Court Opinion

ID: 9463826
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 23:17:20.869091+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:38:18.250881
License: Public Domain

LUMBARD, Circuit Judge
(concurring and dissenting):
While I concur in the affirmance of the convictions, I do not agree that it was error as to Floyd to admit Duffin’s testimony of Olivo’s statements to him the morning of November 1, 1975 when Olivo persuaded him to assist in the burning of the getaway car.
King testified that sometime after midnight on October 31,1975 he was summoned to an apartment at 843 Saratoga Avenue, Brooklyn. Upon his arrival, King found Floyd, Olivo, and Almestica at the apartment. Floyd asked King to find a car for a bank robbery and to drive him and the others to the bank. Thereafter, King stole a blue Ford LTD and drove it back to the Saratoga Avenue apartment. King drove the Ford during the robbery, which took place that same day; after the holdup, King parked the car on Strauss Street, directly behind the Saratoga Avenue apartment.
Duffin testified that on the morning of November 1, 1975, approximately 24 hours after the robbery, he met Olivo who asked him to take a walk. Olivo and Duffin went to a gas station where Olivo bought 65¢ worth of gasoline. Olivo then told Duffin that he, Floyd, and some others had robbed a bank and that he wanted to burn the car used in the robbery. After Duffin agreed *50to help, the two went to Strauss Street, where King had parked the car; Olivo doused the car with gasoline and set it on fire. On November 3,1975 the FBI discovered the burned hulk of the car.
As the majority points out, the declarations of a co-conspirator may be used against a defendant only when made in furtherance of a conspiracy. Since there can be no furtherance of a conspiracy that has ended, the crucial question is whether the statements at issue were made after the “central criminal purposes” of the conspiracy had been achieved. Grunewald v. United States, 353 U.S. 391, 401-02, 77 S.Ct. 963, 1 L.Ed.2d 931 (1957). See Lutwak v. United States, 344 U.S. 604, 617-18, 73 S.Ct. 481, 97 L.Ed. 593 (1953). However, unlike Grunewald, the government here is not attempting to evade the statute of limitations by charging a subsidiary conspiracy to conceal based upon statements made long after the central aims of the conspiracy had been achieved. The statements here were not made weeks, see, e. g., Krulewitch v. United States, 336 U.S. 440, 442, 69 S.Ct. 716, 93 L.Ed. 790 (1949), or years, see, e. g., Fiswick v. United States, 329 U.S. 211, 217, 67 S.Ct. 224, 91 L.Ed. 196 (1946), after the conspiracy had terminated; nor do the statements here involve admissions made to the police after a co-conspirator’s arrest. See, e. g., Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 490, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963). In my view, the close relation of what Olivo and Duffin did to the robbery itself and the short elapse of time from the robbery to the burning of the car distinguish this case from all the cases cited to support Floyd’s claims of error and Olivo’s statement implicating Floyd was properly received as a statement made during the course of the conspiracy in order to carry out its purposes.
Floyd specifically requested King to obtain a car to be used in the robbery. It muse have been obvious to Floyd at the time of the robbery, if not at the time of his request, that the stolen getaway car would have to be disposed of before the getaway would be complete. We do not deal here with a small object that may conveniently be disposed of at some later date, or with a furtive cover-up made a significant time after the crime was completed. See, e. g., Grunewald v. United States, supra, 353 U.S. at 403, 77 S.Ct. 963. The abandonment and destruction of the getaway car was an integral part of the conspiracy, just as much a part of the plan as was the stealing of the car; indeed, it is almost standard operating procedure in a bank robbery for the culprits to surreptitiously obtain a getaway car before the robbery and quickly dispose of it afterwards. See, e. g., United States v. Stallworth, 543 F.2d 1038, 1039 (2d Cir. 1976); United States v. Coughlin, 514 F.2d 904, 905 (2d Cir. 1975); United States v. Stewart, 513 F.2d 957, 958-59 (2d Cir. 1975); United States v. Brown, 511 F.2d 920, 924-25 (2d Cir. 1975); United States v. Harris, 494 F.2d 1273, 1274 (8th Cir.), cert, denied, 419 U.S. 993, 95 S.Ct. 303, 42 L.Ed.2d 265 (1974); United States v. Chrisco, 493 F.2d 232, 239 (8th Cir.), cert, denied, 419 U.S. 847, 95 S.Ct. 84, 42 L.Ed.2d 77 (1974). It was just as important to leave no trace of the getaway car, particularly when it had been abandoned so near to the final rendezvous, as it was to steal the car and use it in the robbery; both the appropriation of the car and its destruction had to be done within a few hours of the robbery. The burning of the car occurred within 24 hours of the robbery and the entire period of time from the theft of the car until its burning was encompassed in less than 36 hours. What Olivo said to Duffin was said in order to get Duffin’s help in burning the car. Thus, in my view, the return of the bandits to their hideout and the division of the loot was not the end of the conspiracy. See note 10, supra.
Finally, I do not agree that the admission of Olivo’s statements, if error, was harmless error. The critical issue in this case was the identity of the bank robbers. Aside from the testimony of King, who was awaiting sentencing on his plea of guilty to bank robbery charges at the time of his testimony, there was virtually no positive identification evidence. The bandits wore masks during the robbery and the bank *51surveillance photograph, which was used to identify Floyd, showed only a portion of the side of a man’s face. The defendants took the stand and each presented an alibi defense. During the course of its deliberations, the jury sent out at least two notes informing the court that it was deadlocked and a verdict was reached only after the court had given a modified Allen charge. As the majority points out, the jury’s verdict turned on its assessment of the witnesses’ credibility. While Duffin’s appearance may have been brief, his testimony regarding Olivo’s statements was evidence of the most damning sort — a direct admission of guilt implicating Floyd. This admission by a co-defendant was the strongest evidence corroborating King’s testimony. Accordingly, I cannot agree that the admission of Olivo’s statements, if inadmissible hearsay, was harmless error.