Eversole v. Commonwealth

575 S.W.2d 457, 1978 Ky. LEXIS 452
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 21, 1978
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 575 S.W.2d 457 (Eversole v. Commonwealth) 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
Eversole v. Commonwealth, 575 S.W.2d 457, 1978 Ky. LEXIS 452 (Ky. 1978).

Opinions

JONES, Justice.

Douglas Lee Eversole and Cecil Wayne Pelfrey appeal from judgments of conviction imposing on each of them concurrent prison terms of 20 years on a charge of first-degree burglary and 5 years on a charge of theft by unlawful taking. KRS 511.020; KRS 514.030. Eversole and Pel-frey prosecute separate appeals which are consolidated for review.

There are other questions, but the principal issue presented for decision is whether the trial court prejudicially failed to instruct the jury on their tendered instruction of third-degree burglary. At the time the alleged offense was committed (October 29, 1976), KRS 511.020(l)(b) provided that:

“A person is guilty of burglary in the first degree when he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling with the intent to commit a crime and when:
(b) the entering or remaining occurs at night.”1

The home of William E. Heathman, located on North Main Street in the city of Nicholasville, was burglarized October 29, 1976. Heathman estimated the value of the property taken at $4500.00. Included in the items stolen from his home were a television, a stereo and a large quantity of valuable silverware. Heathman was out of town on the date of the burglary and did not know what time it occurred.

Heathman’s daughter, Billie Sue, left home at 7:45 A.M. on the day of the burglary. She returned home that night at 9:00 P.M. When she arrived home the glass in a side door was broken. Thereupon, she called the police.

[459]*459Richard (Dickie) Jones and his friend, Chester Fultz, were drinking in the Zebra Bar in Lexington about 10:30 P.M., October 29, 1976, when Eversole and Pelfrey came into the bar and offered to sell Jones and Fultz “some stuff.” Thereafter, they accompanied Eversole and Pelfrey to Ever-sole’s house where they were shown a television, a quantity of silverware, and a stereo. Jones bought all of the items and later sold some of the silverware to Maude Booth. He testified that Eversole and Pel-frey told him the items were taken from the Heathman dwelling on Main Street in the city of Nicholasville. He, Fultz, Ever-sole and Pelfrey returned to Nicholasville “the same night they [Eversole and Pelfrey] had broken in it.” [Heathman’s home]. The purpose of that nocturnal foray was to get the stereo speakers from the Heathman dwelling. They did not stop because “the lights” were on. The burglary had been discovered. On being questioned, Jones was asked:

“Q. Did anybody get out to go in?
A. No sir nobody did.
Q. Why did they [Eversole and Pelfrey] not get out?
A. We was going by and they said, oh, the lights are on. Evidently they had discovered it.”

Detective David Williams testified that he recovered some of Heathman’s silverware from the residence of Maude Booth several months after the burglary.

State Police Detective Jerry Lovitt, in the course of his investigation, interviewed Ev-ersole at the Scott County Jail. After being advised of his constitutional rights, Ev-ersole made a written voluntary confession as follows:

“On October 29, 1976, at about 9:00 P.M., I went to Nicholasville for the purpose of breaking into a house on North Main Street. I broke the window pane in the side door to gain entry. The articles that I took that I can remember were a stereo, a portable TV, jewelry, coins, and silverware. I sold the TV and stereo to Chester Fultz and Dickie Jones. The silver was traded to Fultz and Jones for a car. I know the residence was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Heathman because I had rented an apartment from her. Signed Douglas Eversole.”

Although Pelfrey’s trial counsel insinuated that Pelfrey could not read or write or at least couldn’t perform either of these functions well, Detective Lovitt testified that he advised Pelfrey of his constitutional rights and that Pelfrey made the following voluntary confession in his own handwriting:

“I was in a bar in Lexington. I came to Nicholasville in a truck. It was about 9:30 or 10:00, it was after dark. I stopped at a house on Main Street just as we entered town. I parked the truck in a low lot and went into the house. I came back to the truck and pulled in beside the house. I had piled stuff from inside the house near where I pulled the truck. I loaded the stuff in the truck.”

Pelfrey’s handwritten confession was signed by him and witnessed by Jean Gol-dey.

Prior to the introduction in evidence of the statements made by Eversole and Pel-frey, an in-chambers hearing was conducted by the trial court to determine the admissibility of the statements in which they implicated each other in the charged offenses. The trial court concluded that the statements of both Eversole and Pelfrey in which they implicated each other could be read to the jury if any reference to a co-defendant was eliminated. The trial court overruled Pelfrey’s objection that his confession was involuntary and that the use of Eversole’s statement violated Pelfrey’s right of confrontation.

When the Commonwealth concluded its presentation of evidence', neither Eversole nor Pelfrey testified in their behalf, and no testimony was offered by either- of them.

Eversole and Pelfrey argue they were prejudiced because the trial court refused to give their tendered instruction on third-degree burglary. They each contend there was a reasonable inference that the crime in question may not have occurred at night.

[460]*460In this case the breaking into the dwelling was established through the testimony of an occupant. It was also proven that Eversole and Pelfrey had possession of and sold the items stolen from the dwelling. In addition the testimony of Richard Jones was strong substantive evidence, independent of the confessions of Eversole and Pelfrey, which was sufficient to support their convictions. There was not a shred of evidence to indicate that the burglary occurred during the day or other than at night. Thus, the trial court properly refused to give the tendered instruction on third-degree burglary. Parker v. Commonwealth, Ky., 279 S.W.2d 1 (1955).

Eversole and Pelfrey argue the trial court erroneously permitted the prosecutor to make improper and prejudicial comments in his summation to the jury. This court has reviewed the arguments made by counsel for Eversole and Pelfrey and by the Commonwealth’s Attorney.

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Related

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95 S.W.3d 60 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
575 S.W.2d 457, 1978 Ky. LEXIS 452, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eversole-v-commonwealth-ky-1978.