Deveron Shively v. Commonwealth of Kentucky

CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 22, 2018
Docket2016-SC-0256
StatusUnpublished

This text of Deveron Shively v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Deveron Shively v. Commonwealth of Kentucky) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deveron Shively v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, (Ky. 2018).

Opinion

DEVERON SHIVELY

ON APPEAL FROM JEFFERSON CIRCUIT COURT v. HONORABLE MITCH PERRY, JUDGE NOS. 14-CR-000117 & 16-CR-000228 )

COMMONWEALTH·OF KENTUCKY APPELLEE

OPINION OF THE. COURT BY JUSTICE WRIGHT

AFFIRMING

Appellant, Deveron Shively, was convicted by a Jefferson Circuit Court

jury of criminal attempt to commit murder, possession of a handgun by a

convicted felon, and tampering with physical evidence. For these crimes, the .

jury r~commended sentences of twenty, seven, and three years, respeetively, to

be served concurrently. The trial court sentenced Appellant to twenty years'

' imprisonment in line with the jury's recommendation. Appellant now appeals

to this Court as a matter of right. Ky. Const. § 110(2)(b). He asserts four

claims of error in his appeal: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to

suppress his statement to police, as that statement was coerced; (2) the trial

court erred in refusing to allow certain cross-examination of the victim in order

to show bias; (3) the trial court erred in denying Appellant's motion for a

mistrial; at;id (4) the jury instructions on the possession of a handgun by a

convicted felon charge deprived Appellant of his right to a una,nimous verdict. I. BACKGROUND

Misty Shirley had been staying with her fiance's daughters, Courtney and

Carrie. Courtney's boyfriend, D.J., had been in an altercation with Misty's

fiance after he and two unidentified males entered Courtney and Carrie's

apartment looking for pills. After the altercation, Misty deci9ed to leave

_Courtney and Carrie's apartment and stay with other friends. D.J. called Misty

numerous times, and Misty finally answered the phone the following day. D.J.

put Appellant (his friend) on the phone, and Misty told Appellant she pl~ned

_to walk to Walgreens.

When Misty exited her friends' apartment to walk to the drugstore, she

saw Appellant emerge from the building next door, where D.J. was staying.

Appellant offered to walk with Misty to Walgreens, and Misty agreed. The two

did not go directly to the drugstore, but, instead, went to 'Appellant's mother's

house, as Appellant indicate_d he needed to get his license. While on the street

where Appellant's mother lived, Misty and Appellant were join~d by two

unidentified men. The four then continued, their trek to Walgreens on the

railroad tracks, heading toward a field at the back of the store.

When Misty started to step off the tracks and into the field, someone

struck her in the back of the head with a gun, knocking her down. When she

got up, Appellant faced her, with one of the unidentified men 'on either side.

Misty testified that both Appellant and one of the unidentified men had guns.

One of the men shot in Misty's direction and the three demanded money and

drugs. They finally asked Misty to call someone to "set them up." When Misty

2 failed to contact anyone from whom the three could obtain drugs, the

unidentified man with a gun said, "Kill the bitch," and Appellant shot her in

the mouth. Misty was shot a second time in her back, with this bullet exiting

through her side.

When Misty regained consciousness, she crawled across the field, and

ma9e her way inside Walgreens. When Misty reached the front of the store,

she stood up in an effort to keep her grandmother, whom Misty was meeting at

Walgreens, from being scared. Misty told the cashier she had been shot before

collapsing in the floor.

The two detectives who spoke with Misty in the ambulance and at the

hospital both testified she said the nickname of the individual who shot her

was "Man." One of.the two detectives knew Appellant's nickname was "Man,"

and gave Appellant's name to Detective Shannon Reedus, the lead detective on

the case. Reedus put together a photographic lineup and presented it to Misty.

Misty identified Appellant's photograph, and told Reedus Appellant was the

shooter.I She told Reedus she had known Appellant for a few days and had

been with him on the day of the shooting.

Appellant was arrested about three weeks after the shooting. Reedus

testified Appellant signed a rights waiver and agreed to speak to the police.-

1 Misty also identified another of the pictures as being one of the men who was with Appellant. However, the individual in that photograph was in another county jail at the time of the shooting and could not have been with Appellant.

3 Appellant was indicted for criminal attempt to commit murder, first-

degree robbery, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon related to

Misty's shooti~g.2 Later, the Commonwealth obtained another indictment

related to the shooting, adding first-degree assault (as a lesser-included offense I

of attempted_murder) and tampering with physical evidence. The indictments

were subsequently amen?-ed to add complicity. The handgun charge was

severed from the other charges, and heard separately by the same jury. The

jury found Appellant guilty of criminal atte_mpt to co:mmit murder, possession

of a handgun by a co_nvicted felon, and tampering with physical evidence. The

trial court sentenced Appellant to serve twenty, seven, and three . . years' imprisonment, respectively, and ordered those sentences to ~n conc;urrently.

This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Appellant's Statement to Police Appellant first argues that his statement to police was involuntary; as it

was induced and coerced. After his arrest, he was placed in an interview room

at the police station. Before Appellant was interviewed by police, he asked a

detective if he could speak to Officer Dale (the officer who had executed the

warrant). Appellant provided Dale with the location of an individual wanted for

another crime. ' Dale told Appellant he should "be straight" and . "be honest"

2 The indictment also included charges for an unrelated incident: possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, tampering with physical evidence, illegal possession of a controlled substance, and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia. These charges were later dismissed.

4 "when they come in here," and that Appellant should "start taking

responsibility."

Appellant told Dale that he (Appellant) "was hurting his family'' and was

"scared for their safety." Dale responded that there were "people looking for

you,'' and fold Appellant the "big wigs" at the department had met about

"what's being said between these groups an4 how they're putting hits on

people, it's serious. Because usually that person ends up dead. So I was ·,

warning your parents, your mom, keep away from the windows, just be careful,

cause the word's out." Appellant asked if the officers had determined who put

the hit out, and Dale responded that they had not as of yet, but that they were

working on· it. Dale told Appellant the department "had cars there [at

Appellant's mother's house] to protect you, to protect your mom, to.protect that

faJ:?ily." Dale reas.sured Appellant that he would "look out for [his] family."· The

two exchanged a fist bump before Dale left. Reccius, who had watched the

interview from . behind one-way glass, . entered the interview room several

minutes after Dale left Appellant alone.

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