Jeffries v. State

• Decision Date: 13 July 2017
• Docket Number: No. SC14–1965,SC14–1965
• Parties: Kevin G. JEFFRIES, Jr., Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

222 So.3d 538

Kevin G. JEFFRIES, Jr., Appellant,

v.STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. SC14–1965

Supreme Court of Florida.

July 13, 2017

Andy Thomas, Public Defender, and Nada M. Carey, Assistant Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, Florida, for Appellant

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Lisa A. Hopkins, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, for Appellee

PER CURIAM.

Appellant Kevin G. Jeffries, Jr. was convicted for the first-degree murder of Wallace Reid Scott, armed burglary of a dwelling, and armed robbery. Jeffries was sentenced to death for the first-degree murder conviction after a jury recommended the death penalty by a vote of ten to two. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.

FACTS AND TRIAL

On April 6, 2013, Wallace Scott was found dead, sitting up against his bed, by a concerned neighbor, who had noticed an accumulation of newspapers. When officers from the Bay County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) arrived at Scott's residence, a gate and back door to the house were open. There were no signs of forced entry into the home. The pool in the backyard was dirty and had not been cleaned recently. The house smelled strongly of bleach and other household cleaners. An empty gallon-size bottle of bleach, an empty can of Comet cleaner, and an aerosol canister of air purifier were found in the bedroom. A bottle of toilet-bowl cleaner was found turned upside-down, which allowed the liquid to soak into the carpet. Investigators found bleach stains throughout Scott's bedroom, and the carpet was so saturated that investigators had to frequently replace the paper boots they were wearing to prevent cross-contamination of the crime scene.

The house appeared to have been ransacked. In the bedroom where Scott was found, the bed had been pushed aside and was askew from its box springs. Electric cords that had been cut and belts were found next to Scott, who was found with ligature marks on his ankles and legs. There was blood on the floor next to Scott. Investigators also found a plunger, a pair of scissors, and the tip of a blue latex glove in the bedroom, as well as a wooden box containing shotgun shells. A fire poker that contained no traces of soot was also found on top of a washing machine.

The medical examiner found that Scott had abrasion and impact injuries on his face and a fractured nose

. There was also a lacerating injury to his left ear that was forceful enough to split the ear. Scott had lacerations across his upper body, hands, and neck, as well as several fractures of his ribs. The medical examiner later testified that some of these injuries could have been inflicted by a long, cylindrical object such as a fire poker. Additionally, the medical examiner noted that Scott's ankles had been bound, and there was some evidence of binding on his left wrist. There were also superficial sharp-force injuries to Scott's penis.

BCSO investigators initially identified Sherri Mercer as a person of interest in Scott's murder. She had served as Scott's live-in caretaker for several years until a few weeks before Scott's death. Scott had introduced her to a friend, a private investigator, whom Scott asked to assist Mercer in obtaining a driver's license. The private investigator suspected that Scott and Mercer had a personal relationship, and Mercer's sister, Mary Goldsmith, the mother of Jeffries, later testified that Mercer had a sexual relationship with Scott that Mercer did not enjoy; however, Mercer later denied that her relationship with Scott was sexual in nature. In February 2013, Scott executed a will that named Mercer as the principal beneficiary of his estate, which included his residence and several pieces of real property. Mercer also had a joint checking account with Scott and access to one of his credit cards.

A female friend of Mercer's had lived in Scott's home with Mercer and Scott until sometime in February 2013, when Scott evicted the friend, and Mercer moved out with her. Mercer continued to use the credit card and write checks from the joint account. Apparently, these actions were done without the consent of Scott, who filed a complaint with the BCSO on March 14, 2013, against Mercer for claims of credit card and check fraud. However, he subsequently informed law enforcement that he did not wish to prosecute Mercer for these offenses. Around the same time, Scott also contacted the friend who was a private investigator and asked him for assistance with amending his will and power of attorney.

Although Mercer remained a person of interest throughout the investigation, investigators later sought to arrest Jeffries after results from DNA testing of the tip of the blue latex glove matched both Scott and Jeffries. At that time, Ashley Griffin, Jeffries's girlfriend, also became a suspect. Officers first located and arrested Griffin in Georgia, and she agreed to assist law enforcement in the apprehension of Jeffries and his cousin, David Challender, the son of Sherri Mercer. Following his arrest, Jeffries admitted to officers that he participated in the burglary and fatal assault on Scott. During trial, Griffin testified on behalf of the State with respect to the events that culminated in the murder of Scott, and her testimony was largely corroborated by Jeffries's post-arrest statement, a recording of which was admitted during trial.

On April 4, 2013, Jeffries, Challender, and Griffin decided to leave Challender's home in Atlanta and travel to Panama City to commit robbery, including the robbery of Scott. Scott was known to each of them: Jeffries and Griffin had met him on at least one occasion, and Challender had stayed with Mercer and Scott in January or February 2013. Challender believed that Scott kept money and valuable guns in his house. Several weeks before the decision to travel to Panama City, Challender also told Jeffries that he wanted to drown Scott in his own pool, which Jeffries understood as an offhand comment at the time. There was also some evidence presented that the plan to travel to Panama City would also permit Challender to travel to his mother's upcoming wedding to another individual.

Throughout the two weeks leading up to this decision, all three had chronically consumed methamphetamines and marijuana. They had also been awake for several days prior to the murder. Griffin agreed to use her car as their vehicle. En route, an officer pulled the car over in Dothan, Alabama, while Jeffries was driving the car. Although Griffin had an outstanding warrant for check fraud, the officer only issued Jeffries a ticket for a traffic violation and permitted them to proceed without arresting Griffin.

After arriving in Lynn Haven later that day, they purchased gloves from a local Walmart. This purchase was confirmed by surveillance footage and a receipt from Walmart. Jeffries also informed officers that they had purchased zipties earlier that day as well. After purchasing gloves from the local Walmart, they drove past Scott's house several times that day and waited until dark. They knew that Scott, who was ninety years old and suffered from some hearing loss, usually went to sleep fairly early in the evening. Griffin dropped Jeffries and Challender off at Scott's home, with the understanding that she would return to Alabama while Jeffries and Challender would stay at Scott's home for a week and use his debit cards and credit cards.

Jeffries and Challender entered Scott's home through a back window that Challender knew was unlocked. As they crawled through the kitchen toward Scott's bedroom, lights in the bedroom were suddenly turned on, and a physical fight between Scott and Challender ensued. Jeffries later admitted that he chose to participate in the attack by subduing Scott after Challender requested his assistance. Challender continued to beat Scott as Jeffries worked to restrain Scott with a belt and electric cords. At some point, Challender obtained two guns that were next to Scott's bed, beat Scott with one, and handed the other to Jeffries. Challender demanded that Scott reveal the personal information number (PIN) for his debit and credit cards.

Approximately twenty minutes after she had left Jeffries and Challender at Scott's residence, Griffin received a phone call from Jeffries, who asked her to return. When she arrived, Griffin did not want to enter the house; however, Jeffries exited the house and sat in the car with Griffin for a few minutes as they smoked marijuana and a cigarette before they entered the house.

According to Griffin and Jeffries, Challender was the principal attacker, while Jeffries spent most of his time rummaging through the house for items to take, and Griffin was directed to use household cleaning products to clean the blood from the carpet. When Scott refused to disclose his PIN, Challender threatened to cut off his genitalia with scissors and sodomize him with a toilet plunger. Challender apparently displayed some degree of force to support these threats, as Scott was found with superficial lacerations on his penis

, and Griffin testified that she saw Challender strike Scott on the buttocks with the plunger. Challender later informed Jeffries that Scott bit him during their initial struggle and told Jeffries that if they were apprehended, he would tell law enforcement that Griffin caused the injuries to Scott's penis. At some point in the evening, Scott told Jeffries that he would cooperate if Jeffries removed the restraints and helped him sit up, which Jeffries did. Jeffries also apologized to Scott. After rendering some aid to Scott, Jeffries later returned to the bedroom, but realized Scott had died. Upon exiting Scott's house, the group took $100 in cash, a ring, four guns, and a clock.

After they left Scott's residence, Jeffries, Griffin, and Challender engaged in a series of arguments that escalated into Challender and Jeffries pointing weapons at each other. The three eventually parted ways, and Griffin was arrested shortly...