Opinion ID: 12692
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sam Autry Fletcher

Text: 28 Three bank employees, Christine Gober, Denise Burse, and Penny Sondecker, informed the investigating authorities that shortly before the robbery, they had observed a very tall black man in the bank. Each of these employees was later shown a photographic display containing 26 pictures of various black men. Of the 26 photos, only five gave any indication as to the height of the individual depicted therein: one photo, that of Fletcher, pictured a person who was 6'7 tall; two photos depicted individuals who were between 6'1 and 6'2 tall; and two photos portrayed individuals who were well under 6' tall. Two of the employees, Burse and Sondecker, identified Sam Autry Fletcher as the man they had previously seen in the bank, while Gober identified another individual in the photo spread. The district court denied Fletcher's motion to suppress the identification testimony. On appeal, Fletcher asserts that the photographic display was impermissibly suggestive and unreliable because it emphasized his unusual height. Again, we disagree. 29 The photographic array contained 26 photos of African-American males of about the same age. Only five of the photographs depicted the height of the individual pictured therein, and of the five photos, three portrayed men over 6 feet tall. While it is true that the photograph of Fletcher was the only one that depicted a subject who was well over 6 feet tall, there were 21 other photographs that provided no indication as to the height of the individuals. Cf. United States v. Credit, 95 F.3d 362, 364 (5th Cir.1996) (admitting photographic identification evidence even though the defendant was the only heavy-set man with a round face in a photographic display of six men of similar age and skin tone), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1008, 136 L.Ed.2d 886 (1997). 30 Even assuming, arguendo, that the photographic display was impermissibly suggestive, we do not believe that the witnesses' identification was unreliable. Of the five Biggers factors, only one, the level of certainty of the witness, weighs in Fletcher's favor, as both Sondecker and Burse offered only tentative identifications. 8 The other four factors, however, favor admissibility. Burse especially had ample opportunity to view Fletcher when he cased the bank on the morning of the robbery. Moreover, both Burse and Sondecker testified that their attention was drawn to Fletcher because he was a very tall black man that they had not previously observed in the bank; in fact, Sondecker described him as striking. Further, the witnesses' prior description of Fletcher was accurate, as he is indeed a very tall black man. Finally, both Burse and Sondecker viewed the photographic display within a few weeks of their initial sighting of Fletcher. Thus, we conclude that even if the photographic display was impermissibly suggestive, it did not pose a substantial likelihood of misidentification.