State v. Rook, 2

• Decision Date: 03 November 1981
• Docket Number: No. 2,2
• Citation: 304 N.C. 201,283 S.E.2d 732
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. John William ROOK.

Page 732

283 S.E.2d 732

304 N.C. 201

STATE of North Carolina v. John William ROOK.

No. 2.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Nov. 3, 1981.

[304 N.C. 204] Atty. Gen. Rufus L. Edmisten by Asst. Atty. Gen. J. Michael Carpenter, Raleigh, for the State.

C. D. Heidgerd, Raleigh, and J. Franklin Jackson, Erwin, for defendant.

CARLTON, Justice.

Defendant brings forth assignments of error relating to several pre-trial matters, an alleged error in the guilt determination phase of his trial and several alleged errors relating to the sentencing phase of his trial. After a careful consideration of these assignments, as well as the record before us, we find no error in any of these proceedings and affirm.

I.

At trial, evidence for the State tended to show that at approximately 7:20 p. m. on 12 May 1980, Ann Marie Roche, a registered nurse, was walking home on Avent Ferry Road. She was clad in a T-shirt and blue jeans, was wearing glasses and was carrying a brown gym bag. As she was nearing the Lake Raleigh Road intersection defendant, who was driving a Mercury automobile borrowed from his neighbor, turned left onto Lake Raleigh Road and blocked her path. Defendant beckoned Ms. Roche and she approached his car. The two talked for several minutes and then began arguing and, within seconds, defendant began to beat her.

All of this was observed by Howard B. Harris, Jr., who lived on Avent Ferry Road, and George Edward Schlager, who was jogging by. Mr. Schlager approached the car just as defendant was beating Ms. Roche. Ms. Roche was on the ground with her back against the driver's door. Her face and arms were cut and bleeding, and defendant was crouching over her, armed with a stick or some other object about one or two inches in diameter. Mr. Schlager asked if he could help and defendant stood and replied, "just go on, man, this doesn't concern you." Mr. Schlager then saw Mr. Harris and went to confer with him. Both saw the car leave with Ms. Roche in the passenger seat, with her head down, crying. Mr. Schlager jogged toward the car and observed the license number, RAP-980. He wrote the number on a matchbook and gave a copy of it to Mr. Harris.

Two other persons, Donna Atkins and Pamela Dodd, observed the struggle between Ms. Roche and her assailant. Ms. Atkins positively identified defendant as the assailant. Ms. Dodd observed a man beating a young woman. She testified:

I saw a guy over the front seat beating a girl brutally. The steering wheel appeared to jar at times he was beating her so hard. Then they were out of the car. He was swinging her around by the hair on the ground once that I can remember. At that time I ran in the house and called the police.

Although Ms. Dodd did not positively identify the assailant as the defendant, her description of the assailant matched that of the defendant.

Officer Ronnie Holloway arrived in the area at approximately 7:30 p.m. in response to the calls. Although he patrolled the area, he could not find the car.

On 13 May 1980 at approximately 7:30 p. m., Norman Cash, a patrol officer with Dorothea Dix Hospital, was on routine patrol in the area just south of Lake Raleigh. In a large, open field he discovered a pile of clothing and a billfold. A short distance away, he observed a body and notified the Wake County Sheriff's Department. Deputy Pickett of the Wake County Sheriff's Department was called and he, too, observed the body. At 8:45 p. m., Officer William E. Hensley, a crime scene specialist, was called to the scene. He observed a white female body, badly bruised and battered, with cuts and abrasions. The ground around the body was covered with blood. The body was nude and was approximately thirty-five feet from the pile of clothing. A T-shirt, blue jeans and glasses were recovered as well as other articles including a brown bag. The body was identified as Ann Marie Roche.

From the license number recorded by Mr. Schlager the police were able to trace the car and locate the owner. On 15 May 1980, Officer Holloway went to Stovall Drive and found the car in question. Surveillance was set up and the car was subsequently stopped by officers. It was operated by Ms. Edwards, the owner, who told the police that defendant had borrowed her car on the evening of 12 May 1980. She told police that when he borrowed the car, defendant was dressed only in blue jeans, was barefooted, and had pulled his hair back in a pony tail. This description matched that given by all the witnesses to the assault. Surveillance of the area continued and the defendant was observed entering a trailer near where the car was parked. Raleigh police officers approached the trailer, knocked on the door, and were told to enter. Inside were two white males, two white females and a small child. Sergeant G. W. Black requested permission to search for defendant and this was denied. Shortly thereafter, however, the defendant came from the hallway of the trailer and stated, "I guess I'm the one you're looking for." Defendant was then taken into custody and placed in a patrol car.

On 15 May 1980, Deputy Sheriff P. J. Bissette obtained a search warrant to search the trailer where defendant had been arrested and conducted a search. During the search, Officer Bissette found and seized a pair of blood-stained blue jeans. Officer Hensley, who assisted in the search, found a Rapala Finland knife and a leather carrying case on the dash of a vehicle parked in front of the trailer. He then inspected the Mercury vehicle which had been taken to the Wake County Courthouse and found fresh stains on the driver's side as well as grass caught between certain sections of the vehicle. He observed red stains on the hubcaps and underneath the vehicle. During the autopsy of Ms. Roche, Officer Hensley observed an unusual circular impression, approximately five centimeters in size, on the right hip. He noted a corresponding five centimeter area in the chassis of the Mercury automobile.

S.B.I. agent Mark Nelson came to the crime scene on the evening of 13 May at approximately 11:30 p. m. He made numerous tests and observations and stated his opinion that one particular bloody smear was consistent with the large bloody object, like a body, being rolled or dragged down the slope of the field. He also examined the Mercury automobile and found blood in numerous places. He also performed tests on the vaginal and anal smears taken from Ms. Roche's body and found the presence of sperm.

Dr. Dana D. Copeland, a pathologist, conducted the autopsy on Ms. Roche on 14 May 1980. He observed cuts on the front part of her body, all parallel. The cuts were straight across and were of a uniform, shallow depth. The placement and uniform depth, in Dr. Copeland's opinion, indicated that the cuts had been made deliberately shallow and "with some care and effort." His conclusion was that Ms. Roche's cuts were caused by a sharp instrument like a knife. Dr. Copeland found numerous lacerations on her head and hands which were, in his opinion, produced by beating with a long, blunt instrument with a round striking surface. In addition to the numerous cuts and abrasions throughout Ms. Roche's body, her left leg was completely fractured and broken at the top. The pelvis was fractured and separated. Compression injuries in the pelvic region were consistent with her having been struck by an automobile. Severe internal bleeding had taken place and he found injuries in the vaginal area which, in his opinion, could have been produced by forcible sexual intercourse. Her right rib was also broken. In Dr. Copeland's opinion, Ms. Roche died as a result of loss of blood from the injuries she sustained. Moreover, his opinion was that she could have remained alive from a period of two hours up to a maximum of twenty-four hours after receiving the injuries observed.

At approximately 8:12 p. m. on 15 May 1980, Deputies Freddie Benson and Ted Lanier and Detective J. C. Holder of the Raleigh Police Department began interviewing the defendant. Deputy Benson advised defendant of his Miranda rights and defendant signed a waiver of rights form. Defendant stated that he understood his rights. Deputy Benson left the room and Detective Holder began to question defendant. He again advised defendant of his rights and defendant was calm and in control. Detective Holder testified that "Johnny looked at me, and he said that he did it. He asked me if I was happy. I told him that I was not happy. I said, 'What did you do.' He said that he killed that girl." Defendant then proceeded to give Officers Holder and Lanier a complete statement.

Defendant's statement to the officers can be summarized as follows: On 12 May 1980 he was at a cookout on Stovall Drive and needed more beer. He borrowed the Mercury from Ms. Edwards and drove to the A & P Store on Western Boulevard where he purchased a bag of charcoal. Upon leaving the store he got into a fight with a black person and ran and hid until they left. He then went to an apartment complex on Avent Ferry Road and removed some money from the coin-operated laundry machines. As he drove down Avent Ferry Road he saw Ms. Roche walking and blew his horn. She waved, and he turned into the first dirt road, backed and turned, and sat headed toward Avent Ferry Road to await the girl. When Ms. Roche walked up to the car, he pinched her. She slapped him, and they began scuffling. He then apologized, and she said he had already hurt her arm. He asked her to go riding with him and she got into the car. A jogger came up during the scuffle and defendant told the jogger to keep his eyes on what he was doing. He and Ms. Roche then drove down Avent Ferry Road headed south and, after making a few turns, they eventually reached a wheat field. Defendant told her to get out of the car and "tried to get into her pants." She resisted, and he told her he was going to have to get his "damn gun" from the vehicle, although, in fact, he did not have one. Defendant got...