White v. Commonwealth

178 S.W.3d 470, 2005 WL 3131486
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 6, 2006
Docket2004-SC-000082-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 178 S.W.3d 470 (White 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
White v. Commonwealth, 178 S.W.3d 470, 2005 WL 3131486 (Ky. 2006).

Opinion

ROACH, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

Appellant, Kenneth White, was found guilty of Complicity to Murder Sam Ca-tron, the Pulaski County Sheriff. He raises five claims of error: (1) that the prosecutor was allowed to introduce significant evidence of other crimes in violation of KRE 404(b); (2) that the aggravating circumstance — that Sheriff Catron was a sheriff involved in the performance of his duties — was not supported by the evidence and should not have been submitted to the jury; (3) that the prosecutor failed to give adequate notice of the evidence of aggravating circumstances to be offered as required by KRS 532.025(l)(a); (4) that the trial court improperly refused his motion for a continuance; and (5) that the trial court improperly refused to give the jury an instruction on facilitation of murder, a lesser-included offense of the complicity charge. Finding no merit to these claims, we affirm Appellant’s conviction.

II. BACKGROUND

On April 13, 2002, a volunteer fire department in Pulaski County held a fish fry for the various candidates vying for public office in the upcoming local election. Sheriff Catron, an incumbent running for re-election, attended the fish fry. Various *474 other candidates, including Sheriff Ca-tron’s political opponent and former deputy, Jeff Morris, were also present.

Sometime after 7:00 p.m., Sheriff Catron left the fish fry to put two cakes he had purchased in his police cruiser, which was parked in the lot outside. As he unlocked his car, Sheriff Catron was shot in the head by a sniper located about 75 yards away. He fell to the ground and died at the scene a few minutes later.

David Brian Hoff, who was in the parking lot at the time of the shooting, heard the shot and saw Sheriff Catron fall to the ground. Almost immediately thereafter, he heard a motorcycle start some distance away. Turning toward the sound, he saw a man in camouflage clothing with a rifle slung over his shoulder riding away on a motorcycle at high speed. Hoff got in his truck and pursued the rider in his truck. A few minutes later, Hoff cáught up to the rider, who had wrecked his motorcycle and was attempting to get back on. Hoff hit the motorcycle with his truck, knocking the rider off and sending the rifle flying. Hoff then got out of his truck and approached the rider while brandishing a tire tool. The rider, Danny Shelley, took of his helmet as Hoff approached. Hoff told bystanders to call the police because Shelley had just killed Sheriff Catron, to which Shelley responded, “I did.” A sheriffs deputy arrived a short time later and took Shelley into custody.

Kentucky State Police Detective Glenn Todd Dalton interviewed Appellant and Jeff Morris later that evening. They were considered “of interest” to the police because both men were friends of Shelley, the motorcycle Shelley had been riding was registered to Morris, and the last number dialed on Shelley’s cell phone belonged to Appellant. In addition to the facts tying the men to Shelley, Morris was Sheriff Catron’s political opponent and Appellant was Morris’s campaign manager. During the interview, ■ Appellant denied any involvement in the shooting, though he did admit that he had been with Morris and Shelley earlier that day working on the campaign. He indicated that he had heard Shelley talk about killing the sheriff and that Morris had been present when the statements were made. When asked his whereabouts that evening, he claimed that he had been shopping with his wife when the shooting occurred. After interviewing Morris and Appellant, Detective Dalton formally charged Shelley with Sheriff Catron’s murder and questioned him about the crime. Shelley quickly admitted to shooting the sheriff and implicated Morris. As the interview progressed, Shelley also revealed that Appellant had been involved in the murder plot.

The next day, police searched Appellant’s house. Morris was present when they arrived. During the search, Appellant surrendered a micro-cassette on which he had recorded some of his phone conversations the previous evening. After the search, police drove Appellant to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office for a second interview. During the interview, he offered to gather evidence against Morris, but the police declined. 1 As the police drove him home, Appellant told the officers that he had heard Shelley say the only way to beat Sheriff Catron in the election was “to blow his head off’ and that Shelley had bragged about his marksmanship.

The next day, Morris and Appellant were arrested. Shelley, Morris, and Ap *475 pellant were all subsequently indicted for the murder, and the prosecutor gave each man notice that he intended to seek the death penalty. Morris and Shelley entered plea bargains wherein they accepted sentences of life without the possibility of parole for 25 years in exchange for testifying against Appellant.

At trial, Shelley testified extensively about his relationship with both Morris and Appellant. He stated that he had met Appellant several years before, and they had been involved in the drug trade together. He testified that Appellant had financed Morris’s campaign for sheriff, and that the three of them had spoken several times about killing Sheriff Catron. He also claimed that several days before the fish fry, Morris and Appellant told him that Sheriff Catron intended to arrest, and possibly kill, the three of them before the election. He also testified that he was afraid of Appellant because he had bragged about killing people, always carried a gun, had once pointed his gun at someone’s face during a business deal in Shelley’s presence, and had warned Shelley never to cross him or he would hurt Shelley’s family.

Morris also testified about his relationship with Appellant. He had previously been employed as a sheriffs deputy but had resigned because of a dispute with the sheriff over vacation time and allegations that he had stolen a wallet from evidence. A few months after his resignation, he decided to run against Sheriff Catron. Morris claimed that Appellant had approached him in the fall of 2001 and offered to help finance his campaign. He also testified that Appellant originally claimed to want to help because Morris had helped save his brother’s life. Appellant eventually spent between $25,000 and $80,000 on the campaign (compared to approximately $5000 of Morris’s own money). During their relationship, Morris learned that Appellant was heavily involved in the drug trade. Morris claimed that when he attempted to back out of the campaign financing arrangement, Appellant threatened him and his family, claiming he had already committed two murders in another county.

Both Shelley and Morris testified that Appellant participated extensively in planning and preparing the sheriffs murder. According to both men, Morris and Appellant purchased the bullets for Shelley’s rifle and Appellant was present when they had purchased a battery for the getaway motorcycle. They claimed that Appellant suggested both the place from where Shelley was to shoot as well as the escape route he should take afterward. Shelley further testified that he called Appellant while waiting to shoot the sheriff, and Appellant told him, “Don’t let me down.

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Bluebook (online)
178 S.W.3d 470, 2005 WL 3131486, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-v-commonwealth-ky-2006.