Murray v. State

855 P.2d 350, 1993 Wyo. LEXIS 110, 1993 WL 216674
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJune 23, 1993
Docket92-109
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 855 P.2d 350 (Murray v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Murray v. State, 855 P.2d 350, 1993 Wyo. LEXIS 110, 1993 WL 216674 (Wyo. 1993).

Opinion

MACY, Chief Justice.

Appellant Donald Murray appeals from his conviction for involuntary manslaughter in violation of Wyo.Stat. § 6-2-105(a)(ii) and (b) (1988).

We affirm as modified.

Appellant presents the following issues for our consideration:

I. Whether wilful[] and wanton conduct by law enforcement agents in purposely failing to inform Mr. Murray of the reasons for his arrest in violation of W.R.Cr.P. 4(c) invalidates the arrest and requires suppression of statements attained during the illegal arrest?
II. Whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain a conviction for involuntary manslaughter?
III. Whether the trial judge failed to make a determination of defendant’s ability to pay prior to ordering restitution and assessing penalties to be paid to the Wyoming victim’s compensation fund?

Appellant and the victim worked together on an oil rig located near Granger, Wyoming. The men were good friends who had known each other since 1983. On September 30, 1991, they completed their shift on the oil rig at approximately 6:30 p.m. They began drinking shortly thereafter, and eventually went to the Cowboy Bar in Mountain View. While they were at the Cowboy Bar, the victim and Appellant started arguing about one of their co-workers. Appellant left the bar before the argument could escalate into a physical confrontation. He proceeded by himself to Pete’s Bar where he ate pizza and continued drinking. At about 10:30 p.m., Appellant drove home.

At eleven o’clock that same evening, the victim had his cousin drive him to Appellant’s house so that he could retrieve his work clothes which were in the back of Appellant’s truck. As the victim’s cousin drove down Appellant’s driveway, she observed a flash from a gun barrel. While continuing on down the driveway, she saw and heard additional shots being fired and noticed Appellant standing on his porch holding a handgun. The victim exited the vehicle, identified himself, and explained to Appellant that he just wanted to get his work clothes. Appellant yelled “ ‘[g]et off of my property’ ” to the victim. He fired three additional shots from his porch, two of which landed near the victim’s feet. The victim again identified himself and started walking toward Appellant’s truck. Appellant left his porch and walked toward the victim until they were approximately six feet apart. The victim said: “ ‘Just let me get my work clothes and we’ll leave.’ ” Appellant repeated the command to get off his property. The victim said, “ ‘Okay. I’m leaving,’ ” turned around, and had started walking back towards the car when Appellant fired three or four additional shots. One of the bullets ricocheted off a rock and passed through the victim’s right thigh, severing his femoral artery and femoral vein. The victim also suffered a relatively minor bullet wound to his right buttock. The doctor who performed the autopsy was unable to determine whether the two wounds were the result of a single gunshot or multiple gunshots.

The victim hopped back to the car after being shot. His cousin drove him to Pete’s Bar which was located approximately two miles from Appellant’s house. The victim’s cousin and one of the bartenders placed the victim on the pavement in the bar’s parking lot and elevated his leg with a stool. Another bartender telephoned 911. The ambulance arrived about half an hour after the 911 call had been placed. When the *353 ambulance arrived, the victim’s vital signs were normal, and his level of consciousness indicated that he was in “great shape.” The emergency medical technicians thought that the victim had lost only a minimal amount of blood. In reality, he had lost a massive quantity of blood during the time that it took to drive from Appellant’s house to Pete’s Bar. The victim lost consciousness shortly before reaching the hospital, his breathing became difficult, and his pupils dilated. The EMTs and the emergency room physicians were unable to resuscitate him.

Appellant was arrested and initially charged with second-degree murder. The deputy county and prosecuting attorney subsequently reduced the charge to involuntary manslaughter. A jury found Appellant guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and the court sentenced him to serve a term of not less than eight years nor more than fifteen years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary. Appellant filed a timely appeal with this Court.

Rule 4(c)(3) of the Wyoming Rules of Criminal Procedure

Appellant argues that the trial court should have suppressed any statements he made while he was under arrest because the law enforcement officers violated W.R.Cr.P. 4(c)(3) (revised effective March 24, 1992). Before its revision in 1992, that rule provided in pertinent part:

(c) Execution or service; and return.
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(3) Manner. — The warrant shall be executed by the arrest of the defendant. The officer need not have the warrant in his possession at the time of the arrest, but upon request he shall show the warrant to the defendant as soon as possible. If the officer does not have the warrant in his possession at the time of the arrest, he shall then inform the defendant of the offense charged and of the fact that a warrant has been issued.

The evidence and testimony are consistent with Appellant’s claim that the officers did not comply with W.R.Cr.P. 4(c)(3)’s requirements. Early in the morning of October 1, 1991, several officers from different law enforcement agencies surrounded Appellant’s house. When Appellant emerged from his house, Steve Johnson, an officer with the Evanston police department, handcuffed him and took him into custody. As Officer Johnson was handcuffing him, Appellant asked, “ ‘What the hell’s going on?’ ” and “ ‘It’s [the victim], isn’t it? Is he hurt bad?’ ” Officer Johnson told Appellant that he was under arrest and to “shut up.” Officer Johnson and the officer who transported Appellant to the jail testified that they did not inform Appellant of the second-degree murder charge and that they did not advise him that an arrest warrant had been issued. 1 The officers explained that they knew a homicide had occurred and an arrest warrant had been issued for Appellant but that they were unaware of the precise charge.

Kyle Lamb, a detention officer with the Uinta County sheriff’s department, who booked Appellant into the jail, also failed to inform him of the second-degree murder charge and of the existence of an arrest warrant. Appellant asked, among other things, what the charge was, and Officer Lamb told him that he did not know. The officer testified that he did not learn of the specific charge against Appellant until the end of the booking process when he received a facsimile of the arrest warrant. Rex Gaylord, an investigator with the Uin-ta County sheriff’s office, was also present when the facsimile arrived. According to Officer Lamb, Investigator Gaylord instructed him not to advise Appellant of the charge as he would inform Appellant. Investigator Gaylord testified that he never instructed Officer Lamb not to advise Appellant of the charge.

At one point in the booking process, Appellant also asked Investigator Gaylord to inform him of the charge. Investigator

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
855 P.2d 350, 1993 Wyo. LEXIS 110, 1993 WL 216674, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/murray-v-state-wyo-1993.