State of Tennessee v. Travis Boyd and Rodriccus Funzie

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedDecember 23, 2015
DocketW2014-00676-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished

This text of State of Tennessee v. Travis Boyd and Rodriccus Funzie (State of Tennessee v. Travis Boyd and Rodriccus Funzie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Tennessee v. Travis Boyd and Rodriccus Funzie, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON August 4, 2015 Session

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TRAVIS BOYD and RODRICCUS FUNZIE

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Shelby County No. 1201930 James C. Beasley, Jr., Judge

No. W2014-00676-CCA-R3-CD - Filed December 23, 2015 _____________________________

Appellants, Travis Boyd and Rodriccus Funzie, were jointly indicted and tried for first degree murder. Upon verdicts of guilty as to each appellant, the trial court imposed a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Appealing their convictions, both appellants challenge the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the trial court‟s admission of recorded jail conversations. Appellant Boyd challenges the trial court‟s ruling allowing testimony concerning an altercation between Boyd and the victim that occurred on the Saturday night prior to the murder; the admission of evidence gathered during the course of Boyd‟s allegedly illegal forty-eight-hour hold; the trial court‟s ruling allowing identifications of Boyd by five witnesses; and the State‟s failure to provide complete discovery. Appellant Funzie challenges the trial court‟s admission of two witnesses‟ statements as substantive evidence. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Criminal Court Affirmed

ROGER A. PAGE, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ALAN E. GLENN and ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY, JR., JJ., joined.

Paul J. Springer (at trial and on appeal) and Varonica R. Cooper (at trial), Memphis, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Travis Boyd.

Richard S. Townley (on appeal); Marvin Earl Ballin and Benjamin Katz (at trial), Memphis, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Rodriccus Funzie.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Tracy L. Alcock, Assistant Attorney General; Amy P. Weirich, District Attorney General; and Pamela Fleming-Stark and Reginald Henderson, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

This case concerns the shooting of the victim, Antuan Farris, at the barber shop where he was employed. Appellants Boyd and Funzie1 were both indicted for first degree murder for their participation in the shooting.

I. Facts and Procedural History

A. August 22, 2013 Continuation of Motion to Suppress

At the commencement of this hearing, the court stated on the record, “I think this is further testimony on a motion to suppress. I think I‟ve already ruled on everything but the one witness left; is that right?” Counsel agreed, stating that the only witness remaining was Cory Hemphill. The State questioned Mr. Hemphill about his whereabouts on September 13, 2011. Mr. Hemphill stated that he was present at a barber shop in the area of Mountain Terrace and Frayser Boulevard on that date. Mr. Hemphill was familiar with Boyd and his father and observed Boyd that day around 2:30 p.m. Mr. Hemphill stated that he “just seen [sic] [Boyd] walking from the end of the store towards the barber shop and he started shooting . . . at [the victim]. Him [sic] and [the victim] said something and I seen [sic] [the victim] take off running and I seen [sic] [Boyd] shooting behind him.” Mr. Hemphill recalled hearing three to four gunshots.

At this time, Mr. Hemphill had pulled his vehicle to the side of the road. He turned around and exited his vehicle to locate the victim and assess his condition. He found the victim lying in the back of a house, bleeding. The victim told him that “„[Narvin Boyd‟s]2 brother Travis . . . shot him.‟” Mr. Hemphill remained at the scene and spoke with police, and then he subsequently gave a statement at the police department. At that time, Mr. Hemphill identified Boyd from a photographic line-up.

On cross-examination, Mr. Hemphill stated that he had known Boyd for five to six years. He did not have a “relationship, per se,” with Boyd; he simply knew of him

1 Because this case involves two appellants, we will refer to each by his surname or collectively as “appellants.” 2 Because Boyd has a brother, Narvin Boyd, who was involved in this matter, we will refer to him as “Narvin Boyd” to avoid confusion. At times, Narvin Boyd is also referred to by his nickname, “Da Da.” -2- through Boyd‟s father. He clarified that on the day in question, he pulled up to the barber shop and saw Boyd walking across the parking lot. Mr. Hemphill said that when Boyd walked in front of the victim, he “look[ed] like he had something in his pocket, like he was, you know, up to something.” Other individuals were standing with the victim— Courtney, Adoll, and Michael (no surnames given). Mr. Hemphill described that the barber shop was located at the corner of a strip mall that contained other stores. After the shooting, the victim ran alongside the strip mall past the other store fronts, and the three individuals ran around the back of the strip mall.

Mr. Hemphill stated that when the police arrived, they took his contact information and asked him what he had seen. He told the officers what the victim had told him about the identity of the shooter. Mr. Hemphill remained at the scene for fifteen to twenty minutes, and he denied seeing Boyd brought back to the scene by police during that time.

With regard to the photographic identification, Mr. Hemphill did not recall the time of day that he made the identification or the name of the officer who administered the line-up. He stated that at the time he viewed it, the only information written on it was the offense number. Mr. Hemphill wrote the name “Travis Boyd” under Boyd‟s photograph, and he signed it. He said that his identification of Boyd was based on his previous knowledge of him and confirmed that he saw Boyd shoot the victim.

Based upon the testimony, the trial court denied Boyd‟s motion to suppress Mr. Hemphill‟s identification of him.

B. Trial

Appellants‟ trial began on November 20, 2013. The State called the victim‟s mother, Mae Smith, to establish the date of the victim‟s death. The State‟s next witness was Rami Habhab, who, at the time of the murder, owned an EZ Store 3 located at the corner of Frayser Boulevard and Mountain Terrace that was part of the strip mall. He maintained a video surveillance system at his business, and he allowed police access to his system so that they could copy the footage captured outside of his store on the day in question. Through him, the video and multiple still photographs were introduced into evidence and viewed by the jury.

The videotape provided by Mr. Habhab showed Funzie‟s green Cavalier as it pulled into the EZ Store‟s parking lot. The driver‟s side door opened, and a black male

3 This business is described by various witnesses as “EZ Store,” “EZ Mart,” and “EZ Shop.” However, because the business owner referred to it as an “EZ Store,” we will maintain that nomenclature throughout this opinion. -3- wearing clothing that matched the description of what Funzie was wearing on the date in question exited the vehicle. The male walked around the front of the vehicle and out of camera range. Seconds later, the victim ran past the Cavalier from the opposite direction, followed presumably by Funzie. Both men ran around the corner of the building. Funzie then returned to his vehicle, allowed the person who was firing the weapon to enter the vehicle, and drove away.

The State then called Ryan Henderson, who testified that the victim had been his barber and had been “like a big brother to [him].” Mr. Henderson said that on Saturday, September 10, 2011, he finished work around 9:00 p.m., as did the victim.

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State of Tennessee v. Travis Boyd and Rodriccus Funzie, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-tennessee-v-travis-boyd-and-rodriccus-funzie-tenncrimapp-2015.