Buxton v. State

• Decision Date: 02 July 1984
• Docket Number: No. 41002,41002
• Citation: 317 S.E.2d 538,253 Ga. 137
• Parties: BUXTON v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 538

317 S.E.2d 538

253 Ga. 137

BUXTON v.The STATE.

No. 41002.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

July 2, 1984.

J. Laddie Boatright, Hazlehurst, for Riley Buxton.

Glenn Thomas, Jr., Dist. Atty., Jerry W. Caldwell, Asst. Dist. Atty., Jesup, Michael J. Bowers, Atty. Gen., Eddie Snelling, Jr., for the State.

GREGORY, Justice.

The appellant, Riley Buxton, was indicted in Jeff Davis County during the March Term, 1983, for the murder of Jimmy Williams.Following a trial by jury, the appellant was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.He appeals the denial of his motion for a new trial.We affirm.

1.In his first enumeration of error appellant contends the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction.The evidence produced at trial authorized the jury to find that during the early evening hours of April 8, 1983, the appellant, along with George Hill, Bill Hall, and Johnny Vann drove to a liquor store on the county line and purchased two fifths of whiskey.The men proceeded from the liquor store to the home of Henry Jones at which point Bill Hall entered the residence.The appellant and the other two men then drove to a local pool hall known as "The Juke" where they began drinking and shooting pool.About an hour later, Jimmy Williams, the deceased, came into the pool hall.About 8:30 p.m., Williams asked Hill if he would give him a ride back to town, whereupon Hill, the appellant and Williams left the pool hall.

Hill decided en route to town that he would stop at the home of Henry Jones.Upon arriving at the Jones residence, Hill got out and went inside leaving the appellant and Williams alone in the truck.While Hill was inside, the appellant exited the truck, pulled out his brown handled Frontier pocket knife and stabbed Jimmy Williams several times.A few minutes later, Jones' daughter and a companion pulled into the yard.By the light of the headlights they saw Williams on the ground at the rear of the truck.The appellant was leaning over him, but as soon as the car lights hit him he walked to the other side of the truck next to the garden.The occupants of the residence were summoned.After seeing that Williams appeared to be bleeding heavily, the sheriff and an ambulance were called.Jones' wife, Mary, asked Williams who had done that to him, and he pointed to appellant.

Sheriff deputies arrived at the scene at approximately 10:00 p.m.The victim was observed to have sustained stab wounds to the abdomen and left arm.The victim was transported to the county hospital, then to Savannah where he was pronounced dead.The autopsy revealed the cause of death was a stab wound to the abdomen.The appellant was arrested at the scene.While incarcerated that evening, the appellant bragged to a cellmate, "they can't prove I killed him because they can't find the knife."Although discovery of the knife was obviously not necessary to a conviction, the next morning Jones' daughter discovered a brown handled Frontier pocket knife in the garden.The knife was later determined to be the murder weapon.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Kent Wilson interviewed appellant at 3:00 p.m. the next day.The appellant was advised of his constitutional rights and signed a waiver certificate.The appellant then gave Wilson a statement admitting that he had stabbed the deceased in the abdomen region after an argument.He admitted that he had not seen a knife in Williams' hand, but stated he stabbed him, "because he didn't want to take any chances."At trial, appellant testified he did not stab Jimmy Williams nor did he have his pocket knife with him that day.

When viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, this evidence was sufficient to enable a rational fact finder to find the appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560(1979).Appellants first enumeration of error is without merit.

2.In his second enumeration of error appellant contends the trial court erred in allowing Agent Wilson to testify concerning statements made by the appellant during his interrogation.Appellant contends the statements should not have been admitted into evidence because they were not furnished to him after a timely request as required by OCGA § 17-7-210.A review of the record reveals appellants oral statement was reduced to writing by Agent Wilson and furnished to defense counsel on June 20, 1983, well within the statutory period.The agent's trial testimony did not go beyond the scope of the statement supplied to the defense.We find no merit in this enumeration of error.

3.In his next enumeration, appellant complains the court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial, made after a state's witness testified on cross-examination that the appellant was arrested for public drunkenness.Appellant contends this testimony improperly placed his character into evidence.

From a review of the trial transcript, it appears the complained of answer was elicited by defense counsel's questions to the witness.Following the answer, curative instructions were given by the court.Trial counsel may not take chances in propounding questions which may elicit damaging answers and then demand a mistrial on the basis of the answer.Felker v. State, 252 Ga. 351, 314 S.E.2d 621(1984).Furthermore, the decision of whether to grant a mistrial is within the sound discretion of the trial court and his ruling will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion.Ladson v. State, 248 Ga. 470, 285 S.E.2d 508(1981).Under these circumstanceswe find no abuse of discretion.The trial court did not err in denying appellant's motion for a mistrial.

4.In his fourth enumeration of error appellant contends the court improperly denied his motion to dismiss based on the alleged...