Green v. State

• Decision Date: 06 November 1997
• Docket Number: No. CR,CR
• Citation: 956 S.W.2d 849,330 Ark. 458
• Parties: Willie Leon GREEN, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 97-59.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Page 849

956 S.W.2d 849

330 Ark. 458

Willie Leon GREEN, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. CR 97-59.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Nov. 6, 1997.

John Wesley Hall, Jr., Little Rock, for Appellant.

Winston Bryant, Attorney General, David R. Raupp, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Kent G. Holt, Assistant Attorney General, Little Rock, for Appellee.

BROWN, Justice.

Appellant Willie Leon Green was charged with capital murder in connection with the shooting death of Little Rock Police Department Detective Joseph Fisher and attempted capital murder for the shooting of Little Rock Police Department Detective Frederick Lee. He was tried by jury and convicted of first-degree murder and attempted capital murder. He was subsequently sentenced to consecutive terms of life imprisonment and thirty years' imprisonment. On appeal, he raises six points for reversal. We affirm.

At trial, Detective James Stephens of the Little Rock Police Department testified that he was in charge of executing a search warrant at Green's apartment at approximately 7:55 p.m. on February 7, 1995. He testified that the plan was for Detectives Frederick Lee and Joseph Fisher to operate a battering ram for a forced entry into Green's apartment along with other police officers. Detective Stephens testified that he had established a position securing the rear of the apartment building when he heard his entry team yell, "Police, search warrant, police," followed by what he believed to be the battering ram striking the front door and a number of gunshots. He rushed to the front of the apartment building and found Detective Lee staggering out the door with a gunshot wound to the head. He saw Detective Fisher lying on the kitchen floor, where two police officers were attempting first aid. Police officers were also handcuffing Green and a woman named Donna Finney, who was on the couch near two children, one of whom was in a playpen. On cross-examination, Detective Stephens stated that he made the decision to execute the search warrant even though he knew that Green had been robbed the preceding month. He testified that some of his police officers wore police markings on their back and some wore vests with reflective tape that displayed "police" on the front.

Detective John Gravett confirmed that prior to breaching the door, he shouted, "Police, search warrant," at least two times. He testified that the door was breached between the first and second yell. As he followed Detective David Smith to the front door, he heard gunshots, and the first thing he saw was Detective Lee with blood on his face. He said shots were still being fired at the time when Detective Fisher shouted out that he had been hit. He testified that Detective Smith yelled, "Get your hands up or I'll shoot," or words to that effect, at which time Detective Gravett saw Green squatting in the corner of the room with a gun at his feet. Detective Gravett admitted that it was common knowledge that Green's apartment had been the subject of a recent robbery.

Detective Donnie Bakalekos testified that he was standing behind Detectives Lee and Fisher when he shouted, "Police. Search warrant. Little Rock Police," prior to the door being rammed. He stated that he believed the entire squad yelled the same warning. He testified that he and Detective Ralph Breshears were assigned to secure the upstairs portion of the apartment. He explained that once the door was breached, he made it halfway up the stairs before he heard gunshots. He testified that Detective Breshears stood immediately below him on the stairs and fired his weapon.

Officer David Smith testified that he entered the apartment with a 12-gauge shotgun immediately behind Detective Fisher. He explained that he followed Detective Fisher until the time when Detective Fisher was shot. Once Detective Fisher fell to the floor, Officer Smith fired one round at Green, who attempted to hide behind some furniture. Officer Smith testified that the police officers' ability to maneuver inside the apartment was hampered by a child's playpen that appeared to be in the middle of the apartment. He testified that he fired his shotgun a second time when Green began firing from behind the furniture. Officer Smith testified that he yelled to Green to drop his gun and surrender, which Green did after Donna Finney shouted: "It's the police. Drop your gun."

Four other police officers confirmed that they heard their fellow police officers yell, "Police, search warrant." Norma Allen, a resident of Green's apartment complex, testified that she heard some people talking "loud" outside her apartment between 7:45 and 8:00 p.m. on the night of the killing, but she could not determine what they were saying. She testified that this was followed by a "boom" sound and then gunshots. She testified that she also heard screaming and a person yell, "Someone's down."

A Taurus .38 special revolver, which had been used by Green, was removed at the scene and contained five spent hulls. Cash in the amount of $505.39 was recovered from a purse located in the apartment. In the kitchen, a hat containing a .38 round, a wallet, a pager, and $1,643.37 was found by police officers. Two plastic bags with green, vegetable matter were also recovered. Upstairs in Green's apartment, a Rossi .38 special revolver containing five live rounds was found in the master bedroom.

Donna Finney, Green's girlfriend and the mother of his two children, was called by the prosecutor as a witness. At the time of the slaying, she was seven months pregnant. She testified that she never saw the word "Police," written on any of the officers' vests. She also told the jury that the previous home robbery on January 7, 1995, caused Green and her to lose $2,000 in cash, along with a ring and a check. She stated that the robbers were black, wore ski masks, and broke into the apartment after midnight on a Friday night. She admitted that the police officers in this case were white and wore vests. She testified that they did not yell anything to identify themselves.

Former Detective Mark Sims testified that he and a confidential informant named John Cron were involved in four crack cocaine buys at Green's residence before the shooting. On February 7, 1995, there was a plan for Detective Sims and Cron to both be present during a hand-to-hand purchase of crack cocaine from Green. At the same time, Detectives Fisher and Lee were to watch from the outside. Sims, however, contacted the two detectives and told them that the plan had changed and that Cron was going to make the buy alone. After Cron's buy, Sims and Detective Fisher went to the Little Rock Municipal Judge to obtain the search warrant.

Dr. Charles Kokes, associate medical examiner, testified that he found gunshot entry and exit wounds on Detective Fisher's body. He testified that the bullet entered the area in front of his right shoulder, missing the bulletproof vest, passed through the right lung and severed a branch of the aorta, and exited through his upper left back. He opined that this gunshot wound was the cause of death. Ronald Andrejack, a firearms and toolmark examiner, testified that the fatal bullet was fired from the Taurus .38 special revolver. However, his test results with respect to the bullet retrieved from Detective Lee's head were inconclusive because the bullet was severely damaged.

Donna Finney also testified for the defense and stated that she was upstairs with her children on January 7, 1995, the date of the previous robbery. She heard a loud boom from downstairs. Green then came upstairs at gunpoint with a man behind him wearing a mask and demanding money. Finney next testified that on February 7, 1995, she was in the living room with Green and the two children when she heard a loud boom and the door "came in." She testified that she was aware that Green was firing his gun but told him to stop doing so when she realized it was the police. On cross-examination, she claimed that she was not selling drugs; that some of the money found by the police officers was her rapid-return federal tax money; and that she did not hear anything prior to the door being broken down.

Green testified in his own defense. He stated that he was home on January 7, 1995, with Donna Finney, the two children, and two friends when three armed men broke through the door and entered the living room. The men wore masks and demanded money. Green testified that he had recently received a check from a lawsuit that had settled and that he had just been paid from his job at St. Vincent Infirmary. He testified that he gave the men his money at gunpoint. After that robbery, he testified that he kept two loaded guns in the house for protection. He admitted that he began selling crack cocaine about that time to recoup the money that was lost. He also testified that he recognized Detective Sims from a previous job at University Hospital and that he never sold him drugs. He stated that he sold John Cron two rocks of crack cocaine on February 7, 1995. Later, he, Donna Finney, and the two children were in the living room when he heard a loud noise and saw men coming through the front door. Green stated that he thought it was another break-in and grabbed his pistol. He testified that he fired toward the door and not at any particular person and that he hoped to scare the intruders off. He explained that his biggest concern was for the safety of his child, who was in the playpen between himself and the front door. He testified that he was firing from an awkward position behind a piece of furniture and that he could only recall firing three times. He testified that after those shots, he threw down his weapon to surrender when he was hit in the leg with a shotgun blast. He testified that he did not know that the police were coming that night and that he had no idea it was police detectives who were on the receiving end of his volley.

On cross-examination,...