Caldwell v. State

We reverse appellant’s conviction for unarmed robbery due to the admission of hearsay in the form of a booking report.

Appellant was charged with armed robbery for forcibly taking jumbo size house fried rice from a deliveryman while holding him at gunpoint. At trial, through a Chinese interpreter, the deliveryman described the robber as a middle aged 5'9" black male, weighing “around 200 pounds.” This differed from his initial report to the police, where he said the robber was 5'9" to 6 feet tall and weighed between 160 and 200 pounds. The deliveryman stated that once the police created a…