State v. Jones

581 S.E.2d 107, 158 N.C. App. 465, 2003 N.C. App. LEXIS 1176
Court of Appeals of North Carolina·Decided June 17, 2003·No. No. COA02-909·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

MARTIN, Judge.

Defendant was charged with the first degree murder of Anthony Mahoney, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, and first degree burglary. A jury convicted him of second degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, and first degree burglary. He appeals from the judgments entered upon the verdicts.

The State’s evidence at trial tended to show that Mahoney was shot to death at his home in Fayetteville sometime between 10:00 p.m. and midnight on the evening of 26 January 1998. Nyron Pitterson, a friend of Mahoney’s who was staying with him at the time, testified that he was in the living room when he heard a loud knock on the front door. Pitterson looked through the peep hole and recognized defendant and his cousin, both of whom he had met previously. Pitterson informed Mahoney, who was in a bedroom, that defendant and his cousin were at the door. Mahoney went to the door and Pitterson went into the kitchen. Pitterson heard Mahoney ask who was at the door and defendant respond “Corey.” Pitterson heard the door open and immediately heard gunshots. Upon hearing the gunfire, Pitterson ran through a glass door in the kitchen. Pitterson testified that someone was firing at him as he ran through the backyard, and that the shooter chased him through the backyard, through a swamp area, and into an adjoining cul-de-sac. Pitterson was screaming for help, and a neighbor opened a door, let him inside, and contacted police.

Corporal J.B. Thomas testified that he and other officers entered Mahoney’s house, which had been ransacked, and discovered [467]*467Mahoney, who appeared to be deceased. A forensic pathologist testified that Mahoney had been shot three times and died as a result of two gun shot wounds, one to the abdomen and one to the chest. Pitterson told police that defendant and his cousin had entered Mahoney’s house and killed him, and he identified the two assailants from a photographic line-up. Pitterson told police he knew defendant lived with his girlfriend, Tomekia Burgos. A police K-9 team was used to track the perpetrators’ trail and led police to a nearby street where police observed a vehicle which had been left unattended. A registration check revealed the vehicle was registered to Burgos.

Burgos testified for the State that she and defendant lived together at the time of the shooting. On the night of the shooting, defendant was driving her black 1994 Acura. Defendant was supposed to pick Burgos up from work when her shift ended at 11:40 p.m., but he never came. Burgos got a ride home from work with her brother sometime after midnight. Upon arriving home, Burgos received a call from Carlos Palmer, Mahoney’s brother. Palmer was upset, and told Burgos he believed defendant had killed Mahoney. After hanging up the telephone, Burgos discovered a note defendant had left for her on the dresser. In the note, defendant wrote that he and his cousin “got to get [sic] ready to hit these niggas. You know who. I gotta pay the [sic] bills, and deez niggas don’t realize [sic] I ain’t on my feet now so I got to get their cash.” Burgos then checked to see if her gun was behind the door where she usually stored it; it was not. Burgos testified the gun was behind the door when she left for work earlier that day.

Burgos further testified that she discovered approximately $2,000 in cash on the dresser along with a note from defendant that it was to be used as bond money if something were to happen. Burgos testified that the money was defendant’s, that he made money selling drugs, and that he bragged to her about how much money he made selling drugs. She stated that defendant had not been employed since May 1997 and would not have received that amount of money through any legitimate business. Burgos testified defendant had been involved in selling drugs since June of 1997, that he sold crack cocaine, and that she had observed the drugs in her home.

Defendant brings forward only two of his six assignments of error contained in the record on appeal. The four assignments of error not addressed in defendant’s brief are deemed abandoned. See N.C. R. App. P. 28(a), 28(b)(6).

[468]*468In his first argument, defendant asserts he is entitled to a new trial because the trial court erroneously permitted jurors to ask questions of a witness for the State. During the testimony of Margaret Godwin, a member of the crime scene unit of the sheriffs department, the State introduced several photographs of the crime scene taken by Godwin for the purpose of illustrating her testimony. Godwin was in the process of describing a photograph of Mahoney’s body when the following colloquy transpired with a juror:

The Witness: This is the victim’s chest.
Juror #9: Okay. That’s the way you had it turned?
The Witness: Yes.
Juror #9: So that’s like turned upside down?
The Witness: No, this is the floor right here.
Juror #9: Right.
The Witness: This is chest sideways.
Juror #9: Where would the victim’s head be?
The Witness: Up here.
Juror #9: Okay.
The Witness: The shirt was pulled down.
Juror #9: Okay.

Shortly thereafter, jurors questioned Godwin about a photograph of the outside of the sliding glass door:

Juror #10: Is the part right here, this here, is this the part the glass came out of?
The Witness: Yes, ma’am.
Juror #9: Now, you told me that this is the entire frame which would have stood here, or is it from this — I mean—
The Witness: This is the frame that was laying out. There’s a screen frame and a glass frame from this side of the door.
Juror #9: I’m trying to get some perspective. Is this one side of a sliding glass door?
The Witness: Yes.
[469]*469Juror #9: Okay.
The Witness: This is both sides of the door.
Juror #9: Yes, but this—
The Witness: This came from this side.
Juror #9: Thank you.

The same jurors further questioned Godwin about a photograph of the front door:

Juror #10: That’s from the outside or the inside?
The Witness: Outside. Around the wooden door frame area.
Juror #9: So if I’m getting this right— so if this is a duplex, when you’re facing that door, there’s another door directly behind you?
The Witness: Yes.
Juror #9: Okay.
The Witness: I’m not exactly sure if that door is directly opposite the other door or not. I do know that they had shared steps, and you had to go up on the deck and turn left to go into that apartment.
Juror #9: Okay.

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State v. Jones, 581 S.E.2d 107, 158 N.C. App. 465, 2003 N.C. App. LEXIS 1176 (N.C. Ct. App. 2003).

581 S.E.2d 107 (State v. Jones) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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