State v. Coffman

378 S.W.3d 405, 2012 WL 4077239, 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 1142
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 18, 2012
DocketNo. ED 97325
StatusPublished

This text of 378 S.W.3d 405 (State v. Coffman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Coffman, 378 S.W.3d 405, 2012 WL 4077239, 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 1142 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

KURT S. ODENWALD, Judge.

Introduction

Michael Coffman (“Coffman”) appeals from the judgment entered upon a jury verdict of second-degree murder, Section 565.021.1 A jury found Coffman guilty of the second-degree murder of Donald Eber-hardt (“Eberhardt”) after being instructed regarding first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and voluntary manslaughter. On appeal, Coffman argues that the trial court erred in refusing to submit an instruction for involuntary manslaughter because the record supports an inference that Coffman caused Eberhardt’s death through reckless conduct. Because the evidence adduced at trial did not support the submission of an instruction to the jury for involuntary manslaughter, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Factual and Procedural History

The evidence established at trial, construed in the light most favorable to the defendant, is as follows. On the morning of November 13, 2009, William Spurlin (“Spurlin”) was at the home of his girlfriend Elisha Hunter (“Hunter”). When Spurlin awoke that morning, Coffman and Eberhardt were, in Hunter’s bedroom. Spurlin, Coffman, and Eberhardt smoked methamphetamine together and then Coff-man and Eberhardt asked Spurlin for a ride to the Metrolink station. Spurlin agreed. Spurlin drove the vehicle. Coff-man sat in the front passenger seat and Eberhardt in the back seat.

As the vehicle approached the Metrolink station, Spurlin drove around for a while so Coffman could talk to Eberhardt. Coff-man and Eberhardt began to argue over a debt Eberhardt owed to Coffman. The argument quickly escalated. Eberhardt made a disparaging comment about Coff-man’s wife, causing Coffman to respond by punching Eberhardt in the face and putting him in a headlock between the two front seats. As the vehicle approached a stop sign, Coffman drew a .380 semiautomatic handgun, placed it against Eber-hardt’s head, and pulled the trigger, killing Eberhardt. Coffman then told Spurlin to stop the car, allowing Coffman to remove Eberhardt’s body from the vehicle, and leave the body in an alley. Coffman waved his gun at Spurlin and demanded Spurlin drive away. Spurlin complied. A nearby off-duty police officer discovered Eber-hardt’s body and dialed 911.

Over the next several hours, Coffman forced Spurlin to help him cover-up the shooting by abandoning Spurlin’s car and changing their clothes. Coffman detained and threatened Spurlin during that time. Police eventually came to Hunter’s home where Spurlin and Coffman were hiding. Coffman fled when the police arrived, but the police arrested Spurlin. Spurlin identified Coffman and Eberhardt from separate photo lineups. Police later located and arrested Coffman.

The State charged Coffman with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. At the jury instruction conference, Coff-man requested the trial court submit a jury instruction for involuntary man[407]*407slaughter, which the trial court refused. The trial court submitted jury instructions for first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and voluntary manslaughter. The jury acquitted Coffman of the charge of first-degree murder, but found Coffman guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The trial court entered a judgment accordingly. Coffman now appeals.

Point on Appeal

In his sole point on appeal, Coffman argues that the trial court erred in refusing to submit a jury instruction for involuntary manslaughter.

Standard of Review

We review a trial court’s refusal to submit a proposed lesser-included jury instruction for an abuse of the trial court’s discretion. State v. McCabe, 345 S.W.3d 311, 318 (Mo.App. W.D.2011). If this Court finds that the trial court refused to give an instruction, we will reverse only if the failure to offer the instruction was prejudicial to the defendant. State v. Burks, 237 S.W.3d 225, 228 (Mo.App. S.D. 2007).

Discussion

The law is well settled that a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on a lesser-included offense when the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the defendant, establishes a basis for that instruction. State v. Johnson, 284 S.W.3d 561, 575 (Mo. banc 2009). An instruction on a lesser-included offense is required where the evidence provides a basis for both acquittal of the greater offense and conviction of the lesser-included offense. Id.

Coffman contends that the record, viewed in the light most favorably to him, supports an instruction for involuntary manslaughter. A person commits the crime of involuntary manslaughter if he or she recklessly causes the death of another. Section 565.024. A person acts reckless if he or she “consciously disregards a substantial and unjustified risk that circumstances exist or that a result will follow, and such disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.” Section 562.016.4. Coffman contends that the evidence supports an inference that he recklessly caused the death of Eberhardt, but did not act knowingly. In particular, Coffman asserts that evidence was adduced at trial that he shot Eberhardt as the driver applied the vehicle’s brake, thereby shaking the vehicle, and inadvertently causing Coffman to pull the trigger of the handgun he was holding to Eberhardt’s head. Coffman’s theory is that the evidence supports a conclusion that Coffman acted recklessly in placing a loaded gun to Eberhardt’s forehead, while the car was moving, but that the actual discharge of the gun was unintentionally caused by the shaking of the decelerating vehicle, not Coffman’s conscious act.

The State cites State v. Johnson, 284 S.W.3d 561 (Mo. banc 2009) and State v. Glass, 136 S.W.3d 496 (Mo. banc 2004) for the proposition that a trial court does not necessarily err when refusing to submit a jury instruction for a lesser-included offense even when evidence supports the submission. The Supreme Court held in Johnson that “[t]he failure to give a different lesser-included offense instruction is neither erroneous nor prejudicial when instructions for the greater offense and one lesser-include offense are given and the defendant is found guilty of the greater offense.” Johnson 284 S.W.3d at 575, citing Glass, 136 S.W.3d at 515 (emphasis in original). The State argues that pursuant to Johnson and Glass, the trial court did [408]*408not err in refusing to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter because the trial court submitted instructions for the original charge of first-degree murder, and the lesser-included charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, and the jury found Coffman guilty of a greater offense of second-degree murder.

Coffman contends that Johnson and Glass are inapplicable to the instant case. Coffman notes that in both Johnson and Glass,

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Related

State v. Burks
237 S.W.3d 225 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Whalen
49 S.W.3d 181 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2001)
State v. Johnson
284 S.W.3d 561 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2009)
State v. Glass
136 S.W.3d 496 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2004)
State v. McCabe
345 S.W.3d 311 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2011)

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Bluebook (online)
378 S.W.3d 405, 2012 WL 4077239, 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 1142, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-coffman-moctapp-2012.