State v. Gerald Henry

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee·Decided February 25, 1999·No. 01C01-9505-CR-00161·Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT NASHVILLE FILED MAY 1996 SESSION

February 25, 1999

STATE OF TENNESSEE, )

) Cecil W. Crowson Appellee, ) Appellate Court Clerk No. 01C01-9505-CR-00161

)

) Davidson County

v. )

) Honorable Seth Norman, Judge )

GERALD LEANDER HENRY, ) (First degree murder, attempted first degree ) murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, ) especially aggravated robbery, and two Appellant. ) counts of especially aggravated burglary)

For the Appellant: For the Appellee:

Karl Dean Charles W. Burson District Public Defender Attorney General of Tennessee and and David M. Siegel Christina S. Shevalier Senior Assistant Public Defender and 1202 Stahlman Building Karen Yacuzzo Nashville, TN 37201 Assistant Attorney Generals of Tennessee (AT TRIAL & ON APPEAL) 425 Fifth Avenue North Nashville, TN 37243-0493

Hollis I. Moore, Jr.

and Victor S. Johnson, III David M. Siegel District Attorney General Senior Assistant Public Defenders and 1202 Stahlman Building Kymberly Haas Nashville, TN 37201 Assistant District Attorney General (AT TRIAL) Washington Square, Suite 500 222 Second Avenue, North

Nashville, TN 37201-1649

OPINION FILED:____________________

JUDGMENTS OF CONVICTION FOR FIRST DEGREE MURDER, ATTEMPTED FIRST DEGREE MURDER, ESPECIALLY AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPING, AND ESPECIALLY AGGRAVATED ROBBERY AFFIRMED; JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION FOR ESPECIALLY AGGRAVATED BURGLARY RELATING TO WILLIAM REX WEAVER VACATED AND CONVICTION AS MODIFIED TO AGGRAVATED BURGLARY MERGED WITH THE ESPECIALLY AGGRAVATED BURGLARY CONVICTION RELATING TO LARRY HARRINGTON; CONVICTION FOR ESPECIALLY AGGRAVATED BURGLARY OF LARRY HARRINGTON AFFIRMED BUT JUDGMENT MODIFIED TO REFLECT MERGER

Joseph M. Tipton Judge

OPINION

The defendant, Gerald Leander Henry, appeals as of right from his convictions by a jury in the Davidson County Criminal Court for first degree murder, for attempted first degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and especially aggravated robbery, Class A felonies, and for two counts of especially aggravated burglary, Class B felonies. The trial court sentenced the defendant as a Range I, standard offender to life imprisonment for the murder conviction, to twenty years for each Class A felony conviction, and to ten years for each Class B felony conviction. The court ordered that the sentences imposed for the first degree murder and the attempted first degree murder convictions be served consecutively. The defendant contends that:

(1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions;

(2) the trial court erred by admitting the 9-1-1 tape of Larry Harrington asking for help;

(3) the trial court erred by admitting a videotaped statement of Sean O’Brien, a codefendant, as a co-conspirator under Rule 803(1.2)(E), Tenn. R. Evid., as the conspiracy did not continue after both the defendant and O’Brien had been arrested, the fruits of the crime had been seized, and the defendant had given a confession;

(4) the trial court erred by excluding the testimony of Dr. H.J.

Francois because his name was not on a notice of experts filed pursuant to Rule 12.2(b), Tenn. R. Crim. P.;

(5) his two convictions for especially aggravated burglary stemming from a single entry into a room violate the double jeopardy clauses of the United States and Tennessee constitutions;

(6) the trial court erred by not dismissing the especially aggravated burglary counts because the element of serious bodily injury had already been prosecuted in two other counts of the indictment; and

(7) the trial court erred by applying enhancement factors inappropriately, by finding that no mitigating factors applied, and by imposing consecutive sentences.

We affirm the judgments of conviction for first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery and especially aggravated burglary relating to Larry Harrington. We reduce the conviction for especially aggravated burglary relating to William Rex Weaver to aggravated burglary pursuant to T.C.A. § 39-14-404(d). However, we merge the aggravated burglary conviction into the especially aggravated murder conviction relating to Larry Harrington because double jeopardy principles prohibit the entry of more than one judgment of conviction imposing more than one sentence for the burglary. We affirm the conviction for especially aggravated burglary of Larry Harrington but modify the judgment to reflect the merger of the aggravated burglary into the especially aggravated burglary.

Lillian Ewing testified that she was at the House of God Church around noon on July 16, 1992, with Dovie Shuford, a friend who lived in a dormitory room at the church. She said that as they were leaving, the telephone rang and she answered it. She stated that she heard a male voice ask for help. Ms. Ewing testified that Ms. Shuford thought that it was a prank telephone call, but she believed that the man sounded like he was seriously hurt. She said that she hung up the receiver, and the telephone rang a second time. She stated that when she answered the telephone, a man stated, “Help me. Help me. I’ve been shot. I’ve been shot.” She said that he also told her that he was working for the church. Ms. Ewing testified that she and Ms. Shuford then drove to the other end of the church property where they believed the workers were located. She stated that as she drove around the dormitories near Heiman Street, she saw a man covered in blood on his knees barely open the door to a dormitory room and say, “Help me.” Ms. Ewing said that as she turned the car around and drove toward Ms. Shuford’s dormitory room to call the police, she saw police and firemen looking in the wrong direction. She directed them to the victim.

Paulette Weaver, the wife of the murder victim, testified that her husband worked for National Guardian Security Services. She said that he wore glasses and a work uniform and that each day he carried only enough cash to buy lunch.

Larry Harrington testified that he worked for National Guardian Security Services installing alarm systems and that he worked with Mr. Weaver, the murder victim. He stated that on July 16, 1992, he and Mr. Weaver were installing alarm systems on air conditioners at the House of God Church. He said that they parked the company’s white, Astro van in front of the dormitory room in which they were working. He stated that they ate lunch in the van at approximately 12:30 p.m. Mr. Harrington testified that after he ate his lunch, he went inside the dormitory room in which they were working to call his wife on the telephone. He stated that Mr. Weaver remained in the van in the driver’s seat finishing his lunch. Mr. Harrington said that while he was talking to his wife, he saw through the open door a white man and a black man, both of whom he did not know, standing at the passenger’s door of the van. He identified the defendant as the black man. He stated that he did not see anything in the hands of either the defendant or the other man. Mr. Harrington testified that he hung up the telephone and just as he walked out the door, he saw Mr. Weaver climb out the passenger’s side of the van. Mr. Harrington said that when he asked whether something was wrong, the man with the defendant pointed a gun at him and told him to raise his hands. He said that the two men told him and Mr. Weaver to go inside the room, cursed them, and told them to be quiet.

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