Hill v. State

415 So. 2d 1255, 1982 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 3090
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedJune 8, 1982
Docket8 Div. 586
StatusPublished

This text of 415 So. 2d 1255 (Hill v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hill v. State, 415 So. 2d 1255, 1982 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 3090 (Ala. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

LEIGH M. CLARK, Retired Circuit Judge.

A jury found this appellant guilty on an indictment that charged in pertinent part that he “did recklessly cause the death of Rayburn Vess, by shooting him with a pistol, in violation of Section 13A-6-3 of the Code of Alabama.” The court fixed his punishment at imprisonment for ten years and a fine of $5,000.00 and sentenced him accordingly. He had previously been tried for the same incident made the basis of the indictment herein on an indictment charging him with murder. The result of that trial was a verdict finding him guilty of manslaughter and a judgment fixing the same punishment and imposing the same sentence as the judgment from which the instant appeal was taken. For an error in the admission of certain evidence, the former judgment was reversed and the cause remanded, as shown in Hill v. State, 394 So.2d 106 (Ala.Cr.App.1981).

We are not informed by the record proper or the transcript as to what happened to the indictment for murder, but it is obvious that there was no further effort by the State to prosecute the defendant for murder in view of appellant’s having been acquitted of murder by the verdict and judgment finding him guilty of manslaughter. Instead of proceeding under the first indictment, a new indictment was returned, as quoted above in pertinent part, about three months after the reversal in Hill v. State, supra. No question was raised on the trial, and no question is raised here, as to the validity of the proceeding under the second indictment instead of the first indictment.

According to the undisputed evidence in the case, about sundown on Saturday, May 31, 1980, the alleged victim was shot to death by a pistol in the hand of the defendant while both were on or near real property owned by defendant and while they were on or near a public highway. Whether they were on the right-of-way of the highway or on the property of defendant at the time was a hotly contested issue between the parties on the second trial as it was on the first trial. Much testimony was introduced on the subject, consisting largely of many pictures and drawings. We agree with appellant’s statement in his brief, “The issue of whether Vess [the alleged victim] was actually shot on Hill’s [appellant’s] property was a jury question.”

The undisputed evidence shows also that during a period of approximately twenty-four hours prior to the fatal altercation between defendant and the alleged victim, each of them had imbibed a large amount of whiskey or beer. They had encountered each other during that period, but most of the time they were in different areas from each other. Only one witness testified that he was in the area of the homicide at the time it occurred. However, he did not engage in the encounter and he was not in as good a position as the defendant to testify with accuracy as to the exact location of the defendant or the alleged victim immediate[1257]*1257ly before and at the time the victim was shot. We summarize the defendant’s evidence by quoting from appellant’s brief as follows:

“According to Hill’s testimony, Vess pulled in his driveway [the driveway of Hill] got out of his truck, and urinated. Hill noted that he went to Vess and asked him ‘if he didn’t have no more respect for people than that;’ that he told Vess that women and children lived behind his [Hill’s] residence and that traffic passed by; that a man could get shot for doing things like urinating in public; that he told Vess to leave; and that Vess responded ‘To hell with you and your renters.’
“Hill testified that Vess then pulled into a driveway leading to Hill’s rental house; that Vess stopped his truck and leaned toward the glove compartment as though he were getting something; and that Vess then proceeded to turn onto County Road 19 but then pulled back into Hill’s driveway at a fast rate of speed, stopping so close to Hill that he had to move to avoid being hit.
“Hill testified that Vess then got out of the truck and stated that ‘You ain’t got the G— damned guts to shoot nobody;’ that Vess then rushed around the truck; that Hill told him to stop but Vess refused; that Hill remained stationary and shot two or three times as Vess came around the corner of the truck; that Vess was four to six feet away when Hill fired; that there was no muzzle contact; and that he stopped firing when Vess quit advancing on him. According to Hill, Vess’ face was distorted as though he were ‘half-crying or mad’ as he approached; and Hill never saw Vess’ hands, but that he believed from past experience that Vess was carrying a gun.
“Hill stated under oath that Vess grabbed his chest after he was shot; that Vess walked 12 or 15 feet to the other truck; and that he then put his hands against the truck and fell. Hill testified that he then unloaded his pistol and placed it under his mattress and made arrangements for the ambulance and Sheriff to come.”

Perhaps it should be said also that there was considerable testimony by defendant that he was in the “junk parts business” and also periodically sold alcoholic beverages from his residence, that he and Vess had had disagreements in the past, that eight or ten months before the fatal incident defendant and Vess had a confrontation over Vess’s use of foul language in Hill’s home, and that on said occasion Hill told Vess that he [Hill] was not able to fight and Hill proceeded to stay in the bathroom until Vess left. According to the defendant, he had been hospitalized several times for a heart condition and he could not handle heavy labor after his heart problem began and Mr. Vess knew the defendant had a heart condition. The contiguous real estate of the defendant that included or was adjacent to the place where defendant and the victim were at the time of the homicide consisted of defendant’s place of business, defendant’s residence and some apartments or a house that others were occupying as renters from defendant.

At the conclusion of the lengthy evidence introduced by the State, including the testimony of ten witnesses, defendant moved to exclude the evidence on the ground that it “failed to prove a prima facie case against this Defendant” and moved to exclude the evidence on the ground that there was “a fatal variance between the indictment and the evidence.” The court overruled each motion, and appellant contends that each ruling was erroneous.

Although, as previously indicated, we are somewhat puzzled with the course of the pleadings taken by the State by the return of a new indictment after the judgment of conviction and sentence on the first indictment had been reversed, we are unable to agree with appellant that a prima facie case was not presented as to the express charge of the indictment. The gist of appellant’s contention in this respect is to be found in his brief as follows:

“It is obvious from the facts that Hill did not shoot Vess ‘recklessly,’ but shot him [1258]*1258intentionally, in self defense. ‘Intentionally’ is defined as follows: ‘A person acts intentionally with respect to a result or to conduct described by a statute defining an offense, when his purpose is to cause or to engage in that conduct.’ Ala.Code, § 13A-2-2(l) (1975).”

Appellant is not at fault for the anomaly now presented by him, i.e., that he, if guilty, was guilty of murder rather than manslaughter under Ala. Criminal Code, § 13A-6-3(a)(l).

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Bluebook (online)
415 So. 2d 1255, 1982 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 3090, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hill-v-state-alacrimapp-1982.