Himmel v. State

Thompson, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Robert John Himmel, the appellant, was convicted of daytime housebreaking under Art. 27, § 30 (b) of the Md. Code by a jury in Howard County, Judge T. Hunt Mayfield presiding. A sentence of eighteen months was imposed. On June 7, 1968, two strangers went to the home of Walter Wilson in Howard County, Maryland, asking di ³⁹⁷ rections to a Dr. Koukoulas’ home.

Although Wilson did not recognize the name of the doctor, he indicated to the two strangers, later identified by photographs to be appellant and one Robert Lee Sizemore, that a Dr. Matayas Relie lived about four hundred yards from the Wilson residence. He said both men were wearing slacks and tee shirts. Becoming suspicious, he drove past the Relie residence where he saw the appellant’s dark colored Ford parked on the edge of the lawn. He also saw one man in the back yard and the other standing at the front door.

The storm door was open but the main door to the house was closed. Wilson wrote down the license number of the car and later reported it to the police. On June 7, 1968, at approximately 11:30 A.M., Anne Marie Relie, wife of Dr. Matayas Relie, left her home. When she returned about 1:30 P.M. that same day, the entire house had been ransacked, but she noticed no evidence indicating the method of entry.

She listed the items missing from her house, including one gold Germinal Voltaire lady’s wrist watch with edgings. Her testimony as to securing the home when she left was as follows: “Q. And upon your return, what, if anything, unusual did you find ? “A. Well, the first thing unusual was that, I walked up through the basement, because the garage is on a lower level with the basement, and the kitchen door was locked between the basement and the kitchen, which could not have been locked if I went down that way, which I did — there are three doors .... “Q. Uh huh. “A.....and the garage door, naturally, I locked as I left with the car, but the door between the basement and the kitchen was locked and I knew I hadn’t locked it. So, immediately, I had an idea something was unusual and I stepped in the house and found everything was ransacked. ³⁹⁸ “Q. All right. When you left the house you went down through the kitchen into the garage? “A. Yes.

No. Through the kitchen to the basement then in, through another door into the garage. “Q. And did you lock that door when you left the house? “A. No. The garage door was locked, however, and that couldn’t be opened without a key. “Q. I see. Now, what cond — when you left the house, in what condition was the house? “A. I left it the way I usually leave it. . . . “Q. Was this neat and orderly? “A. . . . everything was straight and neat. Yes.” * * * “BY THE COURT : “COURT: Mrs. Relie, as I understand, that when you returned, or when you left the house on this day of June of last year, were all the doors of the house, the exterior doors, locked to your knowledge? “A. Yes. “COURT: And when you returned you found the door leading into the kitchen from the garage area unlocked ? “A. Yes. No — “COURT: You say — “A. No, it was locked. “COURT: Locked. “A. Because when I go down — “COURT: It had been unlocked when you left? “A. Yes. “COURT: And the exterior garage doors were locked ? “A. Yes. “COURT: Now did you, other than your observation of the ransacking in the house, did ³⁹⁹ you observe anything unusual about the doors, the exterior doors or windows ? “A. No.” Detective John Hannan of the Anne Arundel County Police Department had appellant under observation on June 7, 1968.

Hannan observed the appellant, dressed in slacks and a tee shirt, leave his home approximately 9:30 A.M. in a dark green Ford and pick up Robert Sizemore, who also wore slacks and a tee shirt. Detective Hannan then lost sight of appellant and Sizemore and did not see them again until about 2:15 P.M. Appellant was arrested in his home on June 25, 1968, by Detective Hannan, pursuant to an arrest warrant. The arresting officer proceeded to search appellant’s residence, seizing many items. Ail of the items seized were suppressed, pursuant to pretrial motion and hearing, except a set of keys and a white jewelry box which Hannan said contained several watches including a gold Germinal Voltaire watch.

Both the jewelrjr box and the keys were in plain view, and the officers recognized the jewelry box as similar to one stolen in another crime. The entire case for the defense was the testimony of a watchmaker, duly qualified as an expert, who stated this particular watch could not be