Wallace v. State

766 So. 2d 364, 2000 WL 1021575
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided July 26, 2000·No. 3D98-3069·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

766 So.2d 364 (2000)

Jeffrey Wade WALLACE, Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 3D98-3069.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

July 26, 2000.
Rehearing Denied September 13, 2000.

*365 Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender and Howard K. Blumberg, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General and Frank J. Ingrassia, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before GODERICH, GREEN, and SORONDO, JJ.

GREEN, J.

The appellant, Jeffrey Wade Wallace, appeals his convictions and sentences for one count of first degree murder and four counts of attempted first degree murder. *366 Based on the reasons which follow, we affirm in all respects.

On April 7, 1997, in the late evening hours, Wallace was at the Hideaway Bar at the Rum Runners complex in Key West. During Spring Break of 1996, Wallace had worked at the Hideaway Bar but was fired by the bar's manager, Brian Sawyer. Sawyer had rehired Wallace to work exclusively during Spring Break of 1997. Wallace's employment ended in March 1997. On the night in question, Wallace was seated at Rum Runners bar. He sat next to Danny Leon. Wallace, citing a prior encounter that he had with Leon, tried to provoke a fight with Leon. The bartender told Leon and Wallace to calm down and they did. The bartender gave Wallace a shot of whiskey. Wallace accused the bartender of watering down the drink. The bartender called Wallace an "a—h—" and threw the drink into the trash. Thereafter, Wallace exited the bar.

Later that same evening, Wallace returned to the bar. He had changed his clothes and was now wearing all black clothing. Leon approached Wallace. Wallace pulled out a gun and began shooting in the direction of the bar and away from Leon. The shots struck the bar's general manager in the shoulder and in the chest; he later died from these wounds. One of the shots grazed Sawyer on the side of the temple. The bartender was shot twice in the chest and once in the back. An off-duty bartender was shot once in the neck and once in the arm. Finally, a bystander who had just entered the bar and joined a crowd when the shooting began, was struck once in the shoulder.

A bar patron and an off-duty employee subdued Wallace until the police arrived. Prior to the arrival of the police, however, Wallace threatened to kill all of the bar's patrons and employees. Upon the police officers' arrival, Wallace was arrested and transported to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. While Wallace was being transported to the hospital, he told an officer that he was not delusional, that if he could have done more damage at the bar he would have, and that he was glad about the shooting. Wallace also told the officer that he would finish the job once he was released from jail. Wallace said that he had specific targets at the bar and that the people there were evil and Satanists. While at the hospital, Wallace told another officer that he hoped that he got all of them. He also stated that he shot the victims because they were evil. Wallace confessed that he had planned the incident for a year.

After Wallace was treated at the hospital, he was transported to the Key West Police Department where he gave an audio taped confession. The confession was elicited roughly one hour after the shooting incident. Wallace told the interrogating officer that the bar's staff was evil and that they had been "messing" with him. Wallace stated that he warned the staff that if they "messed" with him, he would hurt them. He also admitted that the murder was premeditated. Wallace maintained that he did not intend to hurt the bystander who was injured. Wallace stated that Rum Runners was filled with gambling, prostitution and Mafia influences and that it was evil because of the crimes being committed there.

Wallace added that he had purchased a black suit and a $200 pair of shoes as part of his planning process to rid the bar of its evil. He also had purchased the gun that was used in the shooting one year earlier. Wallace stated that he had waited one year in an effort to give the bar's employees a chance for redemption. He wanted an apology from the bar's staff and wanted them all to treat him decently.

While at the jail, awaiting trial, Wallace told an employee that if the people in the bar had not stopped him, he would have killed about 20 more people because he had 100 rounds of ammunition. Wallace added that the bar was a Mafia base and that drug deals, gambling and prostitution was happening at the bar.

*367 Wallace was charged with one count of first degree murder and four counts of attempted first degree murder. Wallace proceeded to trial by a jury. Wallace's defense at trial was that of insanity under the M'Naghten Rule as well as insanity by reason of delusions or hallucinations. Wallace was found guilty as charged and he now appeals.

On this appeal, Wallace cites three grounds for reversal. First, he asserts that the trial court repeatedly erred by permitting the state to elicit irrelevant, inappropriate, and misleading testimony pertaining to his insanity defenses. Secondly, Wallace maintains that the lower court erred by excluding his testimony, on hearsay grounds, regarding statements that were made to him by others prior to the shooting. Wallace maintains that such statements were relevant to prove his state of mind at the time of the shootings and therefore, were not hearsay. Finally, Wallace argues that his conviction for attempted first degree murder of the bystander must be reduced to attempted second degree murder where the evidence established that this shooting was accidental and that he did not have the requisite intent for attempted first degree murder.[1]

I. The Insanity Issue

Wallace's defense in this case was insanity both under the M'Naghten Rule and insanity by reason of hallucinations or delusions. He first argues on this appeal that he is entitled to a new trial because the trial court made various erroneous evidentiary rulings which allowed the prosecutor to improperly mislead the jury about the insanity defense by interjecting the law of self-defense into the parameters of the hallucination instruction. Wallace essentially argues that a defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity if, under the influence of delusions caused by his mental disease, he "truly believed" that other people were going to kill him and he "truly believed" that he had to kill those other people in self-defense.

In a criminal prosecution in Florida, a person is presumed sane and the burden rests with the defendant to present evidence of insanity. See Hall v. State, 568 So.2d 882, 885 (Fla.1990).[2]See also Preston v. State, 444 So.2d 939, 944 (Fla. 1984) vacated on other grounds, 564 So.2d 120 (Fla.1990). The appellant in this case relied upon the defense of insanity under both the M'Naghten Rule and the hallucination theory of insanity. Since, as the state correctly asserts, each of these theories has somewhat different standards, it is necessary for us to separately address the law and assess the evidence as to each.

A M'Naghten Rule

The legal test for insanity in Florida criminal cases has long been the "M'Naghten Rule." See Cannady v. State, 620 So.2d 165, 168 n. 1 (Fla.1993); Hall v. State, 568 So.2d at 885; Anderson v. State, 276 So.2d 17, 18 (Fla.1973); Piccott v. State, 116 So.2d 626, 627 (Fla.1959); Davis v. State, 44 Fla. 32, 32 So.

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