Mullinax v. State

Jack Douglas Mullinax was indicted on charges of speeding and theft by receiving a stolen truck. He pled guilty to speeding and was tried by a jury and found guilty on the charge of theft by receiving. He was sentenced as a recidivist. He appeals, contending that the trial court erred in ruling certain evidence admissible and in sentencing him as a recidivist. We find no merit in either contention, and we affirm.

Construed to support the jury’s verdict, the evidence presented at trial showed that three days after a 1967 Chevrolet truck had been reported stolen, Officer Jack Pinholster of the Henry County Police Department stopped Mullinax for speeding in that truck. He asked Mullinax for his driver’s license and proof of insurance, and Mullinax produced his driver’s license. Pinholster testified that Mullinax never produced any other documents, such as registration or insurance. Pinholster returned to his patrol car to write a citation for speeding, and while in his patrol car he received a radio communication informing him that the truck was “possibly stolen.” Pinholster testified he then informed Mullinax that he was “going to be under arrest,” and that if he would produce any type of document showing ownership he could be released. The defense objected to this testimony as tantamount to a comment on the pre-arrest silence of Mullinax. The trial court overruled the objection.