Ga. 77, 87, 18 S.E. 1018. What constitutes 'reasonable grounds of suspicion' is generally to be determined under the facts of the individual case, but as a rule of thumb grounds less than would be demanded to procure a warrant for search of property or arrest of person will not suffice (Worthington v. United States, 6 Cir., 166 F.2d 557; Wrightson v. United States, 95 U.S.App.D.C. 390, 22 F.2d 556) nor can the conclusion that the officer had reasonable grounds for suspicion be determined merely by the fact that the search was productive or the arrest supported by a subsequent trial and conviction. United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 68 S.Ct. 222, 92 L.Ed. 210.

2. Flight is always a circumstance which may be shown and which a jury may take into account in determining the guilt or innocence of the accused. Kettles v. State, 145 Ga. 6, 88 S.E. 197; Dean v. State, 154 Ga. 533, 114 S.E. 809; Smith v. State, 106 Ga. 673, 32 S.E. 851, 71 Am.St.Rep. 286. The flight of one seeing a police officer whom he has reason to think may be about to accuse him of a specific offense, even though the officer has no authority to make an arrest, and even though the suspect does not know whether or not he intends to attempt to arrest him, may be shown as indication of a sense of suilt. Grant v. State, 122 Ga. 740(2), 50 S.E. 946.

3. City police officers discovered during the night of August 28, 1965, that a place of business had been broken into in Newnan, Ga. The owner, who was called to the store, arrived about 3 a.m. and found missing a pistol, rifle, watches, 11 pairs of pants, and a sack of pennies. Meanwhile, two county policemen, ignorant of these facts, were cruising the highway about 7 miles south of Newnan and came upon the defendant walking along the road in the opposite direction with a seaman's sack slung over his shoulder. They went on about 200 yards, then turned the car around with the intention of speaking to the man, but as they pulled up beside him the defendant attempted to flee across a field. As the officers prepared to give chase he stopped. The policemen had knowledge of several recent burglaries in the area, although not of the one here under consideration. They seized and opened the defendant's bag and, on ascertaining its contents, arrested and returned him to Newnan, where he was charged with the offense of burglary. Upon the trial the stolen goods were sought to be introduced in evidence and objection was made on the ground that the arrest and search were without probable cause.

(a) This case was tried in the same court and before the same trial judge as Raif v. State, 109 Ga.App. 354, 136 S.E.2d 169. The parties and the trial judge were well cognizant of the fact that if Raif is controlling here the evidence would be inadmissible. This court said in that case: 'There is no authority in Georgia under which a citizen may be arrested without a warrant and held for investigation to determine if he has committed some crime merely because the person making the arrest has a suspicion that the person arrested may have committed some then unknown crime.' In Raif the defendants were arrested in the late morning at a railroad crossing near a shopping center, and the only things of note about them were that they were strangers to the arresting officers and that the left arm of each man was wet. These facts were held not to constitute probable cause such as to justify arrest and search without a warrant. Here, the defendant was walking along a deserted road in the early hours of the morning, carrying a large bag filled with something...

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20 cases
  • Johnson v. State, 56929
    • United States
    • United States Court of Appeals (Georgia)
    • January 15, 1979
    ...which may be shown and a jury is authorized to take into account in determining guilt or innocence of an accused. Richardson v. State, 113 Ga.App. 163(2), 147 S.E.2d 653; Woodruff v. State, 233 Ga. 840, 842, 213 S.E.2d 689. "(I)t is not necessary that the flight take place immediately." McK......
  • Traylor v. State, 47152
    • United States
    • United States Court of Appeals (Georgia)
    • September 20, 1972
    ...has likewise been held sufficient to constitute probable cause for an arrest without a warrant and search. Richardson v. State, 113 Ga.App. 163, 147 S.E.2d 653. (2) The officers also had probable cause to arrest the defendant for gambling or as a material witness to its commission. For an e......
  • Gordon v. Gulf Am. Fire & Cas. Co.
    • United States
    • United States Court of Appeals (Georgia)
    • May 26, 1966
    ...identification was complete although the witness did not know the brand names or serial numbers of the objects.' Richardson v. State, 113 Ga.App. 163(4), 147 S.E.2d 653. And see Jordan v. State, 119 Ga. 443(2), 46 S.E. 679. Certainly there is no greater requirement of identification in a ci......
  • Deshazier v. State, 59994
    • United States
    • United States Court of Appeals (Georgia)
    • September 3, 1980
    ...evidence of defendant's flight from the scene of the collision (Johnson v. State, 148 Ga.App. 702, 252 S.E.2d 205; Richardson v. State, 113 Ga.App. 163(2), 147 S.E.2d 653), and also defendant's own statement that he was driving "too fast" (which, though not necessarily inculpatory, was prop......
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