Title: State v. Johnson
Citation: 230 So. 2d 825, 255 La. 314
Docket Number: N/A
State: Louisiana
Issuer: Louisiana Supreme Court
Date: January 20, 1970

230 So. 2d 825 (1970) 255 La. 314 STATE of Louisiana v. Frank JOHNSON. No. 49861. Supreme Court of Louisiana. January 20, 1970. Richard A. Buckley, New Orleans, for appellant. Jack P. F. Gremillion, Atty. Gen., William P. Schuler, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jim Garrison, Dist. Atty., Louise Korns, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee. HAMLIN, Justice: Defendant was charged by bill of information with the crime of armed robbery. He was tried by a jury of twelve, convicted (the verdict was nine to three), and sentenced to serve thirty-five years at hard labor in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. He appeals to this Court from his conviction and sentence and presents for our consideration two specification of errors, which recite: *826 Twenty-five bills of exceptions were reserved in this matter. However, before argument in this Court, counsel for the defendant stated that all bills taken at trial were without merit. Therefore, contrary to our usual format in writing a criminal case, herein infra we shall only consider the specification of errors urged supra. The testimony taken on the hearing of the motion to suppress and on trial discloses in substance the following account of defendant's arrest, booking, line-up, the incidents of the crime charged, and the actions of the victim following his being robbed by an armed man: On December 26, 1967, at approximately 3:30 P.M., (the weather was clear and the sun was shining) Eugene Frischertz, a route salesman for Coca Cola Bottling Company, had just made a delivery at Brown's Grocery, 2139 Third Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, when a man, whom he saw from the mirror of his truck (there was a mirror on the right side and on the left side of the front of the truck), approached the door of the truck, brandished a revolver at him and demanded that he give him all of his money.[1] Frischertz gave the robber between $500.00 and $600.00 of money belonging to Coca Cola Bottling Company and $31.00 of his own money, and the robber fled. Frischertz reentered the grocery store and summoned the police; they arrived within approximately fifteen minutes, and Frischertz related the details of the robbery and gave them a complete description of the robber weight, hair and clothing. Later, Frischertz went to the Detective Bureau where he was shown mug shots of suspects; he did not identify any of the pictures as being that of the defendant, but he pointed out characteristicsbuild and facial make-up of the robber similar to those of the parties appearing in the mug shots. Thereafter, at a line-up, which we shall discuss infra, he identified the defendant as the man who had robbed him. The robbery of truck drivers was prevalent in the City of New Orleans at the time Frischertz was forcibly robbed. The police were conducting an investigation for the purpose of arrest, and Lieutenant Theodore Feld, New Orleans Police Department, Detective Bureau, Robbery Division, was in charge. On the hearing of the motion to suppress, Lt. Feld testified: Marion Catalano, an employee of Brown's Velvet Ice Cream Inc., had been the victim of about three armed robberies; he identified defendant's photograph as that of a man who had committed a robbery on him. At Lt. Feld's instruction, Detective John Lanza secured the photograph identification. This was done shortly after Captain Newman, Assistant Chief of the Detective Bureau, communicated to Lt. Feld the information given to him by an informant, January 18, 1968. On January 20, 1968, at approximately 6:00 A.M., Lt. Feld and Sgt. Lawrence John *827 Vigurie arrested the defendant at his residence, 2135 Philip Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, for the robbery of Brown's Velvet Ice Cream, Inc. truck driver Catalano, but at the time of arrest Lt. Feld was not specific with the defendant; six officers were involved in the arrest. Lt. Feld testified that he knocked on Johnson's front door and was admitted by Mrs. Johnson and a male other than Johnson; that they were shown the officers' identification and told that the officers were looking for Frank Johnson. Defendant was taken from under his bed by Sgt. Vigurie, who told him that he was being placed under arrest for armed robbery; he was allowed to get dressed and was then handcuffed. Lt. Feld did not have an arrest warrant, but he testified that there was no reason for not securing one. A search was made of the defendant's house, but we are not herein concerned with any fruits of the search. The issue of search and seizure connected with an arrest is not an issue herein involved. Defendant was brought to the Detective Bureau at approximately 6:45 A.M., where he was apprised of his constitutional rights[2] and then interrogated. A short time later he accompanied and assisted the officers in the arrest of a suspect. He was returned to the Detective Bureau about mid-morning and then booked with a number of armed robberies.[3] Lt. Feld testified, "Catalano was the original booker and that is what we went out there to arrest him on." A line-up was held at the Detective Bureau on January 23, 1968, and victims of all truck driver holdups in the location herein involved were requested to attend. Eugene Frischertz, the instant victim, was present and, as stated supra, identified defendant as the man who had robbed him on December 26, 1967. The testimony of Frischertz is in part as follows: "* * * Rene Belsom, a patrolman employed in the Bureau of Identification, having as one of his primary duties the taking of photographs, testified that he took a line-up picture on January 23, 1968. He identified S-1 offered in evidence as the picture he had taken; it is a line-up pose of seven men with defendant appearing as No. Four. Byron Legendre, an attorney connected with Legal Aid, was present at the line-up of January 23, 1968. He testified: Lt. Feld testified that Mr. Legendre represented the defendant at the line-up. On the hearing of the motion to suppress, defendant himself testified that he went to a line-up on January 23, 1968. He said that he had an attorneyhe thought that he was Mr. Legendre from Legal Aid. *829 He stated that the attorney represented him at the line-up and talked with him before same was held, advising him of his rights. On February 14, 1968, a bill of information was filed against the defendant. He was charged with a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:64, in that "while armed with a dangerous weapon, to wit: a pistol, robbed one EUGENE FRISCHERTZ of Six Hundred and Thirty-One ($631.00) Dollars in United States Currency, * * *" In this Court, counsel for the defendant urge: In Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S. Ct. 407, 9 L. Ed. 2d 441 (1963) the United States Supreme Court said: In the Henry Case mentioned above, 80 S.Ct., at 171 (1959) the United States Supreme Court said: In Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 68 S. Ct. 367, 92 L. Ed. 436 (1948) the United States Supreme Court was in essence considering the legality of a search, but with respect to arrest it stated: In Louisiana an arrest by an officer without a warrant may be made when "the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed an offense although not in the presence of the officer." LSA-C.Cr.P., Art. 213(3). "The law has not ordained hard and fast rules for the determination of reasonableness. The facts and circumstances of each case must be judged separately, with wide latitude accorded the trier of facts. That determination should not be overturned unless there is clear error." State v. McIlvaine, 247 La. 747, 174 So. 2d 515, 520. Cf. State v. Aias, 243 La. 945, 149 So. 2d 400; State v. Christiana, 249 La. 247, 186 So. 2d 580; State v. Pagnotta, 253 La. 770, 220 So. 2d 69; State v. Devenow, 253 La. 796, 220 So. 2d 78. "* * * the Government has the burden of showing probable cause to believe that a crime had been or was being committed both in obtaining a warrant prior to arrest and in sustaining the legality of an arrest without a warrant. * * *" United States v. Rivera, 2 Cir., 321 F.2d 704. Cf. Beck v. State of Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 85 S. Ct. 223, 13 L. Ed. 2d 142; 6 C.J.S. Arrest § 5 a., p. 580. We find that defendant's arrest was legal. At the time of his arrest armed robberies were widespread in the City of New Orleans. The facts supra disclose that Captain Newman had informants on whom he relied. One confidential informant conveyed reliable information to him, and this information pointed out the defendant as having committed some of the then recent truck driver robberies. The information was immediately relayed to Lt. Feld who *831 trusted and believed his superior officer. The Lieutenant was alert to the tense situation existing among truck drivers handling money receipts. Sgt. Vigurie was a co-worker with Lt. Feld. There was a chain of command, which is usual for all large operations whose procedures are intricate, involving many police officers; six officers were detailed to the instant arrest. A prudent man of reasonable caution, considering the time, place, and pertinent circumstances,and having the facts available to him which Lt. Feld had in his personal possession and immediate knowledge (although they might not have been written on papers on his person)would, in our opinion, have certainly believed that the defendant was guilty of armed robbery. Again, in our opinion, there would have been more than suspicion. Substantiating this conclusion is the fact that Marion Catalano, the Brown's Velvet driver, had identified a mug shot of the defendant as that of the man who had robbed him. We conclude that Lt. Feld, Sgt. Vigurie, and the other officersunder the totality of the circumstancesacted under more than good faith and suspicion; they had probable cause to arrest the defendant. There was no reason why a warrant of arrest could not have been secured, but the failure to secure the warrant did not invalidate defendant's arrest. State of Louisiana ex rel. Naylor v. Walker, supra. The officers did not break into defendant's home; there was no forceful entry; they were admitted by defendant's wife. Therefore, the entry was legal. Cf. Sabbath v. United States, 391 U.S. 585, 88 S. Ct. 1755, 20 L. Ed. 2d 828 (1968). When arrested, defendant was told that he was being arrested for armed robbery. This statement was sufficient to apprise him why his freedom of movement was suffering an interference. We find that the State bore its burden of proving that defendant's arrest was constitutional and legal, and that there was probable and reasonable cause for such. The sum total of the facts and circumstances of this prosecution more than warrant such a conclusion. United States v. Elgisser, 2 Cir., 334 F.2d 103 (1964). The fact that defendant was booked some four hours after he was arrested does not make his arrest illegal. As stated supra, he was interrogated, but none of his statements were introduced in evidence. Defendant suffered no deprivation of his constitutional rights. Having found that the defendant was legally arrested, we proceed to a determination of the constitutionality vel non of the instant line-up. When the line-up occurred, defendant was in legal custody and under no arrest. We find no impairment, Federal or State, to a line-up conducted under constitutional standards. Here, as stated supra, defendant was represented by able counsel at a critical stage of his prosecution; there was no prohibited self incrimination.[4] We conclude that the pretrial line-up herein was legal, and that the picture of the line-up (S-1), which includes as No. Four the photograph of the defendant, was properly admitted in evidence. We further find that evidence of the pretrial line-up identification by the victim was properly admitted in evidence. There was no need for suppression. The record also discloses that there was an in-court identification at trial. The testimony with respect to this identification is as follows: Defendant suffered no violation of his constitutional rights by either the pretrial line-up identification or by the incourt identification. The trial judge was correct in admitting such in evidence. Cf. State v. Allen, 251 La. 237, 203 So. 2d 705; State v. Miller, 254 La. 73, 222 So. 2d 862; State v. Lewis, La., 229 So. 2d 726. Davis v. Mississippi, 394 U.S. 721, 89 S. Ct. 1394, 22 L. Ed. 2d 676 (1969), is not apposite to the instant matter. No legal arrest was involved in that case. The United States Supreme Court distinctly said, "The legality of his arrest was not determined by the Mississippi Supreme Court." The Court then held the finger-prints taken during a period of detention unconstitutional evidence which could not be admitted during trial. We find no merit in Specification of Errors No. 2 which contends that the verdict of guilty in which only nine out of twelve jurors concurred denied appellant due process and equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Article 782 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides: The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining Witnesses in his *833 favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence." Thus far, the United States Supreme Court has not ruled that the Sixth Amendment compels the States under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to require that the verdict of the jury be unanimous in a criminal prosecution such as the instant one. Herein, therefore, our ruling in State v. Schoonover, 252 La. 311, 211 So. 2d 273, which upheld the ruling of the trial judge refusing to charge the jury that, "The verdict of the Jury, either to acquit the defendant or to convict him [armed robbery] must be by the unanimous vote of the entire jury," is applicable. In Schoonover we said, "These arguments do not impress us. We are entirely satisfied that the Constitution and laws of our state provide a system for this prosecution in which fundamental fairness and even-handed justice can be and was dispensed. * * *" We are still of the same belief. Specification of Errors No. 2 is without merit. For the reasons assigned, the conviction and sentence are affirmed. [1] Frischertz was seated on the right side of the truck by the door; he was accompanied by two helpers, one of whom drove the truck. [2] On hearing of the motion to suppress, defendant testified: "Q. Did they then come in to ask you if you wanted to make any statements? "A. Yes, sir. About twenty, twenty-five minutes later they came into me and they read off of a piece of paper something to the fact pertaining to the fact that they advised me of my rights, and I told them I didn't want to make any statements; I didn't have anything to say. "Q. Did you sign such a piece of paper, an arrestee form or anything like that? "A. Yes, I signed the form that they had, notified me of my rights as an arrestee." The records contain a form, Right of an Arrestee or Suspect, January 20, 1968, 7:10 A.M.; it is signed by Det. John J. Lanza, and the statement is made that Sgt. Larry Vigurie was present. The form contains a check mark by the notation, Refused to Sign; this notation appears under the signature of the arrestee or suspect, which in this case is blank. [3] On hearing of the motion to suppress, defendant testified: "Yes, sir; about four and a half, about five hours later on that evening they came back. They came upstairs and brought us back downstairs and they rebooked us with another armed robbery, and about fifteen minutes, later, maybe ten, they rebooked us with another armed robbery." [4] "Since it appears that there is grave potential for prejudice, intentional or not, in the pretrial lineup, which may not be capable of reconstruction at trial, and since presence of counsel itself can often avert prejudice and assure a meaningful confrontation at trial, there can be little doubt that for Wade the post-indictment lineup was a critical stage of the prosecution at which he was `as much entitled to such aid [of counsel] * * * as at the trial itself.' Powell v. State of Alabama [supra], 287 U.S. 45 at 57, 53 S. Ct. 55 at 60, 77 L. Ed. 158. Thus both Wade and his counsel should have been notified of the impending lineup, and counsel's presence should have been a requisite to conduct of the lineup, absent an `intelligent waiver.' See Carnley v. Cochran, 369 U.S. 506, 82 S. Ct. 884, 8 L. Ed. 2d 70. * * *" United States v. Wade, 87 S. Ct. at 1937 (1967).