Bosner v. State
| Decision Date | 13 July 2018 |
| Docket Number | CR-17-0065 |
| Citation | 274 So.3d 1029 |
| Parties | William Lane BOSNER v. STATE of Alabama |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Alabama Supreme Court 1171123
*Note from the reporter of decisions: Judge Little, retired circuit judge, Madison County, was appointed to preside over this case upon the recusal of the circuit judges in the 41st Judicial Circuit.
Brian Mitchell White, Decatur, for appellant.
Steve Marshall, atty. gen., and Stephen N. Dodd, asst. atty. gen., for appellee.
The appellant, William Lane Bosner, was convicted of murder made capital because it was committed during the course of a robbery in the first degree, a violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(2), Ala. Code 1975, and murder made capital because it was committed during the course of a burglary in the first degree, a violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(4), Ala. Code 1975, for the killings of Gary "Sambo" Hazelrig and Breann Sherrer. The circuit court sentenced Bosner to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for each conviction and ordered that the sentences were to run concurrently. The circuit court ordered Bosner to pay a $2,000 fine, $7,030 to the crime victims compensation fund, $924 in restitution, attorney fees, and court costs.
The record indicates the following pertinent facts. Hazelrig, Bosner's drug supplier, lived with Sherrer, his girlfriend, on Deavers Town Road in Locust Fork. Michael Dooley testified that he drove Bosner and Paul Trull to Hazelrig's house at approximately 12:30 a.m. on September 14, 2015, with the intent to steal certain items, drugs, and money. Each of them wore a mask and carried at least one weapon. Specifically, Dooley testified that Bosner carried a .22-caliber rifle with a 10-round factory clip, admitted into evidence as State's Exhibit No. 12-A; Dooley carried a .22-caliber rifle with a banana clip, admitted into evidence as State's Exhibit No. 13-A; and Trull carried a .20 gauge "short shotgun," admitted into evidence as State's Exhibit No. 14-A, and an aluminum "tire checker baseball bat," admitted into evidence as State's Exhibit No. 58-A. (R. 631.) When they arrived, Dooley dropped off Bosner and Trull at the end of Hazelrig's driveway and parked his car in a nearby field. As Dooley walked toward Hazelrig's house, he saw the front door open and heard a gunshot followed by a "ding." (R. 631.) Shortly thereafter, Hazelrig and Sherrer emerged from the house and stood on the front porch. Meanwhile, Trull stood in the doorway and kept them there at gunpoint. According to Dooley, Hazelrig and Sherrer appeared to be injured. Specifically, "Ms. Sherrer had grabbed her butt and Mr. Hazelrig had [ ] a stream of blood coming down maybe right there (Indicating to side of face.)" (R. 636.)
While Trull held Hazelrig and Sherrer at gunpoint, Dooley inspected a four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle ("ATV"), located in Hazelrig's driveway. The ATV, a hunter-green "Yamaha Wolverine," was missing an ignition switch and a tire. (R. 639.) Dooley spent the next several minutes affixing a spare tire to the ATV while Hazelrig and Sherrer remained on the front porch. Dooley testified that Hazelrig and Sherrer were not "crying out or nothing," though Hazelrig said that Sherrer needed medical assistance. (R. 639.)
While Dooley worked on the ATV, he saw Bosner walking inside the house "from the right [side] to the left [side] past the door." (R. 639.) At some point, Trull apparently ordered Hazelrig and Sherrer back inside the house. After Dooley repaired the ATV, he told Trull to (R. 640.) Dooley testified that Trull turned and called Bosner's name. According to Dooley, Bosner became very nervous because he believed that Hazelrig and Sherrer heard Trull say his name. Dooley told Bosner, "Man don't worry about it. We are leaving.
They don't really know who it is. Don't worry about it." (R. 641.) Dooley continued tinkering with the ATV when he heard "stomping" on the front porch. (R. 641.) When he looked up, Dooley saw Bosner walk inside the house and fire his rifle. Dooley testified that Sherrer fell to the ground. Immediately thereafter, Dooley heard "about three shots" from Bosner's rifle and one shot from Trull's shotgun. Dooley ran to the front porch and looked through the doorway. He saw Bosner and Hazelrig "fighting it up" on the floor. (R. 643.) During the fight, Trull struck Hazelrig's head with the butt of his shotgun. After Hazelrig was incapacitated, Bosner and Trull picked up their bags and walked to Dooley's car.
Dooley, Bosner, and Trull placed the stolen items in the trunk of Dooley's car. Before leaving, they walked back to Hazelrig's house to collect shell casings and recover the tire checker Trull had apparently forgotten. They found the tire checker but were unable to collect any shell casings. Dooley testified that he, Bosner, and Trull pushed the ATV down Hazelrig's driveway toward Deavers Town Road. Bosner and Trull waited in the driveway while Dooley retrieved his car. Dooley picked up Bosner and Trull and pulled the ATV behind his car to a hiding spot off a nearby road. During the drive back to Dooley's house, Bosner produced several stolen cellular telephones from his pockets. Dooley decided to dispose of the telephones. Dooley drove to a bridge near Zuber Road, and Bosner threw the telephones out of the car window.
Bosner, Trull, and Dooley arrived at Dooley's house at approximately 3:00 a.m. and divided the money and items they had taken from Hazelrig's property. According to Dooley, the stolen items included pocketknives, a small safe, a black-powder pistol, an acoustic guitar, an "iPod" MP3 player, a digital video recorder ("DVR"), a television, and several grams of methamphetamine.
A few hours later, Dooley and Bosner returned to where they had parked the ATV and towed it to Dooley's house. When they returned, Dooley's girlfriend, Carolyn Busby, came to Dooley's house. Dooley testified that he and Busby "[s]at there for a while" and talked. (R. 654.) At approximately 9 or 10 p.m., Dooley drove Bosner to Bosner's girlfriend's house. Bosner carried a backpack and the shotgun Trull used the night before. About a week later, Dooley placed evidence of the Hazelrig-Sherrer murders in a large black box he bought from a Home Depot hardware store. Specifically, the box contained the .22-caliber rifles Dooley and Bosner carried, a stolen safe, television, and black-powder rifle, and various other items both related and unrelated to the crimes. Dooley attached a lock to the box and placed it in the woods off of Zuber Road –- the same location where Bosner had thrown the cellular telephones. Dooley testified that he dropped Hazelrig's DVR and a bag containing Trull's gloves into a lake near the border of Blount County and Jefferson County.
Trull testified that he walked to Dooley's house in the evening of September 13, 2015, to talk and to smoke marijuana. He testified that Bosner was already at Dooley's house when he arrived. Trull testified that he had recently received a paycheck and that he wanted to purchase a new guitar. Bosner told Trull that Hazelrig had several guitars for sale. Consequently, Trull drove with Bosner and Dooley to Hazelrig's house. Trull testified that he and Bosner got out of Dooley's car at the end of Hazelrig's driveway. Bosner opened the trunk and pulled out a backpack "and something else," and proceeded toward Hazelrig's house. (R. 493.) Trull testified that he saw Bosner walk through Hazelrig's front door and heard "a bit of commotion and then a loud bang." (R. 493.) Moments later, Bosner walked out of the house and handed Trull a .20-gauge sawed-off shotgun. Trull identified the shotgun as State's Exhibit No. 14-A. At this point, Trull noticed that Bosner was carrying a rifle. Trull testified that Bosner ordered him to come inside the house. When he walked inside, Trull saw Hazelrig and Sherrer and noticed that they were injured. Specifically, Trull testified that Hazelrig was bleeding from the top of his head and Sherrer was bleeding from the back of her leg. Bosner ordered Hazelrig and Sherrer to stand on the front porch and told Trull to hold them there at gunpoint. Trull testified that he watched Hazelrig and Sherrer for 10 to 15 minutes while Bosner "rifl[ed] through the house." (R. 503.) Trull testified that he wanted to leave and said "Lane, we need to go." (R. 506.) After Trull spoke Bosner's name, Bosner told Hazelrig and Sherrer to turn around. Trull testified that Bosner placed the barrel of his gun against the back of Sherrer's head and pulled the trigger. According to Trull, Sherrer "was dead before she hit the ground." (R. 509.) Trull testified that Hazelrig charged Bosner and Bosner shot at Hazelrig eight or nine times. While they were fighting, Bosner bumped into Trull and knocked him to the ground, causing Trull's shotgun to discharge and hit Hazelrig. Trull testified that he got up and ran outside after the fight. Bosner emerged from the house a few moments later and helped Dooley push the ATV to the end of Hazelrig's driveway. Before leaving, Dooley went inside the house and retrieved Hazelrig's DVR. Upon returning to Dooley's house, Trull immediately left and walked home. When Trull went back to Dooley's house later that day, Busby already "knew everything" that had occurred the night before. (R. 536.) Trull testified that he assisted Dooley in loading evidence into Dooley's black box.
Charles Ennis, a long-time friend of Hazelrig's, testified that he went to Hazelrig's house on September 15, 2015, to bring Hazelrig food and to check his blood-sugar level. Ennis testified that he looked in a window and saw Sherrer lying on the floor. Ennis telephoned the police and waited for them to arrive. Deputy Jarod Eakes with the Blount County Sheriff's Department responded to the call and taped off the area. Charles Underwood with the Crime Scene Department of...
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