Bell v. State, No. CR-06-2136 (Ala. Crim. App. 2/27/2009)

• Decision Date: 27 February 2009
• Docket Number: No. CR-06-2136.,CR-06-2136.
• Parties: Taurus Lamont Bell v. State of Alabama
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

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Taurus Lamont Bell v. State of Alabama

No. CR-06-2136.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Decided February 27, 2009.

Appeal from Jefferson Circuit Court, (CC-06-668).

WISE, Presiding Judge.

The appellant, Taurus Lamont Bell, was convicted of the capital offense of arson-murder, a violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(9), Ala. Code 1975. The trial court sentenced him to imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole. Bell did not file any post-judgment motions. This appeal followed.

The State presented evidence that, on the night of February 3, 2000, the victim, Patricia Woodruff, was preparing for a trip the following morning to visit a casino with friends and family members. At some point before daybreak the next morning, the victim's house was consumed by fire, and her badly charred body was later discovered in the house. When investigators found the victim's body, they observed a ligature with a buckle on it around her neck and duct tape on her face.

Jermaine Dunn, the victim's son, testified that he last saw his mother around 11:30 p.m. on February 3, 2000. At that time, she was putting approximately two handfuls of quarters, dimes, and nickels into a bag in preparation for the trip the next day. Dunn also testified that his mother smoked, that she kept candles and an ashtray on the glass coffee table in the living room, and that the house was heated by kerosene heaters and an electric heater.

Clarence Woodruff, the victim's brother, testified that he saw the victim between 9:00 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. on February 3, 2000. They were going to a casino the next day, and she had coins in a plastic grocery bag to take with her. The top of the bag was twisted down to the coins but was not tied.

James Sawyer testified that he worked as a butcher at Evans Meats; that, in the early morning hours of February 4, 2000, he was outside with his cousin, Marcus Hudson, smoking when he saw a black male who was wearing a brown freezer suit or coveralls; that Hudson spoke with the man; and that a vehicle that belonged to Alfonso Tellis, a co-worker, was later determined to be missing from the parking lot. At trial, Marcus Hudson identified Bell as the person he spoke to in the parking lot at Evans Meats.

Danny Humphrey testified that he was employed with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department on the night of February 3, 2000; that, around 3:10 a.m., he noticed that a vehicle was stopped with the engine running in a store parking lot near the victim's house; that the store was closed, and there was not anyone in the vehicle; that the steering column in the vehicle was broken, and a passenger side window had been broken out; that he checked and determined that the vehicle belonged to Alfonso Tellis, but had not been reported stolen that he had the vehicle towed; and that he then went to the victim's house around 5:00 a.m.

Linda Anderson and Bill Gaskey testified that they saw a man dressed in brown coveralls walking in the vicinity of the victim's house around 4:45 a.m. on February 4, 2000. Kenneth Jackson also testified that he passed a man who was wearing brown coveralls and walking the same area at approximately 5:10 a.m. that day.

Chandra Tannehill, the victim's daughter, testified that, after an uncle telephoned her to tell her about the fire at her mother's house, she and her aunt immediately drove to the victim's house. On the way, they saw Bell, who lived with his grandmother next door to her aunt, walking away from the area of her mother's house. Bell was wearing brown coveralls. Tannehill later told law enforcement officers that she had seen Bell walking away from the area of her mother's residence.

Deputy Dennis Ferguson of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department testified that, while he was on his way to the victim's house, he passed a man who he later determined to be Bell wearing brown coveralls and walking away from the area. Later, he and Deputy Fred Berry took Bell into custody. At that time, Bell gave them a false name. He also had a plastic bag of nickels, dimes, and quarters in his possession. Ferguson testified that they released Bell after a short time because they did not know that anyone had died in the fire and thought they were simply dealing with a house fire.

Deputy Fred Berry of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department testified that he heard a "be on the lookout" alert for a black male wearing coveralls, that he assisted Ferguson in taking Bell into custody, and that Bell used a false identity. He also testified that Bell had a plastic bag containing approximately two handfuls of change, a lighter, two pieces of paper containing telephone numbers, and a pair of gloves in his possession. However, he did not have any cigarettes on his person. Berry observed that the plastic bag had been tied in a knot and that the coins in the plastic bag were nickels, dimes, and quarters.

Paul Price, a deputy coroner for Jefferson County, responded to the fire at the victim's home on February 4, 2000. He testified that the body was located by what appeared to be a burned up space heater and that there was what appeared to have been a belt around the victim's neck. He also noted that there appeared to be a lot of debris in the area around the victim's body.

Kimberly Washington testified that her cousin, Santrice Farley, dated and later married Bell. At about 10:00 a.m. on February 4, 2000, Bell telephoned her and asked for Farley. When she told him Farley was not there, he told her that "something bad had happened" and that he might be going to jail. (R. 380.)

Santrice Farley testified that she was married to Bell in February 2000, but they were not living together. On February 4, 2000, he telephoned her at work. Sometime later, he asked her to take him to a service station to retrieve a handgun he had hidden behind the building. Upon their arrival, Bell retrieved a silver handgun that had duct tape wrapped around the handle.

Michael Haynes, a deputy state fire marshal, testified that he responded to the scene at the victim's house; that it appeared that the fire had originated in the living room; that he believed the fire had been intentionally set; and that the investigation revealed some candles that were on or under a couch in the living room, which would have been unusual and could have been what started the fire. He also testified that there was a kerosene heater near the victim's body in a den area that was adjacent to the living room, but he ruled it out as the cause of the fire, and that there was not any evidence that an accelerant was used. Finally, he stated that coins would not have burned up in the fire.

Dr. Gary T. Simmons, a forensic pathologist with the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner's Office, examined the victim's body. He testified that her body was badly burned, that there was a ligature around her neck, and that there was duct tape on her face. Simmons testified that he did not find any evidence of soot, smoke, or carbon monoxide in the victim's body, which strongly indicated that she was dead when the fire started. Based on his examination, he concluded that she died of asphyxia and that she was dead at the time the fire started.

Finally, forensic testing revealed that the victim's blood was on one of Bell's tennis shoes.

Bell argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal at the close of the State's case. Specifically, he contends that the State did not establish that he intentionally started a fire in the victim's house and that the State did not establish that the murder occurred during the commission of second-degree arson because the evidence showed that the victim was dead before the fire started.

"The following are capital offenses:

"....

"(9) Murder by the defendant during arson in the ... second degree committed by the defendant...."

§ 13A-5-40(a), Ala. Code 1975.

"A person commits the crime of arson in the second degree if he intentionally damages a building by starting or maintaining a fire or causing an explosion."

§ 13A-7-42(a), Ala. Code 1975.

"In deciding whether there is sufficient evidence to support the verdict of the jury and the judgment of the trial court, the evidence must be reviewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution. Cumbo v. State, 368 So. 2d 871 (Ala. Cr. App. 1978), cert. denied, 368 So. 2d 877 (Ala. 1979). Conflicting evidence presents a jury question not subject to review on appeal, provided the state's evidence establishes a prima facie case. Gunn v. State, 387 So. 2d 280 (Ala. Cr. App.), cert. denied, 387 So. 2d 283 (Ala. 1980). The trial court's denial of a motion for a judgment of acquittal must be reviewed by determining whether there existed legal evidence before the jury, at the time the motion was made, from which the jury by fair inference could have found the appellant guilty. Thomas v. State, 363 So. 2d 1020 (Ala. Cr. App. 1978). In applying this standard, the appellate court will determine only if legal evidence was presented from which the jury could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Willis v. State, 447 So. 2d 199 (Ala. Cr. App. 1983); Thomas v. State. When the evidence raises questions of fact for the jury and such evidence, if believed, is sufficient to sustain a conviction, the denial of a motion for a judgment of acquittal by the trial court does not constitute error. Young v. State, 283 Ala. 676, 220 So. 2d 843 (1969); Willis v. State."

Breckenridge v. State, 628 So. 2d 1012, 1018 (Ala. Crim. App. 1993).

"`In determining the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction, this Court must accept as true the evidence introduced by the State, accord the State all legitimate inferences therefrom, and consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution.' Faircloth v. State, 471 So. 2d 485, 489 (Ala. Cr. App. 1984), affirmed, Ex parte Faircloth, [471] So. 2d 493 (Ala. 1985).

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