State v. Riedel, 46890

• Decision Date: 07 April 1973
• Docket Number: No. 46890,46890
• Citation: 211 Kan. 872,508 P.2d 878
• Parties: STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Lanny C. RIEDEL, Appellant.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

Page 878

508 P.2d 878

211 Kan. 872

STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Lanny C. RIEDEL, Appellant.

No. 46890.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

April 7, 1973.

Syllabus by the Court

1. The record is examined in an action wherein the defendant was convicted of receiving stolen property and for reasons set forth in the opinion it is held the trial court did not err (1) in admitting into evidence incriminating statements made by defendant or (2) in its instructions to the jury.

Wesley M. Norwood, Lawrence, argued the cause, and was on the brief for appellant.

David Berkowitz, County Atty., argued the cause, and Vern Miller, Atty. Gen., and John Mike Elwell, Lawrence, were with him on the brief for appellee.

PRAGER, Justice:

The defendant Lanny C. Riedel was convicted of receiving stolen property under K.S.A. 21-549. This is a direct appeal from that conviction. We will refer to the parties respectively as state and defendant or Riedel. The property stolen consisted of 5600 pounds of atrazine, a chemical herbicide, which was taken from the USS Agri-Chemical warehouse near Lawrence, Kansas. The defendant Riedel was a student at the University of Kansas. During the fall semester of 1969 he worked at the warehouse during September and October. During November and early December 1969, USS Agri-Chemical received large shipments of atrazine. Between 9:30 p. m., December 23, 1969, and 3:10 a. m., December 24, 1964, the atrazine was stolen. The evidence was undisputed that the defendant rented a truck in Lawrence on December 23, 1969, in the morning and brought the truck back to Lawrence on December 27, 1969. Defendant's father testified that the defendant arrived at the family home in Colby, Kansas, in the early hours of December 24. During the following three months defendant made several large sales of atrazine to farmers in the Colby area at $1.75 per pound. The retail price at the time varied between $2.20 and $2.40 per pound.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation through Agent Charles Murray began investigating the Colby atrazine sales in April 1970. Having acquired information as to defendant's participation therein, Agent Murray along with the undersheriff of Thomas county went to the Riedel farm on the morning of June 25, 1970, to discuss the sales of atrazine with the defendant. Defendant was not home at the time and the officers left word that they wanted to talk with him about the sales. Later on the same morning Riedel went to the Thomas county sheriff's office in response to the request of Murray. There Murry interrogated the defendant about the atrazine sales. The evidence is undisputed that prior to any interrogation Murray advised Riedel of his rights as required by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 294. Agent Murray specifically informed defendant that he would be asked questions in regard to a theft of atrazine and the atrazine sales made by defendant to the farmers in the Colby area. Murray was primarily interested in determining where the atrazine was obtained by defendant. The defendant first told Murray that he had received 78 boxes of atrazine from a man in St. Joseph, Missouri, and that he and a friend had hauled it for the man to the Riedel farm. Murray then informed defendant that he had evidence that defendant had sold more than 78 boxes to farmers around Colby and knew that defendant had rented a truck in Lawrence. Thereupon defendant stated that he did not steal the atrazine but agreed to sell it for a man. Riedel admitted that he had rented a truck on December 23 and went with the man to an old barn south of Lawrence where the atrazine was loaded on a truck at about 7:00 p. m. on the night of December 23. In the course of the interrogation the defendant made a number of statements which were highly incriminating and tended to substantiate the position of the state that defendant knew the atrazine was stolen at the time he received it. Defendant stated that he was to make a profit of $1,000 plus his expenses out of the money he received from selling the atrazine. According to Murray defendant stated he knew the deal was fishy 'because you just don't get deals like that' and further that he was glad to get it off his conscience because it had been bothering him and he was afraid he would get caught. Murray and the defendant went to lunch and then they returned to the sheriff's office. Murray attempted to get defendant to tell him the name of the man from whom he obtained the atrazine. Murray suggested to defendant that things might be easier for him if he would identify the man. Defendant refused to state the man's name stating that he thought it was pretty big outfit and if he gave the man's name, someone might come gunning for him.

Following this interrogation Murray called the authorities in Douglas county and a warrant was issued charging defendant with receiving stolen property. At about 5:30 p. m. on June 25, 1969, Murray and the Thomas county sheriff placed defendant Riedel under arrest. He was incarcerated in the county jail until June 29, 1969. On that date defendant was turned over to the sheriff of Douglas county who flew to Colby to transport defendant from Colby to Lawrence by air. As the plane was about to take off for Lawrence, a conversation took place between defendant Riedel and Rex Johnson, the Douglas county sheriff. Riedel asked if the matter could be taken care of by making restitution. Johnson immediately informed Riedel that he had better not say anything about he case because anything he said could be used against him.

Following his arrest the defendant Riedel was cooperative with the authorities at all times except for his refusal to reveal the name of the man from whom he he acquired the atrazine. The case came on for trial in district court on November 30, 1970. At the trial Riedel testified that in November 1969, he was approached by a man, Lester Maxe, at a party in Kansas City, Missouri, concerning his purchasing soe atrazine. Maxe and Riedel agreed that Riedel was to receive approximately 100 cases around Christmas to carry to Colby, Kansas, and sell for $1.75 per box. Riedel was to receive for his efforts $1,000 plus expenses and the remainder of the proceeds from the sales was to be paid to Lester Maxe. On the evening of December 22, 1969, Riedel received a telephone call from Maxe and was told to rent a truck the next day. On December 23, 1969, Riedel rented a truck and that evening received another call from Maxe in which Riedel was told to meet Maxe at the Holiday Inn on Highway 59 east of Lawrence. Following a rendezvous at the Holiday Inn the rented truck was driven to a barn in the area of Lone Star Lake. There the cases of atrazine were loaded onto the rented truck. After the truck was loaded the defendant Riedel drove it with the load of atrazine to Colby.

There was a disputed issue of fact as to whether or not the atrazine received by defendant Riedel was in fact the atrazine which had been stolen on the evening of December 23, 1969, from USS Agri-Chemical Company, Inc. The cases were not clearly marked. The defendant Riedel, although admitting receiving the atrazine, denied his guilt on the basis that he had no prior knowledge that the atrazine was stolen at the time he received it. During the course of trial the defendant objected to the admission into evidence of the incriminating statements which he had made during his interrogation at Colby. After the defendant moved to suppress his statements, the trial court conducted a Jackson v. Denno hearing in the absence of the jury. At this hearing the defendant admitted that he had been given a proper Miranda warning by Agent Murray prior to his interrogation in Colby and he further testified that all statements that he had made at...