Title: Hopewell v. Com.

State: kentucky

Issuer: Kentucky Supreme Court

Document:

641 S.W.2d 744 (1982) Darnell HOPEWELL, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee. Supreme Court of Kentucky. November 23, 1982. Jack E. Farley, Public Advocate, Edward C. Monahan, Asst. Public Advocate, Frankfort, for appellant. Steven L. Beshear, Atty. Gen., Linda Carnes Wimberly, Asst. Atty. Gen., Frankfort, for appellee. STERNBERG, Justice. Appellant Darnell Hopewell, on January 26, 1982, was indicted by the Grand Jury of Boone County, Kentucky, for the offense of robbery in the first degree (KRS 515.020) and for the offense of kidnapping (KRS 509.040). He was convicted on both offenses and sentenced to a total of 35 years in the penitentiary. During the wee hours of the morning of December 31, 1981, appellant was driving a 1977 Buick in Boone County, Kentucky, with Harold Taylor as a passenger. He stopped at an Amoco service station at the intersection of Highway 338 and I-75 to get some gas and oil. After servicing the car, the attendant, James Virgil Perry, entered the office where he was confronted by Harold Taylor holding a pistol pointed at him. Taylor ordered Perry to give him his money and to lie down in the back of the office. Upon departing, appellant ordered Perry to go with them and to lie down in the back of the car while Taylor tied his hands. The appellant drove south on I-75 to the Crittenden exit, a distance of approximately 20 miles, where Perry was blindfolded and put out of the car. Perry thereafter was able to loosen his bonds and the blindfold and call the police. He described the robbers and the car in which they were traveling. Appellant and Taylor were apprehended driving south on I-75 and asked by the police to follow them back to the service station, which they voluntarily did. Appellant was questioned twice on December 31, 1981, and at about 1:00 p.m. gave the police a statement wherein he admitted the robbery. Taylor was indicted separately for the same offense. While in jail Taylor stated to the Boone County jailer ". . . that Darnell didn't know anything about the robbery, that he had pulled up to the service *745 station and Taylor went in and came back out with the guy and Darnell didn't know about it." On appellant's trial his counsel called the jailer to testify. During the course of the interrogation, appellant's counsel asked whether Taylor made any statement to the jailer concerning Hopewell's involvement in the robbery. The Commonwealth objected to the question on the ground that it was hearsay. After an in-chambers conference, the court sustained the objection and did not permit the jailer to answer the question. However, the propriety of the question was placed in the record by avowal. On this appeal two issues are raised. The purpose for which counsel for appellant sought to introduce this question and secure an answer is stated by him to be ". . . the statement is not being offered to show whether or not it is true that Darnell had anything to do with it. The only reason the statement is being offered is to show the fact that it was made." In his brief to this court, however, the appellant charges that "(t)he failure of the trial court to allow appellant's counsel to introduce the statement of Taylor made to the jailer denied appellant his right to present a defense in violation of fourteenth amendment due process." It is evident that counsel for appellant has changed his approach to the admissibility of the statement. He raised no question before the trial judge that this statement was anything other than testimony without indicia of reliability; not a defense to the charges, or either of them, made against appellant. In Kennedy v. Commonwealth, Ky., 544 S.W.2d 219 (1977), this court stated: "The appellants will not be permitted to feed one can of worms to the trial judge and another to the appellate court." In Daugherty v. Commonwealth, Ky., 572 S.W.2d 861 (1978), in discussing preservation for appellate review, we said: "Regardless of the merits of this argument, these grounds, being different from those asserted in the court below, are not properly preserved for appellate review." It appears that the error, if any, was not preserved for appellate review. The question of the capacity of the appellant to stand trial was brought to the attention of the trial court. RCr 8.06, dealing with insanity, provides: KRS 504.040, to which RCr 8.06 makes reference, provides for referring a defendant to a medical facility for the purpose of an evaluation and report upon the competence of the defendant. This the trial court did. On February 3, 1982, the trial court entered two orders as follows: On February 19, 1982, the report of Michael G. Downer, M.S., a certified clinical psychologist from the Florence, Kentucky, Comprehensive Care Center, was filed with the trial court. The report states: The trial court ordered an evidentiary hearing on the issue of appellant's capacity to stand trial. On February 2, 1982, such a hearing was held in open court. Appellant and his counsel, Charles Moore, were present and participating, as was counsel for the Commonwealth. The pertinent dialogue was as follows: The parties having concluded the presentation of evidence on appellant's capacity to stand trial, the court proceeded with the trial of both counts of the indictment. The trial court has a broad discretion in determining whether a defendant has the ability to participate rationally in his defense. The record reflects that the court did not abuse its discretion in holding the appellant competent to stand trial. Appellant interjects the argument that he was not rendered reasonably competent assistance of counsel and that, by reason thereof, his conviction should be reversed. This issue was not presented to the trial court. It was raised for the first time in appellant's brief. The issue of insufficient assistance of counsel must be raised at the trial level by means of a post trial motion. Wilson v. Commonwealth, Ky., 601 S.W.2d 280 (1980). The judgment of the Boone Circuit Court is affirmed. All concur.