Com. v. Horton

• Decision Date: 19 September 1978
• Citation: 380 N.E.2d 687,376 Mass. 380
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. William R. HORTON et al.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

Page 687

380 N.E.2d 687

376 Mass. 380

COMMONWEALTH v. William R. HORTON et al.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Essex.

Argued May 1, 1978.

Decided Sept. 19, 1978.

Stephen Hrones, Boston, for Alvin L. Wideman.

Alfred Paul Farese, Everett, for Roosevelt Pickett.

James A. Murphy, Salem, for William R. Horton.

Michael T. Stella, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., for the Commonwealth.

Before QUIRICO, BRAUCHER, LIACOS and ABRAMS, JJ.

QUIRICO, Justice.

The defendants William R. Horton (Horton), Roosevelt Pickett (Pickett) and Alvin L. Wideman (Wideman) were convicted after a jury trial of armed robbery and murder in the first degree. Motions for new trials were denied as to all defendants. The cases are before us pursuant to G.L. c. 278, §§ 33A-33G, on argued assignments of error as to certain pretrial and trial rulings and the denial of the defendant Horton's motion for a new trial based on a claim of newly discovered evidence. We conclude that there was no error, and that there is no basis to modify the jury's verdicts or the judge's decision on the motion for a new trial or to grant the defendants any other relief under G.L. c. 278, § 33E.

Before addressing the defendants' assignments of error, we summarize the evidence. On the evening of October 26, 1974, between 9:45 P.M. and 10 P.M., the body of Joseph Fournier (Fournier), a seventeen-year old service station attendant, was found in the office of the Marston Street Mobil service station in Lawrence. Testimony by the medical examiner indicated that Fournier died as a result of multiple stab wounds to the neck, chest, and other areas of the body. Fournier was last seen alive and working at the service station between 9:25 P.M. and 9:40 P.M. At that time he was carrying a roll of money which consisted of some of the service station's receipts for the day. Apart from a small accumulation of change, no money was found on Fournier's body by the medical examiner. A five dollar bill was found by police officers on the ground outside the service station. A subsequent inventory of the service station's sales for October 26, 1974, showed that $276.37 of the day's receipts was missing.

There was no testimony that any persons matching the defendants' descriptions were seen on the service station premises between the hours of 9 P.M. and 10 P.M. on October 26, 1974. However, one witness, John A. Greenwood (Greenwood), who lived in the close vicinity of the service station, testified as to several observations he made of a car and its occupants in the area on that evening. About 8:45 P.M., he observed a 1963 four-door Chevrolet automobile, with a bluish green bottom and white top, occupied by three black males, traveling very slowly past his house with its headlights on. Ten to fifteen minutes later, Greenwood observed the same car, this time with its headlights off but again traveling at a slow rate of speed and in the same direction. Greenwood left his house, and at approximately 9:30 P.M., when returning home, he again saw the same car and occupants. The car was parked with its headlights off, on a hill close to and facing the service station. Another witness, Michael Byron (Byron), testified that as he was approaching the service station at approximately 9:45 P.M. his car was cut off by a large car proceeding very fast down the same hill described by Greenwood. Byron arrived at the service station shortly thereafter and discovered Fournier's body.

Witnesses Jesse Thomas (Thomas) and Thelma Thomas (Mrs. Thomas) testified that on October 26, 1974, the defendant Wideman was living with them at their house in Lawrence. Between 10:30 P.M. and midnight on that evening Wideman arrived at the Thomas house and told both Mr. and Mrs. Thomas that he had killed someone. Wideman told them that he had gone to a place and asked the man there to give him all his money, that the man complied and pleaded for his life, but that Wideman became angry, started stabbing him, and could not stop. Wideman also told them that he did not know whether the man was dead or not but thought that it would be in the newspaper the next day. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas dismissed Wideman's story at that time as being untrue. Two days later, on October 28, 1974, Mrs. Thomas read a newspaper article about Fournier's death and showed the article to Thomas and Wideman, whereupon Wideman stated, "I told you." When Thomas expressed disbelief in Wideman's story, Wideman said it was good that Thomas did not believe him and he hoped no one else would.

About 1:30 A.M., on November 8, 1974, Thomas met with Captain Stephen S. Sciuto, Jr., of the Lawrence police at the house of Fred Sciuto, who is Captain Sciuto's cousin and Thomas's foreman at work. Fred Sciuto had previously called Captain Sciuto saying he had information on Fournier's death. After a brief meeting with Captain Sciuto, Thomas went home. About 2:05 A.M., Captain Sciuto and other police officers went to the Thomas house, arrested and handcuffed Thomas in the presence of his wife, and brought him to the police station. There Captain Sciuto had a conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, subsequent to which certain police officers went back to the Thomas house and brought Wideman to the police station. ¹

At the station, Wideman was informed of his Miranda rights and he had a conversation with Captain Sciuto, after which Captain Sciuto and other officers went to the defendant Pickett's house. When they arrived there about 3:20 A.M., Pickett was walking down the outside stairs. A 1963 four door Chevrolet automobile with a blue bottom and white top was parked in front of the house. Pickett was stopped, and, after being informed of his Miranda rights and acknowledging that he understood them, he admitted that the car was his. Although Pickett was advised that he could refuse to let anyone search the car without a warrant, he gave Captain Sciuto permission to look through it. In searching the car Captain Sciuto found a knife under the front seat and Pickett admitted the knife was his. ² Pickett was then handcuffed and taken to the police station.

The defendant Horton was picked up by police officers at his house about 5 A.M. The police read him his Miranda rights which he indicated he understood, and then they handcuffed and brought him to the police station.

Several police officers testified that at the police station the defendants were again informed of their Miranda rights which they acknowledged they understood. Then each defendant, in the presence of the other defendants and a number of officers, proceeded to give a statement concerning the robbery of the service station and the killing of Fournier.³ Horton, who spoke first, stated that on the night in question the defendants were at a party in Lowell, and, on the way back to Lawrence, they decided to hold up a service station. Horton drove to a Mobil service station, parked on a hill, and stayed in the car while Pickett and Wideman went into the service station armed with knives. A short time later, Wideman came back to the car followed by Pickett. Horton asked Wideman and Pickett what had happened and Pickett said, "I had to destroy the evidence. Just another dead honky." Horton stated that the defendants then divided the money taken from the service station with each of them receiving approximately $70.

After Horton spoke, Pickett asked Wideman if he would tell the police what had happened but Wideman told Pickett that he instead should tell them. Pickett began his story by stating that the defendants had been at a party in Lowell, and, on their way to Haverhill, Horton suggested that they hold up a service station. Pickett said that he was driving and that he parked the car in the area of a hill close to the Mobil service station. Horton and Wideman went down to the service station armed with knives. Wideman came back to the car first, then Horton, and thereafter they drove to a bar in Haverhill where they divided the money which was in Wideman's pocket. Each of them received approximately $70 to $80. When Captain Sciuto showed Pickett the knife he had taken from the 1963 Chevrolet automobile, Pickett stated that, although the knife had been in his car on that evening, it was not the knife Horton took to the service station.

Wideman was then asked by the police if he had anything to say to which he responded in the negative. Pickett pleaded with Wideman to tell his side of the story, and, finally, Wideman reiterated much the same details as had Pickett. Wideman added that, although he had held the attendant up at knife point and had taken the money, when he left the service station the attendant was still alive. When Captain Sciuto asked Wideman who had done the stabbing, Wideman said, "You have the knife. Find out from the fingerprints on the knife." After Wideman finished his story, Horton stated, "See, I told you they were going to frame me. I told you they'd lie." At that point all three defendants were booked.

Joseph D. Mastone (Mastone), a State chemist, testified for the Commonwealth as to an examination he conducted on November 9, 1974, of the interior of the 1963 Chevrolet automobile. He performed benzidine reagent tests on three visible brown smears on the vinyl covering inside the car which tests indicated the presence of blood. Mastone acknowledged, however, that he had not conducted precipitin serum tests to determine whether the smears were of human blood. As a result, the judge struck Mastone's testimony as to the presence of blood in the car and instructed the jury to disregard it. However, the judge denied the defendants' motions for a mistrial. The Commonwealth's next witness, Ronald P. Kaufman (Kaufman), a chemist at the State police laboratory, testified that he had conducted both benzidine reagent tests and precipitin serum tests on the pieces of vinyl containing the smears and that they indicated the presence of human blood on the vinyl. Kaufman's testimony was...