Webb v. Commonwealth

387 S.W.3d 319, 2012 WL 5877963, 2012 Ky. LEXIS 195
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 21, 2012
DocketNo. 2011-SC-000594-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by69 cases

This text of 387 S.W.3d 319 (Webb v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Webb v. Commonwealth, 387 S.W.3d 319, 2012 WL 5877963, 2012 Ky. LEXIS 195 (Ky. 2012).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court by

Justice SCOTT.

A Bourbon Circuit Court jury found Appellant, Bass Webb, guilty of two counts of attempted murder and one count of-being a first-degree persistent felony offender (PFO). For these crimes, Appellant received a fifty-year prison sentence. He now appeals as a matter of right, Ky. Const. § 110(2)(b), alleging that (1) evidence that he was a former inmate was erroneously admitted, (2) evidence that he threatened a prison guard during apprehension was erroneously admitted, (3) the prosecution exceeded the scope of KRS 532.055 when telling jurors about prior convictions, and (4) he was entitled to a directed verdict on the PFO charge. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and vacate and remand in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Around 8:00 a.m. on July 31, 2009, Appellant drove his car through the parking lot of the Bourbon County Detention Center and into a wall against which Deputy Jailer Ryan Barkley and Pretrial Officer Josh Mason were standing. Mason saw the car coming and moved out of the way. However, Barkley did not see the car and the front bumper of the vehicle trapped him against the wall. The tires continued to spin while Barkley was trapped between the car and wall. Mason attempted to open the car’s door and gain control of the vehicle, but before he could do so Appellant put the car in reverse and sped away. While trapped against the wall, Barkley recognized Appellant because he had once been an inmate at the jail.

John Hanson, another deputy jailer, witnessed the incident from inside his own vehicle. He saw Appellant’s car come into the jail parking lot, accelerate, and hit Barkley. Hanson got out of his vehicle, ran to Appellant’s car, and tried to pull Appellant out. However, as he did so, Appellant backed away and drove off. Hanson re-entered his vehicle and followed Appellant. During this pursuit, Appellant’s car appeared to catch fire and began to fill with smoke. When Appellant’s car stopped several minutes later, Hanson approached, pulled Appellant out, and handcuffed him. Appellant had a beer in his hand and kept repeating “why don’t you just kill me.” Appellant then threatened to kill Hanson. Hanson detained Appellant, and he was later arrested.

A Bourbon County Grand Jury indicted Appellant on two counts of attempted murder and one count of first-degree PFO. Prior to trial, defense counsel moved to exclude statements regarding the witnesses’ prior experiences with Appellant at the jail. In the motion, defense counsel specifically requested that the court exclude any and all evidence of statements conveying Appellant’s reputation as a “violent inmate.” The trial court ruled that any evidence which would identify Appel[324]*324lant as a “violent inmate” would be excluded.

The issue presented itself again just pri- or to trial, and the trial court ruled that evidence that the witnesses recognized Appellant as being a former jail inmate could be presented to the jury for identification purposes only. Furthermore, the trial court noted it would provide the jury with a limiting instruction explaining how it was to use the evidence.

Appellant was brought to trial on May 16, 2011. That morning, the defense moved to exclude evidence that Appellant had threatened to kill Deputy Jailer Hanson upon apprehension. The trial court ruled, however, that the threat was part of the act and was therefore admissible.

The jury ultimately found Appellant guilty of all charges, and the trial court adopted the jury’s recommended sentence of fifty years in prison. This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

Appellant sets forth four separate arguments: two alleging evidentiary error, one alleging that the Commonwealth exceeded the scope of KRS 532.055 during the penalty phase, and one alleging that he was entitled to a directed verdict. We will discuss them in that order.

A. Evidence Appellant Was a Former Inmate

Appellant argues that evidence he was a former inmate should have been excluded at trial. Specifically, he alleges that this evidence was irrelevant under KRE 401, and unduly prejudicial to the jury’s decision regarding what level of offense he committed under KRE 403, as he was willing to stipulate as to his identity.1,2 We review a trial court’s evidentiary ruling for abuse of discretion. Anderson v. Commonwealth, 231 S.W.3d 117, 119 (Ky.2007) (citing Woodard v. Commonwealth, 147 S.W.3d 63 (Ky.2004)). “The test for an abuse of discretion is whether the trial judge’s decision was arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair, or unsupported by sound legal principles.” Id. (citing Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Thompson, 11 S.W.3d 575, 581 (Ky.2000)).

During the pretrial hearing on April 29, 2011, defense counsel argued that witness statements regarding prior experiences with Appellant should be excluded. In this motion, defense counsel requested that the court exclude any and all statements by any potential witnesses that suggested the intentionality or wantonness of Appellant’s acts. Specifically, the defense sought the exclusion of a statement by Detective James Primm which suggested that Appellant was a known “violent inmate” and therefore this incident was no accident. The trial court ruled that no witnesses could call Appellant “violent,” but that the Commonwealth had the right to present testimony to explain what had occurred. At that point, however, there was no discussion regarding the exclusion [325]*325of testimony that would generally identify Appellant as a former inmate.3

On May 16, 2011, the day of trial, a bench conference was held at which the defense sought to exclude the testimony of Barkley and Mason which would identify Appellant as a former inmate of the Bourbon County Detention Center. Defense counsel argued that he thought the court had already ruled for the defense on that motion, and that it would be unduly prejudicial to tell the jury that his client had previously been an inmate. Furthermore, the defense argued that they were willing to stipulate to Appellant’s identity. The trial court said that it had only excluded evidence of Appellant’s history as a “violent inmate” and was inclined to allow the evidence because “it goes to his identity and to both parties knowing each other.” The trial court ruled that the Commonwealth could introduce the evidence for identity purposes only, and that it would also provide a limiting instruction as to the purpose for which the testimony could be used. At trial, the court provided an admonition to the jury stating that any testimony regarding Appellant being a prior inmate was not to be used in determining guilt in this case. The trial court repeated its admonition after the testimony was presented.

1. KRE 401

Appellant argues that the testimony provided by Barkley and Mason should have been excluded, as the fact that he had been a former inmate of the Bourbon County Detention Center lacked relevance as required by KRE 401.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
387 S.W.3d 319, 2012 WL 5877963, 2012 Ky. LEXIS 195, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/webb-v-commonwealth-ky-2012.