Davis v. State
| Decision Date | 22 July 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 10-17-00396-CR,10-17-00396-CR |
| Parties | TA'DARIUS LA'VONTE DAVIS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
From the 52nd District Court Coryell County, Texas
MEMORANDUM OPINIONIn two issues, Appellant Ta'Darius La'Vonte Davis challenges his conviction for capital murder. After a jury found Davis guilty, the trial court imposed a sentence of life without parole as the State elected to not seek the death penalty. Davis asserts that the evidence against him is legally insufficient and that the trial court erred in failing to properly charge the jury on self-defense. We affirm.
Thomas Smethers was shot in the early morning hours of October 28, 2015 in the Walmart parking lot in Copperas Cove, Texas and died on the way to the hospital. The State indicted Davis and Terrence Daniel1 for capital murder, with the special circumstance being that the murder was committed during the course of robbing or attempting to rob Smethers. Davis testified that he shot Smethers but asserted that he did so in self-defense.
A. Davis's Testimony. Davis testified at trial that he and Daniel went to the Walmart parking lot to buy a half-ounce of methamphetamine for another individual. According to Davis, an individual he knew as Rico set up the transaction with a meth dealer, later determined to be Smethers. Rico told Davis to go to the Walmart parking lot in Copperas Cove but did not give Davis a name or a description of the meth dealer. Rico told Davis that the dealer would "pull up on him" because Davis has a distinctive car with distinctive rims. Davis asked Daniel to ride along with him but did not tell Daniel the purpose of the trip. Davis denied taking a firearm to the meeting.
Once Davis and Daniel arrived at the Walmart parking lot, Rico texted Davis where to park. A red truck pulled up beside Davis's car, and the driver of the truck, Smethers, got into Davis's back seat. Another man with Smethers, Michael Morgan, initially stayed in the truck. Davis had never seen Smethers or Morgan before. Smethers had a gun when he got into Davis's car, and Smethers kept the gun in his lap the entire time he was in Davis's vehicle. The presence of the gun started an argument between Davis and Smethers, with Davis telling Smethers to put the gun away. Davis never saw Smethers put his finger on the trigger of the gun while he was in Davis's car, but Smethers continued rubbing the bottom of the trigger. Davis noted that Smethers was "just fumbling with it, rubbing his finger like under the trigger part." "He was basically just holding onto it." Eventually, Morgan got out of the truck and climbed into the rear seat of Davis's car beside Smethers.
Davis and Smethers continued to argue, and Davis got out of his car. Smethers then returned to the driver's seat of the truck. Morgan got out of Davis's car and went to stand at the rear of the vehicles. Daniel exited Davis's car and went to the rear of the vehicles where Morgan was standing. Smethers told Davis to come over to the truck to finish the drug transaction. Davis walked around to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door. Davis stated that Smethers pointed the gun at him while he was walking toward the truck. Davis happened to rub one of his hands in the pocket of his pants, and Smethers told him to stop. Davis denied that Smethers verbally threatened him, and Smethers put the gun back down when Davis raised his hands. Davis did not leave because he was afraid of being shot in the back.
Smethers produced a baggie filled with what appeared to be a large amount of methamphetamine, which was more than Davis had agreed to purchase. Rico told Davis that the half-ounce he requested would be $350, and Davis brought $500 to pay for it. Smethers, however, wanted to sell the entire bag for $3,500. While Davis and Smethers were arguing over the drugs, Smethers continued to rub his finger under the trigger of the gun. Smethers wanted Davis to get into the truck, but Davis refused to do so unless Smethers put the gun away. Davis noticed there was another gun in the truck lodged between the passenger seat and the side of the truck. Davis reached for the gun because Smethers kept threatening him by continuing to rub his finger along the bottom of the trigger. As Davis reached for the gun, Smethers told him to stop. Davis continued to pull out the gun, and Smethers raised and pointed the gun he was rubbing, a.44 magnum, at Davis. Smethers then pulled the trigger but the gun did not fire because the hammer was not cocked. Davis testified that he then fired the gun he found beside the seat at Smethers, hitting him at least once. Smethers jumped out of the truck, and Davis fired at least two more shots while still on the passenger side of the truck. Davis ran around the back of the truck and continued to fire at Smethers. Davis thought Smethers was standing on the other side of the truck and continued to fire because he feared Smethers was still armed. Davis then realized that the man he saw was actually Daniel, and Smethers was on the ground. Davis did not know whether Smethers was dead or alive. Davis and Daniel then exited the Walmart parking lot in Davis's car, throwing the .40-caliber gun taken from Smethers's truck out the window while they drove back to Killeen.
Davis admitted that he did not tell police about Smethers pointing a gun at him. On redirect, Davis noted that his memory of the events of October 28 might be impaired because of the drugs he had imbibed after the shooting and before his arrest.
Davis denied taking the .44 magnum or the baggie of what appeared to be methamphetamine from Smethers, although he conceded that Daniel must have done so as both the .44 magnum and the baggie were found by police in Davis's motel room in Killeen.
B. Morgan's Testimony. Morgan, a convicted felon on parole, testified that he accompanied Smethers to the Walmart in Copperas Cove in the early morning hours of October 28. Morgan was with Smethers all day on October 27. Smethers spent a lot of time that day texting and making telephone calls about a drug deal that was to occur later that night. Smethers said that the deal was for a payment of $3,800 for methamphetamine. In preparation for the deal, Morgan and Smethers used what Morgan termed "horse vitamins" to create a substance that looked like methamphetamine. Smethers eventually received directions to go to the Walmart in Copperas Cove to complete the transaction. Smethers took a friend's .44 magnum handgun with them. Morgan saw the .44 magnum because it kept sliding off the console between the seats. Morgan saw no other weapons in the truck.
After they arrived at Walmart, Morgan and Smethers went into the store where Morgan stole some beer. When they returned to the truck, Smethers received instructions about where to go in the Walmart parking lot. Smethers drove to another location and parked next to Davis's car. Smethers got out of the truck and got into the back seat of Davis's car. Morgan stayed in the truck, but eventually got out to determine why the transaction was taking so long. Morgan climbed into the back seat of Davis's car beside Smethers. Morgan did not know either the driver or the passenger. Smethers told Morgan that Davis kept reaching for something by the driver's door and asked Morgan to see what it was. Before Morgan could investigate, Davis got out of the car and walked around to the front. Morgan got out and looked into the driver's side of the car but did not see anything that Davis could have been reaching for. Morgan did not see Smethers display a handgun while Morgan was in Davis's car.
Morgan went to stand behind the vehicles with Daniel. Morgan could see Smethers through the back window of the truck. Smethers had both hands on the steering wheel, and the .44 magnum pistol was in Smethers's lap. Davis was at the passenger side of the truck and continued to argue with Smethers through the open door. Daniel then ran to the driver's side of the truck and grabbed the .44 magnum from Smethers's lap. Morgan heard Daniel tell "the driver [Davis] to shoot him, get him, go." Morgan heard shots and ran for the Walmart entrance. Morgan heard more shots fired as he ran and believed that Smethers was running behind him.
Morgan called 9-1-1 and waited for the police to arrive. Morgan made three statements to the police, finally admitting in his third statement that he and Smethers had been at Walmart for a drug deal. Morgan also admitted stealing the beer from Walmart.
C. Other Testimony and Evidence. A nearby resident heard shots from the Walmart parking lot and looked out his window. He saw an African American man who appeared to be holding a handgun running from the driver's side to the passenger side of a red truck. The witness called 9-1-1 to report the shooting. First responders found Smethers on the ground close to the driver's side of the truck. Despite their efforts, Smethers died on the way to the hospital.
The medical examiner testified Smethers was shot three times, and the wounds were consistent with someone firing at him from the right side and continuing to shoot as Smethers turned to his left. One bullet entered Smethers's body under his right arm and continued through his body and out his left elbow. The other two bullets hit Smethers in the back.
Crime scene investigators found three shell casings in the interior of the truck on the passenger side and one shell casing on the ground outside. Three other shell casings, a spent bullet, and a bullet fragment were found on the ground on the driver's side of the truck. Another bullet fragment was recovered from inside the driver's door of the truck. The seven shell casings were.40 caliber S&W manufactured by Federal and were all fired from the same gun. The .40-caliber ammunition was not fired from either a .44-caliber magnum handgun or a smaller caliber gun. Ballistics analysis could not...
To continue reading
Request your trial