Parrott v. State ( 1992 )

Sognier, Chief Judge.

Alan Parrott was indicted together with Roosevelt Bray and Donald Ream on a charge of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine in violation of OCGA § 16-13-33. Parrott was tried separately and convicted by a Dodge County jury. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial.

1. Appellant contends the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. The evidence adduced at trial established that in 1984-1986 appellant, who previously had pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges in Florida, and his codefendants were placed under surveillance by Florida and U. S. Customs authorities on suspicion of drug smuggling. Evidence was adduced connecting the three men to a Cessna 310 twin-engine aircraft (the “Cessna”) stored at a hangar at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. Pursuant to a court order, federal officials installed a tracking device in the Cessna. During this installation, authorities observed that the Cessna had been modified to add supplemental fuel tanks to increase its flight range. The tracking device subsequently recorded several flights to the Eastman-Dodge County Airport in Georgia where Bray recently had paid cash for a nearby house and two parcels of land.

In February 1985 the Cessna was detected flying low over the Florida coast without having filed a flight plan, which officials explained at trial is consistent with the activities of drug smugglers. Customs officials followed the Cessna in a Customs airplane but were forced to abandon the chase when the Cessna turned out to sea several hours later. On June 10, 1985, the Cessna was detected flying over the Gulf of Mexico near Texas. Again, Customs airplanes tracked the Cessna, flying over Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. The Cessna approached the Dodge County airport but then aborted the landing, apparently because the pilot observed the Customs aircraft. The Cessna continued to South Carolina, where parcels were dropped from the plane. The Customs aircraft was forced to discontinue its pursuit due to low fuel, and the Cessna was found abandoned at the Dodge County airport an hour later. Appellant and Bray were seen at an attorney’s office in Eastman the next morning. The parcels dropped from the Cessna were located in South Carolina and were found to contain 150 pounds of South American cocaine with a purity of at least 80 percent.

Additional evidence was adduced that Ream was a pilot and that the Cessna was registered to a corporation he controlled; that a warehouse in Florida connected to appellant and the codefendants was searched and found to contain weapons, records of the criminal enterprise, and aircraft equipment, including the passenger seats removed from the Cessna; that documents prepared by appellant were found in a search of Bray’s Dodge County home the day after the Cessna was abandoned; and that appellant and Ream met with Lazaro Fernandez, an admitted smuggler of Colombian cocaine, to discuss a joint drug smuggling enterprise but later informed Fernandez they could not complete the transaction because they had been forced to abandon their Cessna 310 aircraft after pursuit by law enforcement officials and their warehouse had been searched by authorities. Appellant was arrested in Ft. Lauderdale in July 1986 after a high-speed chase.

“ ‘Conspiracy consists in a corrupt agreement between two or more persons to do an unlawful act, the existence of which agreement may be established by direct proof, or by inference, as a deduction from acts and conduct, which discloses a common design on their part to act together for the accomplishment of the unlawful purpose.’ [Cit.] ‘ . . . “Slight evidence from an extraneous source [other than an accomplice] identifying the accused as a participator in the criminal act will be sufficient corroboration of the accomplice to support a verdict.” ’ [Cit.]” Tookes v. State, 159 Ga. App. 423, 427 (8) (283 SE2d 642) (1981). Circumstantial evidence was adduced from which the jury could conclude that appellant committed one or more overt acts in furtherance of a conspiracy with Ream and Bray to bring large quantities of cocaine into Georgia. We hold this evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was guilty of conspiring to traffic cocaine in Georgia. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).

2. Appellant next contends the trial court erred by denying his motion for mistrial made after Nathan Platt, a witness called by the State, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Both the prosecutor and appellant’s counsel previously had been informed by Platt that he would claim Fifth Amendment protection if necessary. Indeed, appellant’s counsel had lunch with Platt the day before his testimony and also talked with Platt’s attorney about Platt’s intentions but did not request a hearing on the issue prior to Platt’s testimony.

On direct examination, Platt testified at length about his prior contacts with appellant and Bray in Florida when Platt was a deputy sheriff. In response to the prosecutor’s questions, Platt admitted having given a statement to Florida authorities about his involvement with appellant and Bray but invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked to disclose the contents of that statement. The court then dismissed the jury and conducted a thorough examination of Platt’s claim of privilege, questioning Platt himself and also allowing appellant’s counsel to cross-examine on this issue. The court concluded that Platt was entitled to assert the privilege, and the prosecutor conceded and stated he would not question Platt further. At that point, appellant moved for a mistrial and the court denied the motion. Appellant then cross-examined Platt, but only on the topic for which he continued to assert his Fifth Amendment protection (although appellant’s counsel did elicit testimony from Platt that his statement in question had been false).

Appellant contends the effect of this incident was to deny his Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him. To safeguard the right of confrontation, the procedure to be observed when the State calls a witness who has indicated he intends to assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, as articulated in Lingerfelt v. State, 235 Ga. 139 (218 SE2d 752) (1975) and Lawrence v. State, 257 Ga. 423, 424-425 (3) (360 SE2d 716) (1987) and applied in Greenwood v. State, 203 Ga. App. 901-902 (1) (418 SE2d 160) (1992), is as follows: When the witness manifests his intention to claim Fifth Amendment protection, the court must conduct a hearing outside the presence of the jury to determine whether the testimony the State seeks to elicit potentially could incriminate the witness. Lawrence, supra at 424 & n. 3. If so, the question whether the testimony might incriminate the witness is left to the witness. Id.; Mallin v. Mallin, 227 Ga. 833, 834-835 (1) (183 SE2d 377) (1971). If the witness concludes he must assert his Fifth Amendment privilege, the State will not be permitted, through the use of leading questions on topics the witness has indicated fall within the privilege, to suggest the guilt or complicity of the defendant. Greenwood, supra; Lawrence, supra at 424-425 & n. 3; Lingerfelt, supra. Conversely, if during the hearing the court concludes the testimony could not incriminate the witness, the witness must testify. Lawrence, supra at 424, n. 3.

When the sequence of events is viewed in its entirety, the record clearly demonstrates that no violation of appellant’s Sixth Amendment right of confrontation occurred. First, the trial court did follow the procedure set forth in Lawrence and Lingerfelt. Once Platt asserted the privilege, the court held the requisite hearing and concluded Platt was entitled to claim Fifth Amendment protection, and the State ceased its questioning. See generally Bowen v. State, 194 Ga. App. 80, 81-82 (2) (389 SE2d 516) (1989). Second, in Lingerfelt and its progeny the error harmful to the defendant occurred when the prosecutor continued to ask leading questions he knew the witness would not answer but that implicated the defendant in wrongdoing. Contrary to the dissent’s contentions, that error did not occur here because the evidence damaging to appellant was adduced through questions Platt did answer, not through leading or suggestive questions posed by the prosecutor to which Platt asserted the Fifth Amendment as a defense. Third, appellant could have cross-examined Platt on the damaging portions of his testimony, but he elected instead to pursue questioning only on the one point for which Platt had asserted Fifth Amendment protection.

Perhaps the better approach would have been to hold the hearing before Platt’s testimony began and establish parameters for questioning in advance. However, we do not find the failure to follow such a procedure to be cause for reversal here because, in addition to the fact that the error the hearing procedure is intended to avoid did not occur here, the record unequivocally shows that appellant’s knowledge of Platt’s intentions was at least equal to the State’s knowledge, yet appellant did not request a hearing in advance or otherwise raise the issue until after Platt had asserted his claim and the court had conducted the requisite hearing. Appellant cannot be permitted to complain of a ruling that his own conduct aided in causing. Dobbs v. State, 200 Ga. App. 300, 301 (407 SE2d 782) (1991). Under these circumstances, we find no reversible error. See generally Bowen, supra.

3. Prior to trial, appellant moved the court to compel the State to reveal any deal made with prosecution witnesses as required by Giglio v. United States, 405 U. S. 150 (92 SC 763, 31 LE2d 104) (1972). At the motion hearing, the prosecutor denied that any deals had been struck with prospective witnesses but stated that after the trial he would, if requested by any witness, write a letter to appropriate authorities outlining the witness’s participation in the trial. One month after appellant was convicted, the prosecutor did write to Florida authorities to describe the cooperation of Lazaro Fernandez, a witness incarcerated in the Florida penal system. During the hearing on the motion for new trial, the prosecutor explained that he had written the letter in response to a post-trial request from Fernandez.

Even assuming, without deciding, that the record contains some evidence that the prosecution held out the promise of such a letter before appellant’s trial, and assuming further that such an offer constituted the type of agreement that is required to be revealed, see Patillo v. State, 258 Ga. 255, 260-261 (368 SE2d 493) (1988), we find no harmful error. The alleged offer “was of a non-promising nature,” see id. at 261; Fernandez was impeached at trial; other witnesses provided corroborative testimony; and the State was not in a position to make any promises of leniency or parole to Fernandez because he was not incarcerated or charged in Georgia. See id. at 261-262. Thus, there is no reasonable probability that disclosure of the alleged offer would have affected the results of the jury’s deliberations. See Bradley v. State, 193 Ga. App. 515, 516 (2) (388 SE2d 331) (1989).

4. Appellant maintains the trial court erred by failing to dismiss the indictment once appellant was not tried within 180 days of his demand for trial under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, OCGA § 42-6-20 (“IAD”). The pertinent portion of the IAD provides that whenever a person incarcerated in one state is indicted in another state, “he shall be brought to trial [in the latter state] within [180] days after he shall have caused to be delivered to the prosecuting officer and the appropriate court of the prosecuting officer’s jurisdiction written notice of . . . his request for a final disposition to be made of the indictment. . . provided that for good cause shown in open court, the prisoner or his counsel being present, the [trial court] may grant any necessary or reasonable continuance. The request of the prisoner shall be accompanied by the certificate of the appropriate official having custody of the prisoner, stating [specified information].” Id. at Article III (a). This written notice and request “shall be given or sent by the prisoner to the . . . official having custody of him, who shall promptly forward it together with the certificate to the appropriate prosecuting official and court.” Id. at Article III (b).

At the time appellant was indicted in Dodge County, Georgia (April 19, 1989), he was imprisoned in Florida. The record reveals that on August 17, 1989, the Florida Department of Corrections forwarded the requisite IAD forms from appellant to the Dodge County District Attorney. However, the Florida officials sent the court copies to the Oconee County Superior Court instead of to the Dodge County Superior Court in the Oconee Judicial Circuit where the indictment was pending. The IAD request was not filed in Dodge County Superior Court until February 14, 1990. Nonetheless, on January 18, 1990, the District Attorney returned to Florida authorities the completed IAD forms, which included the signature of the Dodge County Superior Court judge to whom the case was assigned. On February 12, 1990, the State moved for an extension of time under the IAD because it had been unable to locate appellant’s codefendant Ream. The court granted this motion in open court and subsequently set the trial on the June 4, 1990 calendar. Appellant’s trial began July 30, 1990, more than 180 days after the IAD request was sent to the District Attorney but only 166 days after the request was filed in the proper court.

We hold that under the circumstances of this case, the rationale advanced in Thompson v. State, 186 Ga. App. 379 (367 SE2d 247) (1988) controls. Here, as in Thompson, appellant was tried within 180 days after the requisite documents were filed with all entities required by the statute. Although the initial failure to forwárd the IAD demand to the proper court was the result of a mistake by Florida authorities, not by appellant, “Georgia’s right to try an accused for a crime committed within its borders should not be imperiled or compromised by a delay occasioned not by its own inaction or negligence, but by the inadvertent or deliberate failure to act of those having custody of the accused in another state.” Id. at 380. Moreover, even assuming, without deciding, that the signature of the Dodge County Superior Court judge on the forms returned to Florida on January 18, 1990 shows that the proper court had timely actual notice of appellant’s IAD demand and that such notice is sufficient to invoke the coverage of the IAD, the State timely moved for a continuance in order to locate a potential material witness, and appellant has failed to show that the grant of this continuance was not “necessary or reasonable” under OCGA § 42-6-20 Article III (a). Accordingly, we hold the trial court did not err by refusing to dismiss the indictment. See generally Thompson, supra at 380-381.

5. Appellant maintains the trial court improperly admitted evidence of prior criminal transactions.

(a) Over appellant’s objection, the State was permitted to introduce a certified copy of a Florida indictment and judgment showing that in 1982 appellant pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and marijuana. Appellant contends that under Williams v. State, 261 Ga. 640, 642-643 (c-d) (409 SE2d 649) (1991), submission of the indictment was insufficient to establish the requisite similarity between the Florida offense and the instant charge. We disagree, as the indictment alleged the charged conspiracy in great detail, and alleged particularly that appellant conspired with others to smuggle into the United States by private aircraft large quantities of contraband. Appellant having admitted the facts set forth in the indictment by pleading guilty, Wilson v. Reed, 246 Ga. 743 (1) (272 SE2d 699) (1980), the State sufficiently established the similarity of the offenses. See Johnson v. State, 204 Ga. App. 453 (419 SE2d 741) (1992); Banks v. State, 201 Ga. App. 266, 268 (410 SE2d 818) (1991).

(b) Appellant waived his objection to the admission of the similar transactions listed in sections (C)-(F), (H) of his enumeration by failing to assert at trial his specific objections to the evidence at the time it was offered. Hunter v. State, 202 Ga. App. 195, 196-197 (3) (413 SE2d 526) (1991).

(c) The trial court sustained appellant’s objection to the State’s proffer of evidence appellant entered a plea of nolo contendere to a Florida drug trafficking charge. However, a copy of the plea was attached to another State’s exhibit that was admitted into evidence. We agree with appellant that OCGA § 17-7-95 (c) prohibits the admission of a nolo contendere plea as evidence of a prior similar crime. Corbitt v. State, 190 Ga. App. 509 (1) (379 SE2d 535) (1989). Nonetheless, given that evidence of five other similar transactions was properly submitted to the jury, applying the standard for harmless error set forth in Johnson v. State, 238 Ga. 59, 61 (230 SE2d 869) (1976), we find it highly probable that this error did not contribute to the judgment of conviction. See Hendrix v. State, 202 Ga. App. 54, 55 (3) (413 SE2d 232) (1991).

6. Appellant next enumerates as error the trial court’s decision to allow an attorney, McMillan Walker, and his secretary to testify that appellant and Bray met with Walker in his Eastman office the day after the Cessna was found abandoned in Dodge County. It is undisputed that appellant did not engage Walker to represent him as a result of this meeting, and the evidence is in conflict as to whether appellant even considered or discussed such representation. Nonetheless, even assuming, without deciding, that appellant and Walker did communicate “pending” or “in anticipation” of employment of Walker by appellant, see OCGA § 24-9-24, we find no error. The fact of employment is not within the attorney-client privilege, Cranford v. Cranford, 120 Ga. App. 470, 473 (2) (170 SE2d 844) (1969), and the trial court excluded all evidence beyond the mere fact that the meeting between appellant and Walker occurred. See OCGA § 24-9-24 (prohibits disclosure of “communications” between attorney and client). Appellant’s remaining arguments concerning this enumeration were not raised below and accordingly cannot be considered on appeal. See Johnson v. State, 198 Ga. App. 316 (3) (401 SE2d 331) (1991).

7, After the State produced exculpatory evidence in response to appellant’s Brady motion (Brady v. Maryland, 373 U. S. 83 (83 SC 1194, 10 LE2d 215) (1963)), appellant requested that the court conduct an in-camera inspection. The trial judge indicated he did not conduct such inspections until just before trial. Appellant later renewed his request and raised the issue again at the beginning of the trial, but his request was rejected by the judge who had subsequently been appointed to try the case.

Under the Supreme Court’s holding in Tribble v. State, 248 Ga. 274 (280 SE2d 352) (1981), after the State had made its response to the Brady motion the trial court was obliged to conduct an in-camera inspection once appellant so requested. The Supreme Court subsequently held in Carpenter v. State, 252 Ga. 79, 81-82 (310 SE2d 912)

(1984) that a trial court’s failure to comply with the request does not automatically require reversal. Instead, the trial court may conduct a post-conviction review of the material in the State’s file. Id. Accordingly, we remand this case with direction that such an inspection be made. Accord Atkins v. State, 254 Ga. 641, 642 (331 SE2d 597) (1985) .

8. We have reviewed appellant’s remaining enumerations and arguments and have found them to be without merit.

Judgment affirmed and case remanded with direction.

Birdsong, P. J., Beasley, Andrews and Johnson, JJ., concur. Carley, P. J., concurs in Divisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and in the judgment. McMurray, P. J., Pope and Cooper, JJ., dissent.