Sinclair v. State

657 So. 2d 1138, 1995 WL 368403
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 22, 1995
Docket82499
StatusPublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 657 So. 2d 1138 (Sinclair 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
Sinclair v. State, 657 So. 2d 1138, 1995 WL 368403 (Fla. 1995).

Opinion

657 So.2d 1138 (1995)

Kevin SINCLAIR, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 82499.

Supreme Court of Florida.

June 22, 1995.

*1139 James B. Gibson, Public Defender and George D.E. Burden, Asst. Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Carol M. Dittmar, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

We have on appeal the judgment and sentence of the trial court imposing the death penalty upon Kevin Sinclair. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. We affirm the conviction but vacate the sentence of death.

On January 20, 1993, at approximately 1:00 p.m., Kristine Pellizze was awakened by a loud bang at her home on Wakefield Street in Palm Bay. The noise was from a taxicab smashing into her garage door. Upon further investigation, she observed a man slumped over in the driver's seat with his head hanging out the car window. Pellizze then called 911. The paramedics arrived on the scene and noticed that the man in the cab had a hole on the right side of his head and suspected that he had been shot. A search for the weapon was unsuccessful.

The cab company was contacted, and it was determined that the victim had picked up a passenger on Gibbs Street in Melbourne shortly before being shot. Further investigation revealed Sinclair as a potential suspect. Detective Bauman called Sinclair's home at approximately 11:30 p.m. for an interview. Shortly after midnight, two detectives arrived at Sinclair's home and conducted an audio-taped interview. During the interview, Sinclair gave Detective Bauman the clothing that he had worn that day. On his yellow shorts was a reddish-brown splattering consistent with blood. Sinclair explained that while he was walking home, he fell and soiled his shorts. The detectives left Sinclair's home, stating that they might have to contact him again.

The following morning, Detective Bauman returned to Sinclair's home and asked him if he was available to come to the police station for further questioning. Sinclair agreed. At the police station, Detective Bauman advised Sinclair of his constitutional rights and then conducted a video-taped interrogation. During the interrogation, Sinclair admitted that he accidentally shot the victim. The detectives subsequently obtained permission to search Sinclair's room and recovered five .22 caliber spent casings and two .22 caliber full bullets.

Sinclair was indicted for first-degree murder from a premeditated design. At trial, Sinclair testified that he summoned a cab to take him to his mother's home. He further testified that he never intended to pay the cab fare and was going to run from the cab. Sinclair admitted that he carried a loaded .22 caliber handgun in his pocket as he entered the cab. He stated that he pulled the gun out of his pocket to scare the victim as Sinclair left the cab. Sinclair also admitted that the gun was discharged in the cab and that the cab driver was shot in the head. Although Sinclair stated that the gun fired only one time, the medical examiner testified that there were two separate and distinct gunshot wounds to the right side of the victim's head. Sinclair denied taking any money from the cabdriver. Testimony showed that the victim collected $61 plus tips that day. A thorough search of the victim's person, the scene, and the cab was conducted, but the money was never found.

It was further determined that for some time prior to the date of the murder, Sinclair and his friends devised a scheme to defraud Sinclair's mother out of her money. It was established that Sinclair forged the signature of his mother on numerous bank withdrawal request forms and removed $4,000 from her bank account. On the day of the murder, Sinclair and his mother were scheduled to appear at the bank to discuss the unauthorized withdrawals of money.

On the eve of the murder, Sinclair openly discussed his plans to commit robberies in order to gain money. In particular, he told one friend that he planned to rob a cabdriver.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the charge of first-degree murder and recommended death by a vote of eleven to one. *1140 The trial judge, finding one aggravator[1] and no statutory mitigators, and giving little to no weight to three of the nonstatutory mitigators,[2] sentenced Sinclair to death. On appeal, Sinclair raises seven issues, only three of which need to be discussed.[3]

GUILT PHASE

As his first claim, Sinclair asserts that during the guilt phase of the trial, the court erred in allowing witness Evette Busby to testify over objection to admissions against interest by Sinclair. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(b)(1)[4] requires the prosecutor to disclose the statement of any person whose name is furnished to the defense through discovery. Sinclair contends that the trial court committed reversible error when it ruled that such a statement was admissible without prior disclosure and without conducting an adequate Richardson hearing pursuant to Richardson v. State, 246 So.2d 771 (Fla. 1971). The State argues that the trial court properly conducted a Richardson hearing and determined that no discovery violation had occurred. Further, the State claims that the judge found that the State had no knowledge of Busby's statement prior to Busby's testifying in court, and thus there was no need to determine whether Sinclair was prejudiced from the State's failure to disclose the statement.

Under Richardson, when the State violates a discovery rule, the trial court has discretion to determine whether the violation resulted in harm or prejudice to the defendant, but this discretion can be properly exercised only after adequate inquiry into all the surrounding circumstances. State v. Hall, 509 So.2d 1093 (Fla. 1987). In making such an inquiry, the trial judge must first determine whether a discovery violation occurred. If a violation is found, the court must assess whether the State's discovery violation was inadvertent or willful, whether the violation was trivial or substantial, and most importantly, what affect it had on the defendant's ability to prepare for trial. Id.

In the present case, the defense attorney, after he objected to the testimony offered by witness Evette Busby, specifically requested a Richardson hearing. The defense contended that though Sinclair was aware that Ms. Busby would testify that Sinclair had discussed robbing people, robbing stores, or stealing cars and selling parts to raise money, the witness denied ever saying that Sinclair *1141 stated he was going to rob a cabdriver. When the defense made the request, the judge excused the jury, stated that he was convening a Richardson hearing, and inquired of counsel as to the discovery status of statements made by the witness to the State. The court then inquired of the assistant state attorney:

THE COURT: ... .
Did this witness advise you prior to trial, prior to your response to discovery, that the Defendant told her specifically that he was going to rob a cab or is that something that has just surfaced here today?

The assistant state attorney then responded:

MR. BAUSCH: Judge, I feel that if the specific information about robbing a cab would have been told to me that I would have put that in the discovery. I do know that Ms. Busby told me that he was discussing different types of robberies, and she specifically mentioned robbing stores, such as 7-11's or that kind of thing.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
657 So. 2d 1138, 1995 WL 368403, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sinclair-v-state-fla-1995.