State v. Mansfield
| Citation | 538 S.E.2d 257,343 S.C. 66 |
| Decision Date | 02 October 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 3247.,3247. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of South Carolina |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent, v. Brian W. MANSFIELD, Appellant. |
Deputy Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III and Assistant Appellate Defender Melissa J. Reed Kimbrough, both of South Carolina Office of Appellate Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant.
Attorney General Charles M. Condon, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. Mclntosh and Senior Assistant Attorney General Norman Mark Rapoport; and Solicitor Warren B. Giese, all of Columbia, for Respondent.
Brian W. Mansfield appeals from his convictions for attempted first degree burglary and unlawfully carrying a pistol. He argues the trial court erred in (1) denying his motion for a continuance; (2) allowing the State's primary witness to identify him; (3) excluding evidence showing another person committed the crime; and (4) refusing to allow the withdrawal of his guilty plea on the weapons charge. We affirm.
On the afternoon of September 2, 1997, Keith Diamond walked outside his house on Truman Street in Columbia. Diamond looked over at the home of his neighbor, Bernard James. He saw a man bending down on James' porch near the front door. Diamond initially thought the man was James because he could only see him from behind. However, as Diamond walked towards the fence between their yards, the man stood up and Diamond realized he was not James because he was much too short.
The man was bending and pulling on James' locked screen door. Once the man opened it, he kicked the front door. Diamond yelled at the man to stop what he was doing and "looked him dead in the face," but the man did not respond. As Diamond approached him, the perpetrator walked away from James' home. Diamond continued to talk to the man. He did not get too close because the man had his hand under his shirt and Diamond feared he might be armed. James' burglar alarm sounded. Diamond watched the man walk down the street and noted where the man was headed. He then called 911.
In his call to 911, Diamond reported the attempted burglary and described the culprit.1 He stated the individual was a light-skinned black male, between 5'5" and 5'6" tall, wearing a red jersey, tennis shoes, and short white pants. He said the man's hair was in plaits. Diamond informed the operator the man was walking toward the Bethel Bishop Apartment Complex.
When the police arrived at James' residence, they discovered "fresh damage" to the wooden front door. They found the latch from the screen door on a step leading to the porch and a shoe print on the porch.
Meanwhile, Officer Duren Lee Doughtery, one of the officers dispatched to the Bethel Bishop Apartment Complex, spotted Mansfield walking between apartment buildings. Mansfield was the only man Officer Doughtery saw who matched the description of the suspect. The officer stopped Mansfield and told him the police were investigating a problem on Truman Street. Mansfield said he had just come from that area but that he had done nothing wrong. After the officers notified him that he was under investigative detention, Mansfield ran. The officers found him a few minutes later hiding in a storage closet. He was wearing a red jersey, grey sweat pants2 pulled up to his knees, and Timberland boots. He had an afro hairstyle. While booking Mansfield, officers recorded his height at 5'7". At that time, Mansfield provided the officers with a false name and two different addresses.
Officers transported Mansfield to the police substation where Diamond identified him as the man who attempted to break into James' house. Mansfield "made a voluntary statement that ... [Diamond] had seen him cutting grass on Truman Street when he was walking on Truman Street, crossing the railroad tracks." When an investigator confronted Mansfield with the evidence against him, he broke down crying, became despondent, and asked "Why do you need a confession with all the evidence that you have?" Police later discovered that the shoe print found on James' porch was consistent with the boots Mansfield was wearing at the time of his arrest.
Mansfield was charged with attempted burglary in the first degree and unlawful carrying of a pistol. His first trial, which was April 1-3, 1998, ended in a mistrial. Thereafter, on April 13, Mansfield's attempted burglary charge was again called for trial. At the beginning of the second trial, defense counsel moved for a two week continuance to obtain audiotapes of the earlier trial. The court denied the request. Defense counsel unsuccessfully attempted to (1) prevent Diamond from identifying Mansfield in court and (2) admit evidence that someone else committed the crime.
The jury convicted Mansfield of attempted burglary in the first degree. After the verdict, Mansfield pled guilty to unlawful carrying of a pistol. Defense counsel then attempted to withdraw the plea because he was confused and concerned about a new sentencing form he was required to sign. The court denied counsel's request, but agreed to pass sentence without the new form. The court sentenced Mansfield to one year on the weapons charge and thirty-five years on the attempted burglary.3
Mansfield argues the trial court erred in denying his motion for a continuance. Mansfield maintains he needed a continuance to obtain a trial transcript, which he could have used to impeach Diamond regarding the out-of-court identification.4 He contends Diamond's testimony regarding the events surrounding that identification varied dramatically between the first and second trial and the transcript would have enabled him to prove the identification was the unreliable product of an unduly suggestive identification procedure. We disagree.
The granting or denial of a motion for continuance is within the sound discretion of the trial judge. State v. Tanner, 299 S.C. 459, 385 S.E.2d 832 (1989); State v. Babb, 299 S.C. 451, 385 S.E.2d 827 (1989). The trial court's refusal of a motion for continuance will not be disturbed on appeal absent a clear abuse of discretion resulting in prejudice to the appellant. State v. Williams, 321 S.C. 455, 469 S.E.2d 49 (1996); State v. Babb, 299 S.C. 451, 385 S.E.2d 827 (1989). See also Skeen v. State, 325 S.C. 210, 481 S.E.2d 129 (1997)
(denial of motion for continuance rests within trial court's sound discretion and will not be disturbed on appeal absent abuse of discretion resulting in prejudice to appellant). Reversals of the refusal of a continuance are about as "rare as the proverbial hens' teeth." State v. Lytchfield, 230 S.C. 405, 409, 95 S.E.2d 857, 859 (1957).
Initially, we reject the argument that Diamond's testimony regarding the events leading up to his identification of Mansfield varied to such an extent from the first to the second trial to afford him a basis for effective impeachment.
During the first trial, Diamond gave the following in camera testimony about the show-up identification:
During the Neil v. Biggers5 hearing on retrial, Diamond testified concerning the events which occurred immediately prior to the show-up:
After the trial court determined his identification of...
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