Howard v. State

The appellant, Alphonso Lee Howard, was indicted for the offense of robbery in the first degree (§ 13A-8-41, Code of Alabama 1975), was convicted after a jury trial of the lesser included offense of robbery in the third degree (§ 13A-8-43), and was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. He appeals, raising one issue: the voluntariness of his confession.

The state's evidence showed that the appellant entered a gasoline service station and approached the attendant, Maxwell Vincent Ward; that with his hand under his shirt, he told Ward that he had a gun, that this was a "stickup," and that he…