Opinion ID: 151087
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Hall's Arrest and Indictment

Text: The state charges against Hall stem from his participation with Alonzo Leak in a robbery and kidnaping on October 15, 1999. Leak and Hall, both juveniles, kidnaped and robbed four adults (three women and one man) at the Little People's Workshop, a day care center in Montgomery, Alabama. Leak raped one of the women and tried to rape another. At the time of the crimes, Leak was 17 and Hall was three weeks shy of his 16th birthday. The district court summarized Leak's involvement as follows: In the early evening hours of October 15, 1999, Leak entered [the] day care center . . . and pulled a gun on its owner. He then corralled the owner and the other adults in the building, a parent and her male friend, and herded them into a bathroom. He took them out of the bathroom in stages and had them bind each other, but placed them in various rooms in the small center. He periodically left them unattended and would return to ask the owner for information related to items in the building. After the victims were bound, another parent came into the center to pay her day care fees. Leak threatened her with a gun, and she complied with his request to bind the remaining unbound victim, and then, he proceeded to rape her. He attempted to rape the other parent as well, physically assaulting her with his hands and gun, and using others to disrobe her. He never followed through on the rape because the victim lied and said she had a sexually transmitted disease. . . . Leak eventually left, and the victims called for help. Hall v. Thomas, 623 F.Supp.2d 1302, 1305-06 (M.D.Ala.2009) (footnote omitted). As to Hall's involvement, the district court pointed out that no victim actually saw Hall: The victims testified that throughout the encounter there appeared to be other accomplices in the building or that Leak spoke of other accomplices, but no one witnessed another participant. Id. at 1306. The day after the crimes, police identified Leak as a perpetrator, arrested and took him to police headquarters, and questioned him, at which time Leak immediately implicated Hall. Id. Hall lived near the Little People's Workshop and used to attend it. Id. Leak told police that Hall told him that committing the crimes would position Leak to join a gang, and that Hall was outside the center during the attack providing advice to him on how to carry out the crimes. Id. at 1306. On October 17, 1999, two days after the crimes and one day after Leak's arrest, police officers, including Officer M.L. Major, came to Hall's house. Id. Hall's parents were home and invited Major into the house. Id. Officer Major arrested Hall and brought him to the police station. Prior to any questioning, Officers Major and W.T. Grant read Hall both his Miranda rights and the state-required warning for juveniles subject to interrogation. Id. Hall signed forms waiving those rights. Id. Hall confessed to the robbery and kidnaping crimes. [2] Id. His confession was recorded on audiotape. An Alabama grand jury indicted Hall on three counts of first-degree robbery and four counts of second-degree kidnaping. Hall pled not guilty.