Whitehead v. State

245 So. 2d 94
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedFebruary 19, 1971
Docket70-241
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 245 So. 2d 94 (Whitehead v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whitehead v. State, 245 So. 2d 94 (Fla. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

245 So.2d 94 (1971)

Howard WHITEHEAD, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 70-241.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

February 19, 1971.
Rehearing Denied March 22, 1971.

*95 Jack R. Schoonover, Port Charlotte, for appellant.

Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Warren H. Petersen, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lakeland, for appellee.

McNULTY, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of second degree murder in the shooting death of "Rocky" Doss and appeals. We reverse.

It undisputedly appears that appellant was a rancher in Lee County and was also, apparently, in the land clearing and road building business. "Rocky" was one of his employees, as was one Lynn Grant who lived in a trailer on appellant's ranch.

On the night of the tragedy the deceased's 14 year old stepdaughter, Kim, had been babysitting for Grant's children at the aforementioned trailer while Grant was visiting "Rocky" in the latter's home about a mile away. A cousin of Grant's, Joe Johnson, was also a visitor at the deceased's house and there had been quite a bit of drinking by everyone. Concerning events which followed, Grant testified for the state as follows:

"A — Me and Rocky was in the yard talking. Joe said he was leaving. Rocky said, `Well, I bet he goes over to see my daughter.' So we were standing there in the yard watching him. Instead of Joe turning to the left, he turned back to the right and went towards my home, where his daughter was staying. We got in the car and followed him over there.
* * * * * *
When we got there, to Joe, he was standing in the door of his truck at my trailer. I told Rocky that I'd talk to him and tell him to leave, and I was talking to him, and Rocky — and we were arguing. Joe was pretty loaded and he wasn't listening and I had ahold of him. Rocky come up from behind me and hit him, and I turned around and shoved Rocky away from him and told him there wasn't no sense to start no fight. Just about the time that I was shoving Rocky back, I heard a shot from a shotgun and heard Mr. Whitehead holler. I don't know exactly what he hollered, but I told them, I said, `Here comes Howard. Let's straighten up. We don't want no trouble.' And then Howard shot the gun again. I walked out to where Howard was coming down the road and tried to stop him, talk to him, you know, tell him everything was okay. About that time Joe come up and was telling Howard that I was holding him down and Rocky was beating on him, and Howard was telling me to stay back and I was trying to tell him everything was okay, and Howard hit me across the neck with the shotgun and knocked me down. When I got up, Rocky was on the ground and Howard was standing with his gun in his hand and saying, `Well, he's dead.' And about that time Mrs. Whitehead come up, and Howard turned to her and told her to go call the law, that he had killed Rocky.
Q — Did you see how it came about that Rocky got killed, or died?
A — Sir?
Q — Did you see how Rocky died?
A — No, sir. He was behind me."
* * * * * *

Joe Johnson also testified for the state substantially corroborating Grant as far as the latter went. But he supplemented Grant's testimony as to the actual killing of "Rocky" as follows:

"Q — All right, after Lynn told Howard Whitehead, `Everything is okay,' what happened?
A — Well, I think Howard told him to get back, and he wouldn't get back, so he just knocked him back.
Q — Knocked him back how?
A — Well, just hit him with a shotgun.
*96 Q — Where did he hit him?
A — Hit him in the shoulder. (Indicating.)
Q — Can you describe the manner in which he hit him?
A — He just hit him in kind of a sideways hit like that (Indicating.), just hit him there and it just went on up and hit him in the neck. I think the worst blow was on the shoulder.
* * * * * *
Q — All right, then what happened?
A — He went on by me; and best I can remember, he was telling this other boy to get back, and he acted like when he hit him with the shotgun that he was using it like a stick or something to knock him back with.
Q — Would you show us how he was using the shotgun.
A — Well, I would say just hit down in a way like that. (Indicating.)
Q — You saw Howard Whitehead come down with a shotgun on Howard Doss?
* * * * * *
A — Yes, sir.
Q — Do you know if the gun went off at that time?
A — Yes, sir.
Q — Do you know if anybody got hit?
A — Yes, sir.
Q — Who?
A — Mr. Doss.
* * * * * *
Q — Did the Defendant say anything?
A — I think he said, * * * `That boy is dead,' and he said, `I wouldn't have done it for nothing in the world.' He said he didn't mean to do it."
* * * * * *

Appellant testified on his own behalf that shortly after 10:00 o'clock on that terrible night, as he was preparing for bed, he heard "folks screaming and hollering and cussing" from the direction of Grant's trailer. He grabbed an old loaded shotgun and ran to see what was happening. His narration continues:

"A — As I ran down the road, I had kind of a funny feeling. I was right out in the broad open, you might say. So I shied over to the right where some cabbage trees and things were for a little protection. So as I got into the shadows, I fired the gun and I reversed it and fired it again. I took maybe three or four steps in between.

Well, I thought I heard Rocky's voice say, `That's Howard. We had better quiet down.' or something. It could have been Lynn that said it, but I thought it was Rocky. But, anyway, I realized then that I knew the voice and I wasn't scared or anything like that, and I walked on up towards the trailer, and by that time I had gotten within thirty-five feet of the trailer and Joe got to me first. He says, `I'm glad you come.' Says, `Them boys are crazy.' Says, `They're beating me to death.' Said, `They would beat me to death if you hadn't come.' Blood was running out of his face and all. I said, `Well, what are you doing here anyway?' He says, `Oh, I just come to see my cousin.' I says, `Yes, I bet.' And I walked a little closer. He says `You better not let them take you.' Said, `They'll beat both of us or kill both of us.' Why, I wasn't scared of them, as far as that goes, but I didn't know — didn't know this Lynn Grant because he hadn't been aworking for me but a little while, and he was well built, and, as I say, I really didn't know him, or I never met him up until just a few days before when my son hired him, but I knew that he was strong built and all and all country folks carry knives. In fact, I gave Doss his knife for a present.

* * * * * *

Well, Grant come up towards me, I guess trying to explain what happened. I says, `Just stand back.' I said, `Don't crowd me.' Well, he didn't even slow up or anything. *97 He just kept acoming. And I told him again, I says, `Just stand back.' Well, he just kept acoming.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Dawson v. State
597 So. 2d 924 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1992)
Thomas v. State
526 So. 2d 183 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1988)
In re: Rozier
17 Fla. Supp. 2d 52 (Orange County Court, 1986)
State v. Kadet
455 So. 2d 389 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1984)
Williams v. State
400 So. 2d 542 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1981)
Palmes v. State
397 So. 2d 648 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1981)
Gross v. State
397 So. 2d 313 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1981)
Cobb v. State
376 So. 2d 230 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1979)
Mitchell v. State
368 So. 2d 607 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1979)
Pouk v. State
359 So. 2d 929 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1978)
Carrizales v. State
345 So. 2d 1113 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1977)
Robinson v. State
338 So. 2d 1309 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1976)
Snell v. State
302 So. 2d 770 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1974)
Hood v. State
287 So. 2d 110 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1973)
Henry v. State
277 So. 2d 78 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
245 So. 2d 94, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whitehead-v-state-fladistctapp-1971.