State v. Moore

546 S.W.2d 10
Missouri Court of Appeals·Decided November 23, 1976·No. No. 37071·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

STEWART, Judge.

A jury convicted the defendant of second degree murder and fixed his punishment at ten years imprisonment. Defendant appeals from the judgment entered upon the jury’s verdict. We affirm.

The defendant does not attack the sufficiency of the evidence. The facts may be briefly stated. Shortly after 1:30 a.m. on November 7, 1972, Clarence Muse, the victim, and three companions left a nightclub in the City of St. Louis at closing time. The four were seated in an automobile and were ready to drive away when John Baker, who was referred to as Johnny Boy, came to the passenger side of the car. An argument ensued between Baker and the victim. Muse got out of the right side of the car and met Baker near the rear of the automobile. During the ensuing argument Baker knocked Muse to the curb. While Muse was down, Moore, the defendant, fired one shot into his chest. Muse died as a result of the gun shot wound.

Immediately after the shooting defendant fled in an automobile along with Baker and at least one other person. Defendant was arrested in Mississippi ten months later.

Defendant testified on his own behalf. He stated that he was at the nightclub the night of the shooting. As he left the club he saw Baker and the victim fighting in the street. As he approached the fighting men, Baker grabbed a gun from defendant’s waistband and shot the victim. Defendant then snatched the gun from Baker and Baker fled the scene. Defendant testified that he walked back to the club and waited for some friends who were in the club. Two witnesses for defendant testified they were in the club when a man named Carl entered the door and shouted “Johnny Boy had to shoot his pistol,” and that defendant returned to the club immediately afterward.

Defendant’s first contention is that the trial court erred “in failing to instruct the jury as follows:

The presence of a person at or near the scene of an offense at the time it was committed is alone not sufficient to make him responsible therefor. (Second Paragraph MAI-CR 2.10)”

for the reason that this instruction was required by the evidence and the applicable Supreme Court rules.

Defendant did not submit the above as an instruction at the trial. The instruction which he now contends the court was required to give, though not requested, is the second paragraph of MAI-CR 2.10.1 The [12] defendant does not contend that the court was required to give MAI-CR 2.10 in its entirety.

Note 3 to MAI-CR 2.10 provides that the second paragraph may be omitted when there is no evidence that the defendant was present at or near the scene of the crime. The notes do not provide for the giving of the second paragraph as a separate instruction. The second paragraph of MAI-CR 2.10 as an independent instruction does not come within the category of instructions that must be given though not requested. See the discussion in State v. Flynn, 541 S.W.2d 344, Mo.App.St.L.Dist., 1976.

Under a factual situation similar in effect to that present here, an instruction having the same import as the instruction under discussion here was offered by defendant.2 In that case it was held that the trial court was not required to give a “theory of innocence instruction” even though requested. In State v. Broomfield, 510 S.W.2d 843, 846 (Mo.App.1974) this court quoting from State v. Banks, 491 S.W.2d 247 (Mo.1973) said:

“A defense bottomed on evidence an accused had nothing whatever to do with the crime charged does not come within the connotation of the ‘theory of innocence’ principle . .

The court was not required to give the instruction patterned after the second paragraph of MAI-CR 2.10.

Note 4 on the use of MAI-CR 2.10 provides that it is not error to fail to give that instruction, “even if there is substantial evidence that defendant was a joint, active participant or actor so long as there is no evidence that he was only an aider or encourager.” The State’s theory of the case supported by three witnesses was that defendant alone shot and killed the victim. The defense was that the defendant had nothing to do with the killing; that the shot was fired by Johnny Boy, without the aid or encouragement of defendant. There was no evidence that defendant was an aider or encourager. Neither MAI-CR 2.10 nor any part of it was required to be given.

The defendant next contends that “the court erred in refusing to grant counsel’s timely request for a mistrial after the prosecutor asked the defendant if he had asked two witnesses to commit perjury in depositions taken on defendant’s behalf, for the reason that there was no foundation or evidence to sustain said question and that it was improper and highly prejudicial.”

On direct examination defendant denied that he was involved in any altercation with Mr. Muse and that he did not shoot Muse. He testified that Muse was shot and killed by Johnny Boy who had taken defendant’s gun from him.

On cross-examination it was established that defendant knew Gloria Knight and Sharron Carroll. Defendant also testified that he did not see them outside the club in the vicinity of the shooting. The court sustained defendant’s objection when the State asked if the two women had testified on defendant’s behalf in a deposition. The State then asked the following question:

“Q. (By Mr. Callahan) Isn’t it a fact, Mr. Moore, that you asked Gloria Knight and Sharron Carroll to commit perjury for you in this trial by taking those depositions?”

The defendant objected and asked that the jury be instructed to disregard the statement. He also asked the court to de[13] clare a mistrial. In a discussion at the bench the State advised the court that it had “sworn testimony to back up the question.” The court sustained the objection and admonished the jury to disregard the question and not to take it into consideration in their deliberations. The court declined to declare a mistrial.

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State v. Moore, 546 S.W.2d 10 (Mo. Ct. App. 1976).

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