COURT OF APPEALS DECISION DATED AND FILED July 29, 2009 David
R. Schanker Clerk of Court of Appeals |
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NOTICE |
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This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. A party may file with the Supreme Court a petition to review an adverse decision by the Court of Appeals. See Wis. Stat. § 808.10 and Rule 809.62. |
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Appeal No. |
2007AP2452-CR |
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STATE OF WISCONSIN |
IN COURT OF APPEALS |
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DISTRICT II |
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State of
Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Melvin L. Kellam,
Defendant-Appellant. |
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APPEAL
from a judgment of the circuit court for
Before Brown, C.J., Snyder and Neubauer, JJ.
¶1 PER CURIAM. Marvin Kellam appeals from a judgment convicting him of first-degree sexual assault with use of a dangerous weapon, armed robbery, intimidating a victim, and taking and driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent. We conclude that the circuit court did not err when it refused to suppress either the victim’s out-of-court identification of Kellam or Kellam’s inculpatory statements. In the alternative, if the court should have suppressed any of Kellam’s statements, that error was harmless. Further, the court did not err when it refused to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of second-degree sexual assault because the evidence did not warrant the instruction. We affirm.
¶2 Kellam argues that the out-of-court identification of him via a photo array was impermissibly suggestive and therefore the victim’s in-court identification was tainted and should have been suppressed.
¶3 In reviewing a motion to suppress, we will uphold the circuit
court’s findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous. State v. Drew, 2007 WI App 213, ¶11,
305
¶4 “The standard for the admissibility of identification based
on photo arrays was articulated in Powell v. State, 86
¶5 At the suppression hearing, Detective Bentz, who investigated the crimes committed by Kellam, testified that on May 16, 2005, three days after the assault, he asked the victim to view a photo array at the police station. The victim was aware that a suspect was in custody, but the suspect’s photograph had not appeared in a newspaper report about the arrest, and the victim confirmed she had not seen any photos of the suspect prior to viewing the photo array. The detective explained that he was going to show the victim six photographs to see if she could identify her assailant. The detective did not suggest that the assailant was in the array, and the victim did not ask whether the assailant was among the photographs. All subjects in the photographs were dressed in jail garb, and the detective endeavored to match the appearance of the five other subjects to Kellam’s appearance. In less than a minute, the victim identified Kellam as her assailant. The detective did not comment on the victim’s selection of Kellam’s photograph.
¶6 The court found that the circumstances surrounding the photo
array were not unduly suggestive. “Suggestiveness
in photographic arrays may arise in several ways—the manner in which the photos
are presented or displayed, the words or actions of the law enforcement
official overseeing the viewing, or some aspect of the photographs
themselves.” Mosley, 102
¶7 On appeal, Kellam argues that the detective, who knew that
Kellam was included in the array, did not protect against unintended
influence. Kellam cites no authority for
this proposition, and there is no evidence in the record that the detective
behaved inappropriately during the identification. In both Powell and Mosley, the officers who
assembled the photo arrays also presented the photo arrays to the victims. Powell, 86
¶8 Kellam argues that the photographs should have been shown
sequentially rather than simultaneously and that more than one array should
have been shown to the victim. Again,
Kellam cites no authority for these propositions.[2] We will not develop a litigant’s argument for
him. See
Riley v. Town of
¶9 We agree with the circuit court that Kellam did not meet his
burden to show that the photo array was unduly suggestive. Because we have concluded that the
out-of-court identification from the photo array did not violate Kellam’s due
process rights, the victim’s in-court identification was also proper.
¶10 Kellam next argues that his inculpatory statements should have been suppressed because they were given in violation of his Miranda[3] rights. Kellam had three encounters with law enforcement while he was in the station holding cell. First, Detective Bentz spoke with Kellam, but he left when Kellam invoked his right to counsel after being given his Miranda rights. Second, Kellam got the attention of Officer Wilson and asked to speak with Detective Bentz. Third, Detective Bentz returned to Kellam’s cell at Kellam’s request and they had further discussions.
¶11 Upon
review of the suppression hearing transcript and the law, we conclude that
Kellam’s pre-Miranda statement during the first encounter that he placed a car key on
his girlfriend’s window sill was volunteered and not responsive to the
detective’s inquiry. Therefore, the
circuit court correctly declined to suppress the statement. Kellam’s post-Miranda statement during the third encounter divulging
the location of the victim’s stolen vehicle is problematic. While the circuit court concluded that Kellam
initiated further contact with the police, the court did not expressly find
that Kellam waived his Miranda rights. Accordingly, we conclude
that if the circuit court erred in refusing to suppress any of Kellam’s
statements, the error was harmless because very strong evidence of Kellam’s
guilt was adduced at the jury trial.
¶12 Kellam argues that his inculpatory statements should have been suppressed because they were given in violation of his Miranda rights.
Under Miranda [v.
State v. Torkelson, 2007
WI App 272, ¶11, 306
¶13 When a suspect invokes his or her Miranda right to counsel,
interrogation must cease.
¶14 We also keep the following principles in mind as we examine the
suppression proceeding. Not all
interactions between a suspect and law enforcement constitute interrogation
within the meaning of Miranda. Interrogation includes express questioning
and the functional equivalent of express questioning. Hambly, 307
¶15 We turn to the evidence adduced at the suppression hearing. With regard to the first encounter, Detective Bentz testified that he had contact with Kellam at approximately 1:00 p.m. on May 13, 2005 at the police department while Kellam was in custody. The assault at a church had occurred at approximately 10:00 that morning.
¶16 As far as the detective knew, no one had interviewed Kellam before the detective entered the holding cell. Kellam asked why the detective wanted to speak with him. The detective responded that it related to the incident at the church. Kellam denied any knowledge of the incident, so the detective asked him if they could speak about a domestic violence allegation lodged by Kellam’s girlfriend. Detective Bentz explained that the domestic violence inquiry arose because Kellam was under a 72-hour restraining order barring contact with his girlfriend. Kellam’s girlfriend called police while police were looking for a suspect in the church assault. She stated that Kellam arrived at her residence driving the white Honda whose license plate matched the vehicle being sought by police in connection with the church assault. The white Honda was stolen from the sexual assault victim by her assailant.
¶17 The detective asked whether Kellam would give him a statement
about the contact with his girlfriend. Kellam
started explaining that he went to his girlfriend’s apartment, left a car key
on the window sill and knocked on her window.[4] Kellam wanted to know why he had been
arrested. At that point, the detective
interjected that Kellam needed to receive his Miranda rights and read
the rights to Kellam. Kellam stated that
he wanted a lawyer, and he wanted to know the charges he faced. Detective Bentz told him that because Kellam
had requested counsel, the detective could not discuss the charges and directed
Kellam to the arrest sheet. The
detective stated that information about the charges would be forthcoming once
the white Honda was located. Nothing
else was discussed during the approximately three minutes the detective was
with Kellam in the holding cell. No
promises, threats or threatening physical contact occurred during this
interaction. Kellam did not ask for any
comforts and did not appear to be under the influence of any difficult
circumstance.
¶18 On redirect, Detective Bentz testified that when he inquired
about exchanging information about the Honda for the charges, Kellam stated
that he did not know anything about a Honda.
¶19 The testimony regarding the second encounter was as
follows. Officer Wilson testified that
he arrested Kellam on the day of the assault and placed him in a holding
cell. Officer Wilson approached the
holding cell in response to a noise from the cell, after Kellam invoked his Miranda
rights during the first encounter with Detective Bentz. Kellam told Officer Wilson that he wanted to
speak with the detective to give him some other information. This was the extent of Officer Wilson’s
contact with Kellam after he placed him in the holding cell. No threats or promises were made, and Kellam
did not ask for any comfort items.
Officer Wilson did not discuss the Miranda rights with Kellam.
¶20 On cross-examination, Officer Wilson conceded that he was aware
that police were looking for a Honda in connection with the sexual
assault. Kellam told Officer Wilson he would
disclose the vehicle’s location to the detective if he was informed of the
charges. However, Officer Wilson did not
ask Kellam anything about the vehicle or initiate any conversation with Kellam.
¶21 Detective Bentz testified as follows about the third encounter. Ten minutes after he left Kellam’s holding cell after the first encounter, Detective Bentz spoke with Officer Wilson. Officer Wilson told the detective that Kellam had rapped on the cell window and said he would divulge the whereabouts of the Honda if police would tell him the charges against him. Based upon this information, the detective returned to Kellam’s holding cell. The detective did not re-read the Miranda rights at the start of the third encounter.
¶22 Kellam offered to tell the detective the whereabouts of the
Honda in exchange for information about the charges. Detective Bentz asked Kellam if he was
willing to waive his Miranda rights and speak without
counsel present. Kellam stated that he
wanted to waive those rights, and Detective Bentz informed Kellam that he was
being charged with armed robbery and vehicle theft. Kellam then asked about other charges, and the
detective reminded Kellam that they were going to exchange information about
the charges for the Honda’s location.
Kellam disclosed the Honda’s location, and the detective then told him
he was also being charged with the church sexual assault. Kellam denied the assault. Kellam agreed to give a statement, so he and
the detective adjourned to the interview room where the detective began reading
the Miranda
rights waiver form to Kellam. Kellam interrupted and stated that he was
dating the married victim, whatever happened between them was consensual, and
he had had a fight with his girlfriend.
Detective Bentz finished reading the Miranda waiver form, but
before Kellam signed the waiver form, Detective Bentz asked him the victim’s
name. Kellam said he could not say
because she was married. Kellam then
demanded counsel. The detective returned
Kellam to the holding cell without further conversation. Kellam never signed the Miranda waiver form. The third encounter lasted a total of fifteen
minutes.
¶23 Kellam, who did not testify at the suppression hearing, argued to
the circuit court that he was functionally interrogated by Detective Bentz
during the first encounter before he received his Miranda rights. By asking Kellam if he would give a statement
first about the church assault and then about the domestic violence incident,
the detective asked questions designed to elicit incriminatory information
before he gave the Miranda rights. The
detective also engaged in a conversation about the Honda, which was linked to
the church assault. After all this occurred,
the detective gave the Miranda rights. The same pattern obtained with regard to the third
contact. During the third encounter, the
detective sought a statement and discussed the charges without renewing the Miranda
rights or confirming a waiver of those rights. Kellam also questioned the credibility of
Officer Wilson’s claim that Kellam asked to see the detective.
¶24 The circuit court found that Detective Bentz and Officer Wilson
were credible, even if their testimony was not always echoed in their
reports. The court found that with
regard to the first contact between Kellam and Detective Bentz, Kellam initiated
the conversation, was not interrogated before he received his Miranda
rights, and he interrupted the detective during the giving of the Miranda
rights. The court found that the
detective did not interrogate Kellam when he entered the holding cell,
introduced himself and said he wanted a statement. Kellam asked about what. The detective responded about the
church. Kellam then stated that he did
not know anything. The court found that Kellam’s
response that he did not know anything about the church was a response
voluntarily given by Kellam after Kellam inquired about the reason for the
encounter, and was not the result of interrogation. The detective then turned to the domestic
violence incident, and Kellam started asking questions about the basis for his
arrest. The detective read the Miranda
rights and left when Kellam invoked his right to counsel. These findings are not clearly erroneous.
¶25 With regard to the second contact, the court found that Kellam
initiated the contact by getting Officer Wilson’s attention and asking to speak
to the detective about the vehicle in exchange for information about the
charges. Officer Wilson did not
interrogate Kellam. These findings are
not clearly erroneous.
¶26 With regard to the third contact, the court found that Detective
Bentz should have immediately reviewed the Miranda rights with Kellam to
confirm that he intended to waive those rights.
Although the court determined that Kellam’s statements did not comply
with Miranda,
the court also determined that Kellam volunteered that he was dating the victim
and that anything that happened between them was consensual. The court did not undertake the Miranda
rights waiver analysis which would have included consideration of
Kellam’s “background, experience and conduct.”
See Hambly, 307
¶27 The court found that Kellam did not experience any threats,
promises, inducements, physical force or lengthy encounters. The court concluded that everything Kellam
said was voluntary and denied the motion to suppress Kellam’s statements.
¶28 On appeal, Kellam argues that his pre-Miranda statement
that he placed a car key on his girlfriend’s window sill should have been
suppressed. We disagree and conclude that
Kellam’s statement was not the result of interrogation and was not responsive
to the detective’s inquiry about whether Kellam wanted to make a statement
relating to the domestic violence case.
An objective observer would not have concluded that the detective’s
inquiry—do you want to give a statement—would be likely to elicit an
incriminating response, rather than the “yes” or “no” an objective observer
would have expected. See Hambly,
307
¶29 Kellam also argues that information about the Honda’s location was obtained in violation of his Miranda rights. Kellam told Detective Bentz the location of the vehicle before the detective read the Miranda rights waiver form during the third encounter. The circuit court found that Kellam initiated the encounter, but the court did not explicitly find that Kellam waived his Miranda rights even though the detective testified that Kellam waived those rights.
¶30 The absence of findings from the circuit court about whether
Kellam waived his Miranda rights hampers our analysis.[5] We conclude that even if the circuit court
should have suppressed any statement made by Kellam, that error was harmless. In State v. Hale, 2005 WI
7, 277
¶31 Kellam’s defense was that he did not assault the victim, or steal her cell phone or vehicle. The evidence adduced at trial was more than sufficient to convict Kellam of the charged offenses without his revelation about the location of the victim’s vehicle. The victim identified Kellam at trial as her assailant. He had visited the church to use the telephone one or two months before the assault, and on the day of the assault, she spent thirty to forty-five minutes with Kellam.
¶32 The victim’s assailant stole her cell phone and vehicle. Kellam used the victim’s cell phone to call his girlfriend (one such call came in while the police were with the girlfriend). Kellam also drove the victim’s vehicle to his girlfriend’s residence. The girlfriend reported Kellam’s visit and the vehicle he was driving to the police. The victim’s cell phone was found stuffed under the rear seat of the squad car into which Kellam was placed after he was arrested.
¶33 The victim testified that her assailant threatened to cut her throat while holding a metal object on a key chain to her throat. Upon his arrest, Kellam had a key chain with a utility knife attachment.
¶34 Forensic testing matched biological material obtained from the victim to biological material obtained from Kellam and excluded 99.7 percent of the African-American male population from the donor of the male sample.
¶35 The foregoing evidence was strong and compelling evidence of Kellam’s guilt. And, none of this evidence depended upon any of Kellam’s statements to police to the extent such statements were admitted at trial. We are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the erroneous admission of any statement did not contribute to Kellam’s conviction and was therefore harmless error.
¶36 Finally, Kellam argues that the circuit court erred when it
refused to instruct the jury on second-degree sexual assault, a lesser-included
offense of first-degree sexual assault.
¶37 The jury was instructed on first-degree sexual assault. First-degree sexual assault is an assault by use or threat of use of a dangerous weapon or an article the victim reasonably believed was a dangerous weapon. Wis. Stat. § 940.225(1)(b).[6] The question is whether under a reasonable view of the evidence, the jury could have found that Kellam did not use a dangerous weapon so that Kellam would have been acquitted of first-degree sexual assault and convicted of second-degree sexual assault. Wis. Stat. § 940.225(2) (second-degree sexual assault occurs by use or threat of force or violence).
¶38 The victim testified that she let Kellam into the church to use the telephone. When he finished using the telephone, he grabbed her by the collar and held a metal object to her throat. She heard key chain noises. Kellam demanded money or he would slit her throat. The victim believed that threat because Kellam held a metal object against her neck. At the time of his arrest, Kellam was found with a utility knife attachment on his key chain.
¶39 Kellam forced the victim upstairs to her office to obtain money from her purse. Kellam took her cell phone and car keys. When she protested the impending sexual assault, Kellam shoved her, slapped her and then assaulted her. The victim, remembering Kellam’s earlier threat to slit her throat, determined that it would be wiser to cooperate to avoid injury.
¶40 Kellam argues that the victim was compelled to submit to the sexual assault because he slapped her, not because he used a dangerous weapon. He also argues that his threat to slit the victim’s throat was too attenuated from the actual assault to compel the victim’s submission. That was not the victim’s testimony. The victim was compelled to submit to the assault because she feared injury by the object Kellam had earlier held to her neck as he threatened to slit her throat. That Kellam used or threatened to use a dangerous weapon is the reasonable view of the evidence.
¶41 There was no basis to acquit Kellam of first-degree sexual assault and convict him of the lesser-included offense of second-degree sexual assault. The court did not err when it declined to instruct the jury on second-degree sexual assault.
By the Court.—Judgment affirmed.
This opinion will not be published. See Wis. Stat. Rule 809.23(1)(b)5.
[1] Like the court in State v. Drew, 2007 WI App 213, ¶19, 305 Wis. 2d 641, 740 N.W.2d 404, review denied, 2008 WI 6, 306 Wis. 2d 48, 744 N.W.2d 297, we reject Kellam’s attempt to extend the standards for the admissibility of a show up identification as set out in State v. Dubose, 2005 WI 126, 285 Wis. 2d 143, 699 N.W.2d 582, to the admissibility of an identification from a photo array.
[2] To
the extent we have not addressed an argument raised on appeal, the argument is
deemed rejected.
[3] Miranda
v.
[4] The car key was for a vehicle Kellam and his girlfriend shared, not for the white Honda owned by the victim and stolen from her by her assailant.
[5] We
have considered whether a suspect’s initiation of police contact after invoking
Miranda rights automatically waives those rights. A footnote in State v. Hambly, 2008 WI 10, 307
[6] All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2007-08 version unless otherwise noted.