State v. Waff

373 N.W.2d 18, 1985 S.D. LEXIS 333
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 31, 1985
Docket14336
StatusPublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 373 N.W.2d 18 (State v. Waff) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Waff, 373 N.W.2d 18, 1985 S.D. LEXIS 333 (S.D. 1985).

Opinions

WOLLMAN, Justice.

Defendant was convicted by a Hughes County jury (venue having been changed [20]*20from Lawrence County) of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree and of first-degree murder. The jury rejected the State’s request that Waff be sentenced to death on the count of first-degree murder and instead recommended that he be sentenced to life imprisonment. SDCL 23A-27A-2; 23A-27A-4. Defendant has appealed. We affirm.

The charges against defendant were based upon the killing of Russell Keller on October 22, 1981. We set forth a full account of the circumstances that led to Keller’s death in our opinion in State v. Wiegers, 373 N.W.2d 1 (S.D.1985), which we incorporate by reference here. Accordingly, we will set forth in this opinion only those facts that are necessary for an understanding of the issues raised by defendant.

In essence, the State’s case against Waff was that he had been approached by one of his drug customers, Scott Whitesell, about killing Keller in exchange for the payment of money. Defendant initially demurred to this proposition, but later told Whitesell that he would perform the killing. White-sell passed this information on to Donald Wiegers, who in turn told Keith Iwan that he had found someone who would kill Keller. Iwan passed this information on to Melvin Brown, Keller’s father-in-law, who had earlier inquired of Iwan whether he knew anyone who would commit the murder. Brown then gave Iwan $2,000 in cash. Iwan passed the money on to Wiegers, who in turn gave it to Whitesell, who ultimately delivered it to defendant.

Iwan testified that Brown had told him that he, Brown,, had gone out in Keller’s place in response to defendant’s call for a wrecker. Brown told Iwan that when he reached the scene of the allegedly disabled vehicle he had spoken to the person who had placed the call. The vehicle driven by that individual was a van carrying New York state license plates. Rick Demma testified that he had permitted defendant, whom he had met earlier that year, to borrow his van, which bore New York license plates, a number of times in 1981. Although Demma had permitted some five other persons to use the van that year, he had never given Whitesell permission to use it. Defendant’s former girlfriend corroborated the fact that defendant had used Demma’s van on a number of occasions in the fall of 1981.

Keller’s widow testified regarding an incident during which her husband had received a call to go out with the wrecker some two weeks before he was killed. Because Keller was busy at the time, the call was answered by Brown. She also testified regarding the call that Keller had received on the evening of October 22, 1981, which caused him to drive to the place where he was later killed.

Whitesell testified in defendant’s case, as he had in Wiegers’ case, that prior to the killing Waff had shown him a small pistol that resembled the pistol that Waff pawned at a Rapid City gun shop on November 6, 1981. Whitesell also testified that defendant had shown him a bullet, on the tip of which defendant had carved an “x” in order to make it explode upon impact and thus be untraceable. Defendant also told Whitesell about his first attempt to kill Keller, which failed when Brown responded to defendant’s fake wrecker call in place of Keller. Whitesell also testified that on the day Keller’s body was found defendant had told him that he had killed Keller by shooting him in the head and then dragging his body into the ditch. Whitesell then delivered the balance of the contract killing price to defendant at defendant’s request.

The .25 caliber bullet that was removed from Keller’s skull had had an “x” inscribed on its tip. The bullet was identified as having been fired from the pistol that Waff had pawned on November 6, 1981, as was the spent cartridge case found at the scene where Keller had been shot. Additionally, the State’s evidence established that the firing pin on Waff’s pistol had been altered, probably by filing, after firing the fatal shot.

Testifying in his own behalf, defendant acknowledged that he had been involved in selling drugs in Rapid City following the [21]*21completion of his enlistment in the air force. He acknowledged that Whitesell was one of his customers and that White-sell had frequently come to his residence in 1981. Waff explained that he had purchased the .25 caliber pistol for self protection in May of 1981 after being robbed of some money and drugs. He testified that Whitesell had borrowed the pistol on one occasion in September of 1981. According to Waffs testimony, Whitesell had come to Waffs residence at approximately 11:30 on the morning of October 22, 1981, had asked to use Waffs telephone, and had borrowed the pistol, which he returned the following day. Telephone records indicate that a telephone call was made from Waffs phone at 11:54 a.m., October 22, 1981, to the telephone at Keller’s place of business in Deadwood.

Waff denied having committed the murder, denied any knowledge of the murder, and denied having altered the firing pin on his pistol.

Defendant has raised some seven issues in his original and supplemental briefs.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
373 N.W.2d 18, 1985 S.D. LEXIS 333, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-waff-sd-1985.