Rockett v. State, CR

• Decision Date: 05 December 1994
• Docket Number: No. CR,CR
• Citation: 318 Ark. 831,890 S.W.2d 235
• Parties: Robert Lewis ROCKETT, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 94-510.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Page 235

890 S.W.2d 235

318 Ark. 831

Robert Lewis ROCKETT, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. CR 94-510.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Dec. 5, 1994.

William R. Simpson, Public Defender, Jerry Jon Sallings, Deputy Public Defender, C. Joseph Cordi, Jr., Little Rock, for appellant.

David R. Raupp, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.

GLAZE, Justice.

This is an appeal from appellant Robert Rockett's conviction of capital murder and aggravated robbery for which he was sentenced to life without parole. Rockett brings this appeal and raises the following four points for reversal: (1) the trial court erred by denying Rockett's motion to suppress evidence; (2) the trial court erred when it allowed into evidence Rockett's uncounseled statements after he invoked his right to have an attorney present during questioning; (3) the trial court's finding that the state offered a racially neutral reason to strike a prospective juror was clearly against the preponderance of the evidence; (4) the trial court erred by not allowing Rockett to produce evidence that someone else had confessed to the homicide. We affirm.

On March 10, 1993, at approximately 10:30 p.m., three women were adding oil to their car at the Stax convenience store in Jacksonville when two of the women witnessed a car occupied by two men enter the parking lot and stop behind the women's car. The driver was seen to exit his car, look toward the store, and then re-enter his car. He retrieved a ski mask, pulled it over his head and again exited the car. The man forced the three women into the store, and once inside, he demanded the clerk, Stacie Summers, to put money in a sack. He then shot Ms. Summers in the throat and fled. Ms. Summers dialed 911, and members of the Jacksonville Police Department arrived shortly thereafter. Efforts to save Ms. Summers' life were unsuccessful.

Fifteen days after the Jacksonville crimes, a police officer in Jonesboro discovered a stolen car parked in the Motel 6 parking lot. The officer, Greg Baugh, called for backup, exited his vehicle, and hid under an outside stairway of the motel.

After a period of time, Baugh saw in the window of his patrol car three or four reflections of individuals walking in a normal fashion on the balcony above him. When the individuals were in a position to see the patrol car, they stopped, began to whisper and continued quietly along the second floor balcony. When they reached a room, all entered except for one man.

Officer Baugh stepped out from hiding, and asked the man to step down and speak with him. The man stated that he would go inside and get his shoes and then come down to talk. Baugh insisted the man come down immediately, and the man became nervous and reached into his pockets a couple of times. The officer, fearing the suspect might be reaching for a weapon, drew his own weapon and pointed it at the suspect, who then fled. Officer Baugh, believing he could not catch the man, ran up the stairs to room 221 where the other individuals had entered. He found the door open and three people were sitting inside. At gunpoint, Baugh arrested the three individuals, and a search of one of the individuals revealed a loaded .380 clip. Other officers arrived and the room was searched, producing a motel receipt indicating Robert Rockett had paid for the room and a map. The search of the room where the subjects were arrested revealed two handguns, three pairs of gloves, ammunition, and a ski mask. Another ski mask was later discovered in the search of the stolen vehicle.

Approximately two hours after Officer Baugh's initial arrival, the man, who fled the scene, returned to the motel; the man was arrested and identified as Robert Rockett. The next day he was transported to Jacksonville as a suspect in the Jacksonville murder of Stacie Summers.

On March 27, Janice Blanchard, one of the women who witnessed the Stax robbery and Summers' murder, identified Rockett from a photo spread as the man who committed those crimes. Later that same day, Rockett allegedly confessed to a Jacksonville police officer. The state subsequently charged Rockett with the Jacksonville robbery and murder crimes with which he was convicted.

On appeal, Rockett first argues the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress the items the police officers recovered from Rockett's motel room in the Jonesboro search, seizures and arrests. He claims that search violated his fourth amendment rights, and the evidence seized was inadmissible at his murder and robbery trial.

It is well settled that one registered at a motel or hotel as a guest is protected against unreasonable searches and seizures by the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution. Scroggins v. State, 276 Ark. 177, 633 S.W.2d 33 (1982). Here, the record reflects that the three men who were arrested and the items that were seized were in room 221. The motel clerk stated that a Robert Rockett was the one registered to room 221, and a receipt was found in that room, reflecting Rockett had paid for the room. Given these circumstances, it was the state's burden to prove that Rockett's motel room was not subject to constitutional protection. Id. In this respect, the state argues Rockett abandoned any expectation of privacy he may have had when he fled from Officer Baugh.

In State v. Tucker, 268 Ark. 427, 597 S.W.2d 584 (1980), this court stated that abandonment is a fact question generally determined by a combination of acts and intent. The Tucker court, quoting from U.S. v. Colbert, 474 F.2d 174 (5th Cir.1973), explained abandonment in these matters as follows:

The issue is not abandonment in the strict property-right sense, but whether the person prejudiced by the search had voluntarily discarded, left behind, or otherwise relinquished his interest in the property in question so that he could no longer retain a reasonable expectation of privacy with regard to it at the time of the search. See also Abel v. United States, 362 U.S. 217, 80 S.Ct. 683, 4 L.Ed.2d 668 (1960).

While the evidence reflects Rockett may well have had a fourth amendment protectable interest in room 221, it also shows he abandoned any such interest. Rockett was stopped by Officer Baugh and was not free to leave. He asked to go get his shoes, and when his request was denied, he fled from both Baugh and the motel. At this point, Rockett had abandoned not only his associates, but also any interest he may have had in room 221. Rockett argues that he did return to the motel within two hours, and apparently asked to get into the room. However, he told the officers that his mother had just dropped him off, and he was staying in room 219. The officers checked with motel personnel and determined someone else, not Rockett, occupied room 219. In sum, Rockett fled the motel when stopped by Officer Baugh, and upon his return two hours later, he claimed he occupied another room. Obviously, Rockett's actions exhibited that, by fleeing and later telling authorities he occupied room 219, he wished to separate himself from room 221 and not reclaim any interest in it. Accordingly, Rockett abandoned any legitimate expectation of privacy he might have had in room 221 where his associates were arrested and certain items were seized.

Because we hold Rockett had no standing to challenge the motel search or the items seized and admitted into evidence at his trial, we need not address the probable cause and exigent circumstances issues he argues in this appeal. Nonetheless, we conclude that, even if the trial court had...