Deparvine v. State
| Decision Date | 24 April 2014 |
| Docket Number | SC12–2124.,Nos. SC12–407,s. SC12–407 |
| Citation | 146 So.3d 1071 |
| Parties | William James DEPARVINE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. William James Deparvine, Petitioner, v. Michael D. Crews, etc., Respondent. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
David Robert Gemmer, Assistant Capital Collateral Regional Counsel–Middle Region, Tampa, FL, for Appellant/Petitioner.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, and Stephen D. Ake, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, FL, for Appellee/Respondent.
William James Deparvine appeals an order of the circuit court denying his initial postconviction motion to vacate his conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. He also petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), (9), Fla. Const. As explained below, we affirm the postconviction court's denial of relief on all claims and deny Deparvine's petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
The facts of this case were set forth on direct appeal in Deparvine v. State, 995 So.2d 351, 356–61 (Fla.2008). They are summarized here. Deparvine was convicted of the November 25, 2003, first-degree murders of Rick Van Dusen (Rick) and Karla Van Dusen (Karla), as well as one count of armed carjacking of Rick's 1971 Chevrolet Cheyenne pickup truck (Cheyenne) in Hillsborough County, Florida. The State's theory of the case at trial was that Deparvine responded to the Van Dusens' attempts to sell the Cheyenne and subsequently murdered them in a plot to take the Cheyenne. Id. The jury recommended that Deparvine be sentenced to death on both murder counts by a vote of eight to four. The trial court sentenced him to death.
The Van Dusens ran multiple ads from February 11, 2003, to November 20, 2003, seeking to sell the Cheyenne for as high as $18,900 to as low as “$13,700 or partial trade for four wheel drive jeep.” Id. at 356. On November 25, 2003, the Van Dusens, believing they were completing the sale of the Cheyenne to Deparvine, drove to Deparvine's apartment. Rick drove the Cheyenne and Karla followed in their 2001 Jeep Cherokee (Jeep). The Van Dusens' cell phone records indicated that between 4:45 p.m. and 6:37 p.m., they moved from their home in Tierra Verde through the St. Petersburg area and ended up north of St. Petersburg around the Oldsmar area. Id. at 357. Phone records showed that Karla spoke to her mother, Billie Ferris, at approximately 5:54 p.m. Id. This phone call began by using a cell tower located on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg, near Deparvine's apartment, and lasted approximately thirty-seven minutes, ending with the use of the cell tower in Oldsmar. Over defense counsel's objections, Ferris testified that during this conversation, when she heard the motor of the car running in the background, she asked Karla whether she was in the car, and Karla responded:
Id. The next morning the bodies of Rick and Karla were found along a dirt road next to a residence, approximately 3.4 miles away from the last recorded cell tower used by the Van Dusens in Oldsmar. Rick was shot once in the back of the head. He was found with his wallet and money clip containing eighty-three dollars, two gold rings, a cell phone, and a watch. Karla was shot twice in the head and stabbed twice in the chest. She was found with four gold rings, gold hoop earrings, and a watch. Id. A knife blade and nine millimeter shell casing were discovered under her body.
The Jeep Karla was driving was discovered 1.3 miles away from the Van Dusens' bodies at Artistic Doors, a local business. Id. The windshield was cracked and detectives recovered a bullet fragment from the dashboard, a shell casing between the passenger front seat and the doorway, and a bullet fragment on the front passenger floorboard. On the ground next to the Jeep on the driver's side was a Florida identification (I.D.) card issued on November 26, 2002, belonging to Henry Sullivan. Id.
Chief forensic print analyst Mary Ellen Holmberg analyzed one print of value for comparison lifted from Sullivan's ID card, which remained unidentified. Id. Further, the Van Dusens' Cheyenne did not make the tire marks around the Jeep. Id. at 357–58. Bloodstains, however, were found throughout the driver and passenger sides of the Jeep. Four of five blood samples taken from different points on the steering wheel of the Jeep matched Deparvine's DNA, including one mixture bloodstain containing Deparvine's and Rick's DNA. Id. at 358. Two additional blood samples taken from different locations on the steering wheel of the Jeep were analyzed by a private laboratory. The samples matched Deparvine, thus six different bloodstains on the steering wheel were linked to Deparvine.
On November 27, 2003, the Van Dusens' Cheyenne was discovered parked behind Deparvine's apartment. A search of Deparvine's apartment was conducted on December 24, 2003, pursuant to a warrant. A notarized bill of sale from Rick to Deparvine dated November 25, 2003, was discovered indicating a purchase price of $6,500. Susan A. Kienker, who notarized the bill of sale, later testified that Rick, whom she knew personally, asked her to notarize the bill of sale on November 25, 2003, and handwriting expert Don Quinn confirmed Rick's handwriting on the bill of sale as authentic.
George Harrington testified that he came into contact with Deparvine in August 2003, when Harrington was seeking to sell his 1996 F–150 pickup truck for approximately $7,800. Id. Harrington testified that Deparvine wanted to purchase the pickup truck, but before he did, he asked to take the truck to Oldsmar where his mechanic friend would inspect it. Id. Deparvine indicated that he would pay for the truck in cash, which he kept at his friend's house in Oldsmar. Id. Deparvine gave Harrington a blank bill of sale and told him to have it notarized, which he did, but the sale was never completed.
Deparvine testified that he had been looking to purchase a pickup truck during the six-month period preceding November 2003. He said that he saw the Van Dusens' ads from February to November and inquired about the Cheyenne in February, July, September, and November. Deparvine testified that on Sunday, November 23, 2003, Rick invited him to the Van Dusens' house in Tierra Verde and offered to let Deparvine test drive the Cheyenne. Id. Deparvine drove and Rick accompanied him, but within three-quarters of a mile, the Cheyenne ran out of gas and the two men walked back to the Van Dusen home. Id. At the home, Rick picked up a can of gas, and the two men rode in the Jeep back to the Cheyenne with Rick driving.1 Id. at 359. Rick poured gas in the gas tank, but the Cheyenne did not start. Deparvine then primed the carburetor.2 During this process, Deparvine stated that he opened a wound
and scab under his right index finger, which originated as a cut he received at work. After finally starting the Cheyenne, the two drove back to the Van Dusens' home, with Deparvine, bleeding from his finger, driving the Jeep. Id.
Deparvine also testified that he told Rick that he only had $6,500 in cash to pay for the Cheyenne, which Rick accepted because he wanted to get rid of it. Id. Deparvine then testified that he paid $1,500 in cash as a deposit. Deparvine gave Rick a blank bill of sale for Rick to complete and they agreed that the Van Dusens would deliver the Cheyenne to Deparvine's apartment complex in central St. Petersburg on Tuesday, November 25, 2003, after 5 p.m.
On November 25, 2003, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Rick, driving the Cheyenne, and Karla, following in the Jeep, arrived at the apartment complex. Deparvine testified that he told the Van Dusens to drive around to the back parking lot of the complex to complete the sale. Id. Deparvine then testified that he noticed a person who seemed to be with the Van Dusens driving a red vintage truck that was similar to the Van Dusens' Cheyenne. Id. Deparvine described the driver of the similar truck as a white male in his mid-fifties with a salt-and-pepper-colored beard, a receding hairline, and wearing sunglasses. On cross-examination, Deparvine admitted that this description was consistent with his own appearance. Id. Once at the back parking lot, Rick exited the Cheyenne and entered the passenger side of the Jeep. Deparvine entered the Jeep and sat in the backseat behind Karla. Id. According to Deparvine's testimony, Deparvine then paid the $5,000 remaining balance of the sales price in cash and Rick gave him a notarized bill of sale indicating a purchase price of $6,500. Rick, however, had not been able to find the title but agreed to send it to Deparvine after Thanksgiving. After Deparvine exited the Jeep, Rick entered the similar red vintage truck Deparvine had seen and the two vehicles left, with Karla following in the Jeep. Id. Deparvine testified that after the Van Dusens left he did not leave the vicinity of his apartment complex. Id. He denied killing the Van Dusens.
Deparvine, whose bank statement never contained more than $826.21 between June 27, 2003, and December 31, 2003, testified that he obtained the funds to purchase the vehicle by selling a Rolex watch that he inherited while he was in prison from a terminally ill inmate named Bill Jamison, whom he had befriended. Id. at 359–60. Deparvine sold the watch for $7,000 to “a couple of Hispanic guys.” Id. Deparvine could not give any other description of these buyers. Deparvine testified that he kept the cash at his apartment.
After presentation of all the evidence, on August 3, 2005, a jury found Deparvine guilty of both counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed...
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