State v. Jacoway

11 S.W.3d 793, 1999 Mo. App. LEXIS 2461, 1999 WL 1255678
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 28, 1999
DocketNo. WD 56604
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 11 S.W.3d 793 (State v. Jacoway) 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. Jacoway, 11 S.W.3d 793, 1999 Mo. App. LEXIS 2461, 1999 WL 1255678 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

LAURA DENVIR STITH, Presiding Judge.

Defendant-Appellant, Gerren E. Jaco-way, was convicted of one count of second degree murder, one count of first degree assault, and two counts of armed criminal action. Defendant alleges that the trial court erred when it declared testimony regarding the blood alcohol content of Mr. Charles Brown, one of the victims, inadmissible. Defendant argues that this evidence would have corroborated other testimony suggesting that Mr. Brown was intoxicated, and would logically tend to prove that Mr. Jacoway acted under the influence of sudden passion arising from adequate cause. Because we find that this evidence was neither logically nor legally relevant, the trial court did not abuse its broad discretion by excluding this evidence. Affirmed.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Most of the facts concerning this case up to the time of the attack came from the testimony of Defendant, as he was the only witness to those events. According to his testimony, on August 29, 1997, he received his paycheck and deposited part of it, keeping two $100 bills for himself. On his way home he saw Mr. Charles Brown, and began to talk with him. Because Mr. Brown had repaired Defendant’s transmission in the past and had attempted to repair Defendant’s sister’s car, Defendant asked Mr. Brown if he could help with some additional repairs to prepare Defendant’s car for inspection. Mr. Brown agreed.

Defendant mentioned that before they could work on the car, he had to go to Builder’s Square to buy some tools for the job. Mr. Brown accompanied Defendant to the store. On the way there, according to Defendant’s testimony, Mr. Brown insisted that Defendant buy some beer. The two men stopped, bought a six-pack of beer and a pint of gin, and continued on to the store; both were drinking.

On their way back from Builder’s Square, Defendant’s car broke down on 71 Highway and the two men were given a ride back to the Good to Go, located at 75th and Prospect Streets, by a passerby. Mr. Brown offered to tow Defendant’s car for $20 and some more beer, and Defendant purchased the beer for him. Although Defendant later testified that he would have preferred to have had another person tow his car because he did not want to continue to pay Mr. Brown and buy him beer, the fact is he and Mr. Brown got his car, and headed back to 71 Highway in it to retrieve Defendant’s car. On the way, they stopped at a 7-Eleven Store. Defendant attempted to buy Mr. Brown gas and more beer there, but the cashier could not break Defendant’s $100 bill. When Defendant informed Mr. Brown of this, Mr. Brown became very angry, yelled at Defendant, took his $100 bill and went back into the store. He returned from the store without any beer, and continued to be belligerent, causing Defendant to forget [795]*795to ask Mr. Brown to give the $100 bill back.

When Defendant and Mr. Brown arrived at Defendant’s car, Mr. Brown was still hostile toward Defendant and demanded that he quickly prepare the car to be towed. As they towed the car, one of Mr. Brown’s tires blew out. Now even more angry, Mr. Brown began swinging a lug wrench at Defendant, threatening to hurt him and break the windows in his car, and eventually chased him up the street. Defendant ran to his sister’s house.

Remembering that he left his new tools in his car, Defendant asked his sister to drive him back to the car, which she did. After retrieving his tools without incident, they returned to Defendant’s sister’s house. Defendant testified further that, at this point, he tried to forget about the whole incident and took a shower. He later realized that he no longer had the $100 bill, however, and at that point ran out of the house in search of Mr. Brown.

Defendant testified that, while looking for Mr. Brown, he recalled that a few weeks earlier Mr. Brown said he had broken another man’s arm. Considering this, as well as Mr. Brown’s recent swinging of a lug wrench at him and the fact that Mr. Brown had been drinking, Defendant testified he felt he needed to protect himself. When he approached 71 Highway, therefore, he grabbed a piece of a bed frame he saw on the ground for protection and headed for the liquor store.

When he approached the store, Defendant testified that he saw Mr. Brown and his sister, Ms. Yvonne Barnes, walking behind him. Pointing the piece of bed frame at Mr. Brown, Defendant demanded his money. According to Defendant, Mr. Brown denied his request, grabbed the bed frame and started to swing at Defendant with his fists. Defendant then lost control, grabbed the frame back and proceeded to hit Mr. Brown with it. When Defendant felt Ms. Barnes grab his arm, he hit her as well.

Defendant beat both Mr. Brown and Ms. Barnes to the ground, causing the death of Mr. Brown and serious injury to Ms. Barnes. Defendant then threw the piece of bed frame in some bushes and ran away. Following witness descriptions, police later found Defendant on the 71 Highway median and arrested him.

Mr. Jacoway was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action with respect to Mr. Brown, and first-degree assault and armed criminal action with respect to Ms. Barnes. In addition to instructing the jury on first degree murder, the court submitted instructions on the lesser included offenses of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter for the killing of Charles Brown. On September 10, 1998, the jury found Mr. Jaco-way guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action for the August 27, 1997, killing of Mr. Brown, and also found Defendant guilty of first-degree assault and armed criminal action for the beating of Ms. Barnes. This appeal followed.

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS

Mr. Jacoway’s single claim of error on appeal concerns the exclusion of evidence which, if admitted, he alleges may have caused the jury to convict him of voluntary manslaughter rather than of second-degree murder. As he raises no claim of error in regard to his convictions of assault of Ms. Barnes or of armed criminal action, we affirm those convictions without further discussion.

Mr. Jacoway claims that the lower court erred when it determined that evidence of Mr. Brown’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC)1 was inadmissible, arguing:

Evidence that Mr. Brown was legally intoxicated and in fact had a blood alcohol content of .186 was relevant to the issue of whether Mr. Jacoway acted un[796]*796der the influence of sudden passion, caused by the actions of the intoxicated Charles Brown. Evidence of Mr. Brown’s blood alcohol content would have corroborated Mr. Jacoway’s testimony that Mr. Brown had been drinking heavily on the day he died. Such evidence would have logically tended to prove a matter in issue in this case, specifically, whether Mr. Jacoway acted under the influence of sudden passion arising from adequate cause.

Judge J.D. Williamson carefully considered defense counsel’s argument and offer of proof on this issue, but sustained the State’s objection to the attempt to introduce the victim’s BAC as evidence on the basis that the issue of intoxication of the victim was uncontested, he had prohibited the State from denying intoxication, and the BAC of the victim would not directly show violence or support a claim of fear of the victim, stating:

THE COURT: All the evidence hasn’t come in, that’s true.

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Bluebook (online)
11 S.W.3d 793, 1999 Mo. App. LEXIS 2461, 1999 WL 1255678, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jacoway-moctapp-1999.