United States v. Trice, 72-1317
| Decision Date | 30 March 1973 |
| Docket Number | 72-1318.,No. 72-1317,72-1317 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. William Roger TRICE, Defendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Emric CLAYTON, Jr., Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Bruce C. Gregor (argued), Sacramento, Cal., for appellant Trice.
Bruce Babcock, Jr., Asst. U. S. Atty. (argued), William B. Shubb, Asst. U. S. Atty., Sacramento, Cal., for appellee.
Martin F. Jennings, Jr. (argued), Sacramento, Cal., for appellant Clayton.
Bruce Babcock, Jr., Asst. U. S. Atty. (argued), William B. Shubb, Asst. U. S. Atty., Sacramento, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee.
Before BARNES, BROWNING, and WALLACE, Circuit Judges.
A jury found Trice and Clayton guilty of armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a) and (d). The various witnesses at the scene were unable to identify the robbers, but one witness secured the license number of the getaway car. Shortly afterwards, the police stopped the car. Questioning of the lone occupant, Lorenzo Tijerina, led to the arrest of these appellants. They request reversal, each specifying three errors. We affirm.
Clayton first argues that there was no probable cause for his arrest without a warrant. On the afternoon of the robbery, the driver of the getaway car, Tijerina, admitted his guilt, gave a detailed account of the robbery and implicated Clayton. Clayton argues that the uncorroborated testimony of an informant cannot support an attempted warrantless arrest and the attendant search and seizure.
The reliability of an informant is the controlling factor in establishing probable cause for an arrest. See United States v. Mehciz, 437 F.2d 145, 149 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 402 U.S. 974, 91 S.Ct. 1663, 29 L.Ed.2d 139 (1971). Ordinarily the informant's information must be corroborated or verified to an extent sufficient to establish his credibility. See Musgrove v. Eyman, 435 F.2d 1235, 1238 (9th Cir. 1971). There was sufficient corroboration in this case, considering that: (a) Tijerina was stopped in the getaway car immediately after the robbery; (b) his admissions were against his own penal interest; (c) he correctly described the crime in detail; and (d) his sister told FBI agents that Tijerina and Clayton had left the house together about thirty minutes before the robbery. There is ample corroboration of Tijerina's implicating statements and thus, there was probable cause for Clayton's arrest.
Clayton next asserts that the FBI entry into his apartment to effect his arrest was illegal and that the subsequent seizure of the marked money was, therefore, tainted. This contention is based upon his factual argument that the FBI knew Clayton was not in his apartment. In ruling on Clayton's motion to suppress, the trial court found otherwise. Clayton has not demonstrated, as he must, that those findings were clearly erroneous.
Finally, Clayton contends that the introduction into evidence of his fingerprint which was lifted from the getaway car was improper and prejudicial. First, he argues that the relevancy of the testimony was outweighed by the prejudice. The admission of this evidence was within the trial judge's discretion and there is no basis for finding that he abused that discretion.
Second, he asserts that the expert witness who lifted the print and testified as to its identity and age was not sufficiently qualified and that his opinion was too speculative. The initial question of whether an expert witness has sufficient competency and qualifications to testify is also within the discretion of the trial judge. Fineberg v. United States, 393 F.2d 417, 421 (9th Cir. 1968). Again there is no showing of an abuse by the judge, especially since he properly instructed the jury that it was to consider the expert's credentials and make its own determination as to whether to accept or reject his opinion.
Trice's first allegation of error is that the trial court failed to grant him a judgment of acquittal. He argues that there was insufficient evidence to allow his case to go to the jury.
The prosecution need not exclude every reasonable hypothesis except guilt; it need only present evidence which is substantial enough that a jury could reasonably arrive at a guilty verdict. See United States v. Nelson, 419 F.2d 1237, 1242-45 (9th Cir. 1969). The jury...
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