Dixon v. State
Dixon v. State
Opinion
Jarrell Lynn Dixon was indicted by the Grand Jury of Lee County for the offense of kidnapping in the second degree, §
The evidence reveals that at about 5:20 a.m. on June 8, 1983, the victim of the alleged kidnapping, Mr. Rylan Herring, was delivering newspapers to a rack at the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in Auburn, Alabama, when he was approached by two men. He noted that one of the men was wearing a red shirt, blue pants with a red stripe, a white hat, and tennis shoes. He later identified this man as the appellant, Jarrell Lynn Dixon. The other man was Mr. Marvin Mitchell. Mitchell later testified *Page 1238 at trial that he had been abducted by appellant the night before near Newnan, Georgia. The appellant asked Herring if he could have a ride to a gas station, saying he had run out of gas. Mr. Herring agreed to the request and the three departed together with Mr. Herring driving and the appellant in the passenger side of the front seat. Soon after turning onto the road they came upon an automobile stopped by the road with its flashers on and the appellant requested that Mr. Herring stop so he could turn the flashers off. When the appellant returned to Herring's car, he had a pistol which he held in his lap covered with a hat. He then demanded that Mr. Herring drive him to Columbus, Georgia, but later decided he wanted to be taken to Opelika, Alabama. Appellant directed Mr. Herring onto Highway 431, and then onto County Highway 22. After proceeding about a mile on Highway 22, the appellant directed Mr. Herring to turn onto a dirt road and stop. Appellant then took Mr. Herring's money and watch and Marvin Mitchell's watch and put them in an orange "Auburn University" cup which Mr. Herring had in his car. The appellant got out of the car with the cup and then told Mr. Herring and Mr. Mitchell to "get out of here," which they did. They drove to the police department and reported the incident.
Later, the police confronted appellant Dixon at his home, where initially and during subsequent searches they found a red shirt, blue pants with a red stripe, a white hat, and tennis shoes in appellant's room. These were identified by Herring as those worn by the perpetrator. The police also found an orange "Auburn University" cup and a pistol, which Herring also identified, about 40 yards from the back of the appellant's home under an abandoned house.
The appellant now raises four issues on appeal.
The recognized exceptions to the search warrant requirement are plain view, consent, incident to a lawful arrest, hot pursuit or emergency situations, exigent circumstances coupled with probable cause, and stop and frisk situations. McClellanv. State,
It is well settled that warrantless searches of a home are valid where a co-occupant consents to the search. Jackson v.State,
A careful review of the record reveals that the appellant at no time objected to the victim's identification testimony being received in evidence or requested suppression of any testimony regarding the lineup identification. Review on appeal is limited to review of questions properly and timely raised at trial. Robinson v. State,
The statements in question all occurred during closing arguments by the state. The statements, objections, and rulings by the court were as follows:
"MR. MYERS: — except we did catch one, Robert Williams, we found something interesting about him.
"MR. WILLIAMS: Your Honor, we're going to object. There was nothing introduced into evidence concerning Robert Williams.
"THE COURT: Well, overrule the objection. I think a copy of his statement you introduced into evidence.
". . .
"MR. MYERS: — you heard testimony this morning about Mr. Williams, not this Mr. Williams, but Mr. Robert Williams' prior criminal activity —
"Mr. Williams: Your Honor, we're going to object to any testimony concerning that.
"THE COURT: Sustained.
". . .
"MR. MYERS: — he talks about this Robert Williams. He has no reason to lie. Well, what was all the objecting *Page 1240 about then, when we started to get into Robert Williams' prior criminal behavior —
"MR. WILLIAMS: Your Honor, we are going to object and ask for a mistrial. You have ruled on that several times and it's prejudicial against my client.
"THE COURT: Well, I'm going to sustain the objection, but I am denying the motion for mistrial. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there is no evidence whatsoever of any prior criminal conduct against this witness, Robert Williams; and you are to disregard any remarks made by the District Attorney as to any prior criminal conduct by that witness."
A motion for a mistrial implies a miscarriage of justice and should only be granted where it is apparent that justice cannot be afforded. Young v. State,
The granting of a mistrial is an extreme measure, and a mistrial should be denied where the prejudicial qualities of the comment can be eradicated by the action of the trial court.Young, supra; Dickey v. State,
We hold, after careful consideration of the possible effects of the district attorney's statements, that any prejudice suffered by the appellant as a result of the statements was erased by the curative instructions of the trial court. There is a prima facie presumption against error where the trial court immediately charges the jury to disregard the improper remarks or answers. Wadsworth, supra; Kelley v. State,
Where the evidence presented raises questions of fact for the jury which, if believed, would be sufficient to sustain a conviction, this court has no right to disturb the verdict of the jury. Walker v. State,
It is not within the province of this court to reweigh the evidence. Walker, supra. Therefore, because sufficient evidence was presented from which the jury could by fair inference find the appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, we hold that their verdict should not be disturbed.
Accordingly, the judgment of the circuit court is due to be affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur. *Page 1241
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