Williams v. State

354 So. 2d 829, 1977 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1581
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided November 15, 1977·No. 3 Div. 754·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

TYSON, Presiding Judge.

The appellant, Bessie S. Williams, alias, was indicted for the first degree murder of one Charles Jackson “by shooting him with a pistol.” The jury found the appellant guilty of murder in the second degree and fixed punishment at fifteen years imprisonment. The trial court entered judgment accordingly, and, following the filing of a motion for new trial and a hearing thereon, overruled same.

Phillip Paradise, Jr., testified that he was employed by the Montgomery Fire Department, and he identified a photograph of one Charles Jackson, an uncle by marriage, who is now deceased.

Leroy Fuller, an employee of the Pekin Cafe in Montgomery, Alabama, stated that on the evening of September 23, 1976, he attended a high school football game at Cramton Bowl, accompanied by Charlie Briggs, Betty Floyd, and the appellant, Bessie Williams. The group took a bottle of wine and a bottle of gin. Upon leaving the football game, they stopped at the “Cozy Room” on the corner of Monroe and Lawrence Streets where each had one beer. The group then drove to the “Cool Breeze,” [831]*831or “House of Breeze,” a night club on Cleveland Avenue. While there, the group encountered Charles Jackson, the deceased, who was “spinning records.”

According to Fuller, the appellant, Bessie Williams, was “back and forth through the place, having some beers and dancing.” She was observed seated at the bar, talking with the deceased, Charles Jackson. Fuller indicated they were there about two hours, and that he went outside to the car and went to sleep. He stated that he sent word through a friend to Charles Jackson that he would be sitting outside to drive him home. Fuller stated that he was awakened by the sound of some noise and an argument between Charles Jackson and Bessie Williams. Fuller indicated that Jackson and Williams had gotten in the car, then began tussling, and their feet were inside the car and their bodies outside on the sidewalk. From the record (R. pp. 15-16):

“Q. And what happened after that?
“A. And Bessie got in and they started tussling.
“Q. Okay.
“A. And by that time they went out of the car. Their heels were in the car, but they was outside the car.
“Q. Okay. What happened?
“A. After that a shot fired once and by that time I got out the car, but when I got around, around the back of the car, she was standing with the pistol pointed and he was sitting in the car and at that time she shot him.
“Q. Okay. Let me ask you this, please. You’re saying Charles Jackson got in the car and was sitting down when the Defendant got in the car?
“A. Yes.
“Q. All right. Now, where was Deborah Robinson, please?
“A. Her and Bessie come out together.
“Q. Okay. They came out together, about the same time?
“A. Yes.
“Q. Okay. Did you know whether or not the Defendant, Bessie Williams, had a pistol?
“A. I know she used to have one.
“Q. Okay. Did you say anything to either Bessie Williams or Deborah Robinson in reference to a pistol or the whereabouts of a pistol while they were tussling out there?
“A. I said something about the pocketbook.
“Q. And what did you say about the pocketbook?
“A. I said: Give me your pocketbook or something like that. I said something about the pocketbook.
“Q. And who did you tell that to?
“A. Anne Robinson.
“Q. And what did Anne Robinson say, or do you recall?
“A. I can’t recall that.”

On cross-examination, Fuller indicated that he had had several glasses of wine and beer during that evening as he was tired, that he had gotten up before 6:00 o’clock that morning. He admitted giving the police officers a signed statement that evening concerning the shooting, in which he stated he saw Deborah Robinson trying to get into the car, but that she did not make it because Charles Jackson and the appellant were “tussling.” Fuller stated that the appellant’s head and shoulders were on the ground, and that the deceased was on top of her when he heard the first gunshot. He stated he got out and ran around the car, then saw the appellant fire a second shot into the automobile in the direction of Jackson, the deceased. Fuller estimated that just a few seconds elapsed between the two shots.

Fuller also indicated that immediately after the shots were fired, the appellant and Deborah Anne Robinson got in the car and asked him to take them to the emergency room at St. Margaret’s Hospital. Fuller indicated that he and Jackson were good friends and had formerly worked together at T. G. & Y. in Montgomery.

Deborah Anne Robinson, an employee of the Pekin Cafe in Montgomery, indicated that on the night of September 23, 1976, she, accompanied by Bessie Williams, the appellant, Charlie Briggs, and Leroy Fuller, [832]*832went to a high school football game at Cramton Bowl. Robinson indicated that the group stopped by the “Cozy Room” and had one beer each, then drove over to the “House of Breeze” on Cleveland Avenue in Montgomery, Alabama, arriving there shortly before 11:00 o’clock in the evening. Robinson indicated that she sat “at the bar, drinking a few beers and danced.” She stated that Charles Jackson, the deceased, was the disc jockey there, and there was a record hop going on. She stated that Bessie Williams was observed having a few beers, dancing, and talking with Charles Jackson. She stated the group stayed there until about 1:00 the next morning when they walked outside, that Fuller was already in the car waiting for them.

Robinson stated she overheard part of the conversation between Jackson and Williams, that Jackson was “fussing because Williams had ordered a bowl of soup and pig feet and she told Jackson that he was going to pay for it.” She stated the argument was over the food and who was to pay. Robinson indicated that she heard the appellant tell Charles Jackson “that she was going home, she didn’t care if he didn’t go, but she was going because she had to go to school.” She stated that the two began “tussling and arguing,” and the “way I seen it, Bessie hit Charles first.” From the record (R. pp. 44-45):

“Q. Okay. And then they started tussling; and you got out of the car, is that correct?
“A. Yes.
“Q. What, if anything, did you see then? “A. Bessie going for her gun.
“Q. Okay. And where was the gun, if you know?
“A. In her bra.
“Q. Okay. Had you seen that gun earlier that night?
“A. Yes.
“Q. And where was it when you saw it earlier?
“A. Me and Bessie went to the bathroom together and she took it out of her pocketbook and put it in her bra.
“Q. Took it out of her purse and put it in her bra?

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Williams v. State, 354 So. 2d 829, 1977 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1581 (Ala. Ct. App. 1977).

354 So. 2d 829 (Williams v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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