Pietri v. State

644 So. 2d 1347, 1994 WL 525895
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedSeptember 29, 1994
Docket75844
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 644 So. 2d 1347 (Pietri v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pietri v. State, 644 So. 2d 1347, 1994 WL 525895 (Fla. 1994).

Opinion

644 So.2d 1347 (1994)

Norberto PIETRI, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 75844.

Supreme Court of Florida.

September 29, 1994.
Rehearing Denied November 22, 1994.

*1349 Peter Birch, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Sylvia H. Alonso and Celia A. Terenzio, Asst. Attys. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Norberto Pietri, a prisoner under sentence of death, appeals his conviction of first-degree murder and the penalty imposed.[1] We have jurisdiction based on article V, section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution.

We affirm the convictions and death sentence, but vacate the sentences for the noncapital offenses and remand for the preparation of sentencing guidelines scoresheets.

Pietri was convicted of fatally shooting West Palm Beach police officer Brian Chappell in August 1988. The killing occurred after Pietri walked away from a work release center, burglarized a home, and stole a pickup truck. Pietri shot Chappell once in the chest when the officer stopped him after a chase of the stolen truck.

The jury convicted Pietri of first-degree murder and recommended death by a vote of eight to four. The trial judge followed the jury's recommendation and sentenced Pietri to death. In imposing the death penalty, the trial judge found four aggravating factors: (1) the murder was committed by someone under a sentence of imprisonment;[2] (2) the murder was committed while Pietri was fleeing after committing a burglary;[3] (3) the murder was a homicide committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification;[4] and (4) the murder was committed to avoid arrest or to escape, the murder was committed to disrupt or hinder the lawful enforcement of laws, and the victim was a law enforcement officer performing his official duties.[5] The trial judge found no statutory or nonstatutory mitigating factors.

*1350 On August 18, 1988, Pietri walked away from the Lantana Community Correctional Work Release Center. At the time, he was restricted to the center's grounds while he awaited transfer to a more secure facility. After his escape, Pietri began a four-day binge of using cocaine. He testified that during this time he committed burglaries to support his drug use. On August 22, he ran out of drugs.

Driving a pickup truck he had stolen the day before, Pietri went to a house, broke in, and stole items including a 9-mm semiautomatic firearm and a .38-caliber revolver. After the burglary, a witness saw Officer Chappell sitting on his motorcycle, apparently watching for speeding motorists. The witness saw a man driving a silver pickup truck speed by Chappell, and the officer gave chase. The driver stopped after about a mile. Chappell motioned for the driver to move forward to avoid blocking traffic, and the driver complied.

Witnesses testified that as Chappell approached the truck, his gun was in its holster. When the officer was within two to four feet of the truck the driver shot him once in the chest. A forensics firearm examiner testified that Chappell was shot from a distance of three to eight feet. He testified that the casing of the bullet that killed Chappell matched the casings of 9-mm bullets provided by the burglary victim. Thus, the firearms examiner concluded, the bullets had been fired from a weapon taken in the burglary.

After firing the gun, the driver sped off, and Chappell radioed that he had been shot. The first officer who arrived at the scene testified that Chappell's gun was still in the holster. The holster had been unsnapped, however, indicating that Chappell may have tried to remove his weapon.

After leaving the scene of the shooting, the driver went to his nephew's house for help disposing of the truck. He dumped the truck in a canal off the Florida Turnpike, and a fingerprint found inside the driver's side window was later identified as Pietri's. Officer Chappell's death prompted an intense search, with Pietri identified as the prime suspect. Pietri stole another car on August 24 and was spotted by police officers near his sister's apartment and later by an off-duty officer at a church. Pietri threatened to shoot the officer, who was not in uniform, and escaped.

Later that same evening, a couple and their five-year-old son were in their car in the driveway of their home. As they prepared to leave, the husband realized he had left something in the house. When he returned to the house, Pietri got in the car and told the wife, "We're leaving, we're leaving." He told the woman, who was in the driver's seat, "Drive, or I'll shoot you." When she hesitated, Pietri pushed her out of the car and began to drive away. He slowed down, however, and let the husband, who had emerged from the house, take their son from the back seat.

Another police officer spotted the couple's car. The driver stopped and waved the officer toward the car. As the officer approached the car with his gun drawn, the driver sped off. Two other officers picked up the chase, which proceeded at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. Pietri eventually lost control of the car, then jumped out of the car and began running. As Pietri ran, he reached into his pants, pulled out a bag of cocaine, and put it into his mouth. Delray Beach officer Michael Swigert caught Pietri and arrested him.

Pietri testified in his own defense that he is blind in his right eye and that he developed a cocaine addiction which he financed with burglaries. He testified that Chappell stopped him while he was planning to sell stolen goods. Pietri admitted shooting Chappell, but said he had not planned to kill the officer and did not aim for his heart.

Pietri raises twenty issues on this direct appeal.[6]

*1351 I. GUILT PHASE

Two of Pietri's issues in the guilt phase concern jury selection.[7] Pietri first claims that the jury selection process deprived him of a fair trial because the trial judge (1) refused to strike the entire venire when the Clerk of the Court gave an overview of jury trials outside the presence of the trial judge, (2) refused to conduct individual voir dire, and (3) denied his motion for a change of venue.

We find the clerk's speech to the entire venire to be harmless error. State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129, 1139 (Fla. 1986). The communication occurred at the preliminary stages of trial and did not include any discussion of Pietri's case. The record is clear that when voir dire began in Pietri's case the trial court instructed the jury on general legal principles for criminal cases. Both the State and defense questioned prospective jurors about their ability to be fair and impartial. In addition, the jury was instructed on the burden of proof and the presumption of innocence and had a written copy of the instructions during its deliberations. Thus, the trial judge did not err in refusing to strike the entire venire.

We also find no error in the trial court's refusal to conduct an individual voir dire of what prospective jurors knew about the case. The trial court has the discretion to order individual voir dire. See, e.g., Davis v. State, 461 So.2d 67, 69 (Fla. 1984), cert. denied, 473 U.S. 913, 105 S.Ct. 3540, 87 L.Ed.2d 663 (1985).

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Bluebook (online)
644 So. 2d 1347, 1994 WL 525895, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pietri-v-state-fla-1994.