Humphrey v. State

337 So. 2d 67, 1976 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1693
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Humphrey v. State. Read the opinion of the Court — 54 Ala. App. 62
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided August 31, 1976·No. 3 Div. 442·Published

Opinion

HARRIS, Judge.

Appellant was indicted for murder in the first degree. He was represented at arraignment and trial by two experienced trial lawyers retained by him and his family. He pleaded not guilty. The jury found appellant guilty of manslaughter in the first degree and fixed his punishment at ten years in the penitentiary. Notice of appeal was made in open court and a free transcript was requested. Appellant was found to be indigent and a free transcript was furnished him. Trial counsel did not file a brief on this appeal and this Court appointed counsel to represent appellant on appeal.

There was considerable conflict in the evidence which was within the province of the jury to resolve.

On the night of August 22, 1975, there was a shoot-out at or near the Edgewood Lounge, also known as the Harlem Inn, located on High Street in Montgomery, Alabama. As a result of the shoot-out one woman was killed. Her son was wounded, and another woman was also shot.

Ernestine Givens testified that the deceased, Katherine Givens, was her mother-in-law and that she had known appellant most of her life. She was 26 years of age and appellant was 27 years of age. Ernestine Givens testified that on the night of August 22,1975, she was at the Harlem Inn and saw the deceased and appellant there. The Harlem Inn is a nightclub where alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed. It has a dance floor and music is furnished by a Rockola.

[68]*68Ernestine Givens testified that the deceased was sitting at a table with a Mary Ruth Givens. Appellant was with his brother, Ben Patterson, his aunt, Betty Patterson and another man. This latter group sat at a table next to the deceased. A fuss ensued between the deceased and Betty Patterson. The argument grew heated and the deceased drew a pistol on Betty Patterson and told her if she did not go away, she was going to hurt her, but she did not see the deceased point the pistol at Betty Patterson. She further stated that she did not see the deceased point her pistol at appellant or try to fire it at appellant in the Harlem Inn. The owner of the Harlem Inn told everyone to leave. As appellant was leaving he made the statement that everyone had better clear High Street when he returned.

Ernestine Givens further testified that she saw the deceased on the sidewalk next to the door of the Harlem Inn and that she had her pistol down by her side. Appellant returned with a .38 caliber and told the deceased to drop the gun she was holding down and the appellant told deceased that she was going to- die and the shooting started, but Ernestine stated she did not see the deceased try to shoot appellant when he was firing his pistol in her direction.

According to the State’s evidence appellant went home and told his mother, father and brothers that they were being ambushed at the Harlem Inn. Appellant’s brother, Charles Ray Humphrey, got a .22 rifle and went to the Harlem Inn. That appellant and Charles Ray stood side by side with appellant firing his .38 caliber pistol and Charles Ray firing the .22 rifle. The investigating officers found a number of spent .38 caliber cartidges and a number of spent .22 caliber cartridges at different places in the vicinity of the place where the shooting occurred. They also found an automatic pistol in the purse of the deceased.

A postmortem examination was preformed on the body of the deceased and two .22 caliber slugs were removed. Dr. Richard Roper of the State Department of Toxicology performed the autopsy. He testified that one bullet entered the back of the neck of the deceased and another entered her side. He stated that the cause of death “resulted from hemorrhage and shock and central nervous system trauma.” He further testified that the deceased had a blood alcohol level of .14 percent and this would indicate that the deceased was under the influence of intoxicating beverages. Dr. Roper delivered the two slugs he removed from the body of the deceased to Mr. Charles Smith, a criminalist in his department.

Mr. Smith whose qualifications were not questioned by the defense testified that he test-fired the .22 rifle and made a comparison with the two slugs delivered to him by Dr. Roper and they “were consistent in' all major class characteristics,” but he could not say they were fired from that particular rifle but there was noting to indicate that they were not fired from this rifle.

The officers turned over to Mr. Smith a .38 caliber pistol together with some spent cartridges and some live rounds of .38 caliber bullets. Mr. Smith test-fired the pistol and made a comparison and reached the same conclusion he reached with reference to the .22 rifle. He examined the pistol that was found in the purse of the deceased and found that the bullet in the chamber had “misfired” indicating that someone had tried to fire this weapon.

Appellant’s father testified that his son came home around 1:00 a.m. on the morning of August 22, 1975, and told him that they were being “ambushed” at the club on High Street. He stated that appellant left but he did not see him carry a pistol. He further testified that he did not see his other son, Charles Ray, leave the house, but that appellant and Charles Ray came back to the house in about 20 minutes and appellant had his pistol and Charles Ray had the rifle. Appellant told his father that they “both shot” but he thought he shot a woman in the leg. The father told appellant to call the Police Department and he did. When the officers came to appellant’s father’s house looking for the weapons used in the shoot-out, the father gave them to [69]*69the officers on the porch of his home. The officers did not enter the house and conduct a search.

Harold Washington testified that he was at the Harlem Inn the night of the shooting and that he knew appellant. He stated that he was standing in front of the Harlem Inn when he heard someone come around the corner and say, “All you _ _ clear the corner.” Washington ran to the other side of the street and heard some shots. When the shots were over, he went back across the street and saw “two ladies laying on the sidewalk, and a young dude.” He said he saw the deceased on the sidewalk before she was shot and did not see her point a gun at anyone.

Appellant and Charles Ray were arrested and carried to the station house where Detective C. H. Brannon read appellant the Miranda rights and warnings and appellant signed a waiver of rights form. He then gave Detective Brannon a signed statement. A voir dire examination was conducted out of the presence and hearing of the jury to determine the voluntary character of the statement. The Court ruled the statement was voluntarily made and the proper predicate was laid and the statement was introduced into evidence. The statement is as follows:

“Montgomery Police Department Room 210-2
August 22, 1975, 3:00 A.M.
“I, Edward Junior Humphrey, Black Male, DOB 2-10-48, home address 445 South Hall Street, Home telephone 264-9781, give the following statement to Detective C. H. Brannon, Jr., of the Montgomery Police Department regarding a shooting incident which occurred earlier tonight on High Street. I have been advised of my rights and I understand them and know what I am doing. No promise or threats have been made to me by anyone and no pressure of any kind has been made against me by anyone.
“Q. Tell me what happened tonight?
“A.

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Humphrey v. State, 337 So. 2d 67, 1976 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1693 (Ala. Ct. App. 1976).

337 So. 2d 67 (Humphrey v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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