Clency v. State
Clency v. State
Opinion
Bobby Ray Clency was convicted of the first degree robbery of Mr. Robert Raymond Callaway, in violation of §
"For a Class A felony in which a firearm or deadly weapon was used or attempted to be used in the commission of the felony, not less than 20 years."
Appellant contends first on appeal that he was denied his constitutional right of due process in that the foregoing code section, increasing penalties where a firearm or deadly weapon was used, was applied in his case. His theory is that if he had pleaded guilty, the court would not have or might not have discovered that he used a firearm. He argues that §
"(a) A person commits the crime of robbery in the first degree if he violates section
13A-8-43 and he:"(1) Is armed with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; or
"(2) Causes serious physical injury to another.
"(b) Possession then and there of an article used or fashioned in a manner to lead any person who is present reasonably to believe it to be a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or any verbal or other representation by the defendant that he is then and there so armed, is prima facie evidence under subsection (a) of this section that he was so armed.
"(c) Robbery in the first degree is a Class A felony."
Clency argues in brief, however that, "if a defendant simply pleads guilty to first degree robbery without demanding a trial, there is no proof of the use of or the attempted use of a deadly weapon. . . ." We find no merit to this contention. Appellant is incorrect in thinking that if he had pleaded guilty, he would have somehow escaped the application of §
While Clency dwells in his brief on the fact that the victim considered his assailant to be considerably taller and larger than he was, this does not mean the victim could not identify the robber. It is common knowledge, of which we take notice, that human beings can recognize and identify other human beings with considerable accuracy, even though they cannot give a clinical description of their height, weight, age, dress, or combination of facial features. The matter of Callaway's having seen the picture in the paper and having seen some mugshots was aired to the jury and available for them to consider. Another employee of the same company testified that he recognized Clency as being the man that he saw through a crack in the back door at the time Callawav was being robbed. We find no impermissible suggestiveness in the facts of this case. The identification was a question for the jury, who were justified in making a finding of guilty.
This case is due to be affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur. *Page 645
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Bobby Ray Clency v. State.
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published