State v. Pickens

• Decision Date: 20 January 1964
• Docket Number: No. 46819,46819
• Citation: 160 So.2d 577,245 La. 680
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. James PICKENS and Sylvester Alexander.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 577

160 So.2d 577

245 La. 680

STATE of Louisiana v. James PICKENS and Sylvester Alexander.

No. 46819.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

Jan. 20, 1964.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 24, 1964.

Wilson, Abramson, Maroun & Kaplan, Isaac Abramson, Shreveport, for defendants-appellants.

Jack P. F. Gremillion, Atty. Gen., M. E. Culligan, Asst. Atty. Gen., Ragan D. Madden, Dist. Atty., for appellee.

HAMLIN, Justice:

The defendants, James Pickens and Sylvester Alexander, were jointly charged by bill of information with the commission of the crime of simple burglary,¹ an offense prohibited by LSA-R.S. 14:62; they were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to serve six years at hard labor in the state penitentiary. From their convictions and sentences they appeal to this Court, presenting for consideration three bills of exceptions.

Prior to trial, defendants filed Motions to Suppress Evidence in the instant prosecution and in another prosecution in which they were named as defendants. The cases were consolidated for the purpose of the trial of the Motions to Suppress, which motions were overruled.

The defendants applied to this Court for Writs of Certiorari, Prohibition, and Mandamus, which were refused with the notation: 'Relators have an adequate remedy by appeal in the event of their conviction.' 244 La. 221, 151 So.2d 693.

The State and counsel for defendants agreed that the testimony taken on the trial of the Motions to Suppress Evidence would be attached to and made a part of the present bills of exceptions.

Bill of Exceptions No. 1 was reserved to the trial court's overruling the Motion to Suppress Evidence filed in the instant prosecution by counsel for the defendants prior to trial and the court's holding that the evidence obtained herein was secured with probable cause, although without a search warrant.

The Motion to Suppress Evidence recites in part:

'1. JAMES PICKENS and SYLVESTER ALEXANDER move this court to direct that all that property which was taken by the Sheriff or any peace officer of Lincoln Parish or the City of Ruston, and which was unlawfully seized and taken from your movers and their automobile without a valid search warrant or warrant of arrest and from which properties the State of Louisiana, through its District Attorney and other agents, secured information which they intend to use as evidence against them in these criminal proceedings, should be suppressed as evidence against your movers in any criminal proceedings.

'2. Your movers show that the unlawful search and seizure and arrest took place against the will and over the objections of your defendants and without a lawful search warrant or warrant of arrest.

'4. Appearers show that on or about March 31st, 1963, the Sheriff and/or peace officers of the Parish of Lincoln and/or the City of Ruston searched the person and automobile of your defendants herein and removed therefrom certain articles more particularly known to the said District Attorney your appearers not having been furnished with any inventory or receipt from which they could ascertain the nature of the articles.

'5. Appearers show that to the best of their knowledge the officers, without a search warrant and without a warrant of arrest, removed loose money in various amounts unknown to your appearers, some in rolls, some bags reportedly having the name of places of business in Ruston, various boxes and articles having the names of companies or places of business in the City of Ruston, Louisiana, the exact description of which is unknown to your appearers for the reason that appearers have not been furnished with any information on this score.

'6. Your appearers show that they have been aggrieved by the actions of the Sheriff and/or peace officers of the Parish of Lincoln, Louisiana in illegally arresting, searching and seizing your appearers and their automobile without a lawful search warrant and without a warrant of arrest and attempting to use these articles as a means of securing the names of persons as witnesses against your appearers as well as the articles themselves.

'7. Appearers show that they were lawfully in the possession of the automobile a 1960 Imperial Chrysler, which was searched as above set forth and that said search and seizure was made without probable cause, without a search warrant and without any justification whatsoever.

'8. That the above unlawful search, seizure and arrest was in violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and in violation of Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1921, as amended, and of Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1921, as amended.'

Bill of Exceptions No. 2 was reserved to the trial court's overruling the objection of counsel for the defendants to the introduction of evidence taken by police officers from the automobile driven by the defendants, as the evidence was taken without a search warrant, illegally and without probable cause.

Bill of Exceptions No. 3 was reserved to the overruling by the trial court of defendants' motion for a new trial, which incorporated the same matters raised in Bills of Exceptions Nos. 1 and 2.

Since the three bills are interrelated and raise the same issues, they will be discussed together.

The transcript of evidence taken on the trial of the Motions to Suppress and during the trial of the instant prosecution discloses that on Sunday, March 31, 1963, Joseph L. Glasgow, owner of a men's clothing business (Glasgow's) located in Ruston, Louisiana, visited his place of business around 2:15 P.M. (he had been there previously that day and found the premises in order) and immediately discovered that the office had been ransacked, all of the money had been taken out of the safe, and twenty-four suits were missing (the suits were later found hidden in the boiler room of an adjoining building). Glasgow also found that the back door to his premises was open (it had been closed) and that the bottom plywood panel had been broken out. After a few minutes of observation and making a determination that his business had been burglarized, Glasgow called the police. The burglary was reported to a desk sergeant, who telephoned the Manhattan Cafe where Captain Robert L. Goss, Lt. Willie Howard, and Patrolman Edward L. Lester were having coffee. The message that Glasgow's had been burglarized and that he should get to the store as fast as he could was communicated to Captain Goss, who in turn communicated the message to the other officers.

The three officers left the cafe immediately in a patrol car for the investigation. Upon arrival at Glasgow's, which faces east (west side of the street) on North Trenton Street (a thoroughfare running north and south), Patrolman Lester alighted from the patrol car and was stationed at the front of the store; the officers felt that the burglars might still be in the premises. Captain Goss and Lt. Howard proceeded in the patrol car to the corner of North Trenton and then turned west on Park Avenue. As they neared an alley which ran behind Glasgow's, paralleled North Trenton Street, and opened into Park Avenue, the officers saw a 1960 black Chrysler automobile approach; it was being driven three to five miles an hour in an easterly direction and was about 100 feet from the rear entrance to the Glasgow store; it was driven by the defendant Sylvester Alexander, who was accompanied by the defendant James Pickens, and Alexander was looking up the alley. Lt Howard, who had been with the Ruston Police Department for eleven years, testified that he knew the colored and white people around Ruston pretty well, and that he had never seen the defendants nor their automobile before March 31, 1963. From their actions Lt. Howard sensed and suspected that the defendants were not local boys, and he suggested that Captain Goss flag them. Captain Goss called to the men to stop their car; he parked the patrol car and ran down the alley, leaving Lt. Howard on Park Avenue in the patrol car. Lt. Howard alighted and yelled to the defendants, whereupon they stopped their car. During the trial Lt. Howard testified as follows:

'Captain Goss jumped out of the car and ran up the alley. The car began to speed up just a little bit and I jumped out on foot and run around behind the car and hollered to them to stop the car. Well, he stopped. And I went on up there and asked them where they were from and they told me Shreveport. And I asked him what was he doing driving slow and looking up the alley. He said he was supposed to pick up somebody at the train station there at twelve o'clock and they were looking for the train station. So I saw this box right here in between them on the front seat of the car. I asked them what was in the box and he said nothing and I told them to get out of the car and they got out and reached over and picked the lid up and it had this underwear in it. And then I looked on the floorboard of the car and there were the two money sacks. And I told them they were under arrest. And I reached and got the two bags and carried the two fellows on to the car. About that time Captain Goss come back out of the alley and I told him it looked like I had them.'

On trial of the Motion to Suppress, Lt. Howard had testified:

'Yes, sir, and run around behind this little old black Chrysler made an attempt to pull on off and I hollered for him to stop his car. So he stopped. So I went on up to the car and I asked them where they were from, so they told me they were from Shreveport. * * * but I saw a box about so big and square in between the two subjects on the front seat of the car. I asked him what was in the box and he said nothing and I told him then to get out. So they got out, I raised the lid up on this box, it was full of new underwear. I don't know how many pairs, men's underwear, then I looked on the floorboard of the car and there were two money bags and I reached and got them...