State v. Eric Carter

15 S.W.3d 509, 1999 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 876, 1999 WL 642867
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedAugust 25, 1999
Docket02C01-9809-CR-00299
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 15 S.W.3d 509 (State v. Eric Carter) 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 v. Eric Carter, 15 S.W.3d 509, 1999 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 876, 1999 WL 642867 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION

JOSEPH M. TIPTON, Judge.

The defendant, Eric L. Carter, appeals as of right from his conviction by a jury in the Shelby County Criminal Court for second degree murder, a Class A felony. He was sentenced to twenty-four years confinement in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction and that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter. We affirm the judgment of conviction.

At trial, Veronica Edwards, the victim’s daughter, testified that she picked up the victim in his truck after work on December 13, 1996. She said they went Christmas shopping, and later that evening, they bought crack cocaine from the defendant. She said she gave the victim directions to the defendant’s apartment. She said she and the victim went to the defendant’s apartment door and told him that they wanted to buy cocaine. She said the victim gave the defendant money, and the defendant gave them the drugs. She said the victim got the money from his left front pants pocket. She said the victim had a lot of money because it was payday and he had received a bonus check.

Ms. Edwards testified that she and the victim went to her house and smoked the crack and drank whiskey and wine coolers. She said the victim then drove them to the defendant’s apartment to buy more drugs. She stated that she went to the defendant’s apartment and bought the drugs *511 while the victim remained in the truck. She testified that she and the defendant then walked out to the truck together, and she entered the passenger’s side. She stated that the defendant, who was on the driver’s side of the truck, displayed a gun and demanded money from the victim. She said the victim stated that he did not have any money, and he started to leave the truck. She said that the victim had his hands up and that as he was getting out, the defendant shot the gun. She said the bullet went through the driver’s side window. She said the victim did not have a weapon. She said the victim got out of the truck and wrestled with the defendant. She said the defendant got money out of the victim’s pocket, then he shot the victim. She said she had not seen the gun as she and the defendant were walking toward the truck. She said that after the shooting, the defendant ran away, and she ran to get help. She said she knew the defendant, but she denied owing him money.

Ms. Edwards admitted that she lied to the police when they arrived. She said she also lied when she gave another statement at the police station. She said she was scared and wanted to hide the fact that they were buying drugs. She admitted that in her first statement to the police, she said that the defendant approached her at a convenience store, displayed a weapon, got in the truck, and drove to his apartment. She admitted that in the second statement, she said that she and the defendant conspired to rob the victim. She said that neither statement was true. She said she implicated herself in the shooting because that is what she thought the police wanted to hear. She said she has always maintained that the defendant shot the victim. She admitted that both she and the victim were high at the time of the shooting. She said that after the first gunshot, the' victim and defendant wrestled as the victim tried to get the gun away from the defendant. She iterated that they stopped wrestling, the defendant took the victim’s money, then the defendant shot the victim. She then said that the defendant began counting the victim’s money after the first shot, then the defendant shot the victim. She said that she and the victim ■ smoked crack together many times but that she quit smoking crack “cold turkey” one year before she testified.

Beulah Marr testified that she lives in the same apartment complex as the defendant and that she has a view of the parking lot. She said that she came home late on December IB and that it was dark outside. She said she saw a man sitting by himself in a truck in the parking lot. She said she went to her apartment and heard two gunshots about three to five minutes later. She said a lady then knocked on her door, said that her father had been shot, and asked Ms. Marr to call the police. Ms. Marr stated that she called 9-1-1. She said the woman was nervous and upset. Ms. Marr stated that she did not see the defendant that evening.

Officer John Simpson of the Memphis Police Department testified that he responded to a shooting call at the defendant’s apartment complex. He said he found the victim lying face down behind a truck, and the victim had no pulse. He said that Veronica Edwards was hysterical and that he secured her in the back of a patrol car.

Sergeant Dana Stine testified that bullets penetrated the victim’s truck. He said the victim was lying face down at the rear of the track. He said the victim’s pockets were turned inside out as if someone had gone through them. He said he inventoried the victim’s property and found eyeglasses and a four-inch pocket knife with the blade closed. He said that there were street fights in the parking lot but that it was dark. Sergeant Stine testified that he received permission from the defendant’s mother to search the apartmént that she rented for her sons. He said he found a fully-loaded .32 caliber revolver in the *512 apartment. He said he took a statement from Veronica Edwards, and she did not seem as upset as he would expect from someone whose father had been killed.

Officer George Coleman testified that he investigated the scene. He testified that a bullet was fired from outside the truck. He said the bullet went through the driver’s side, came out the driver’s seat, went across the top of the passenger’s seat and struck the window behind the passenger, knocking out the glass. He said that the area immediately adjacent to the parking lot was very dark and was not lit. He said that he found a whiskey bottle and wine coolers in the console of the truck.

Sergeant James Fitzpatrick testified that he investigated the truck after it was placed in police storage. He said that he removed the bullet from the passenger’s side rear window. He said that another bullet was recovered from the victim’s body. He said he spoke with the defendant’s mother and stepfather, Robert Lee, and took a statement from Mr. Lee. He said that both were congenial and cooperative. He said that he was present when Veronica Edwards gave her second statement, which was inconsistent with the first statement. He said that Ms. Edwards was arrested but never charged. He said that to his knowledge, a murder weapon was never found.

Robert Lee, the defendant’s stepfather, testified that he did not speak with the defendant on December 13 or 14 after the shooting. He admitted giving a statement to police in which he said he did talk to the defendant. He admitted that in the statement, he said that he spoke with the defendant at about 7:00 a.m. on December 14. He admitted stating that the defendant told him that the victim owed him money and that the victim refused to pay. Mr. Lee said he told the police that the defendant told him that the victim looked like he was reaching into his pocket for something and that the defendant shot the victim and ran off. In the statement, Mr. Lee said the defendant told him that he panicked and threw the gun in the river. Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
15 S.W.3d 509, 1999 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 876, 1999 WL 642867, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-eric-carter-tenncrimapp-1999.