Lebron v. State
| Decision Date | 01 May 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. SC06-138.,SC06-138. |
| Citation | 982 So.2d 649 |
| Parties | Jermaine LEBRON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Robert A. Norgard and Andrea M. Norgard of Norgard and Norgard Attorneys at Law, Bartow, FL, for Appellant.
Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, and Barbara C. Davis, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, FL, for Appellee.
This case is before the Court on appeal from a resentencing proceeding where Lebron was sentenced to death. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the sentence.
Jermaine Lebron was convicted of the 1995 first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm of Larry Neal Oliver. See Lebron v. State, 799 So.2d 997, 1004 (Fla. 2001). In affirming the convictions from the guilt phase, this Court detailed the facts surrounding the murder:
According to eyewitnesses, [Oliver, who worked with one of Lebron's acquaintances Danny Summers,] had been lured to a house in Osceola County (the "Gardenia house") where Lebron and several others were staying after Lebron offered to sell [Oliver] some "spinners" for his truck. Shortly after [Oliver] arrived at the home, Lebron called to him to come toward the back bedrooms. As [Oliver] entered the hallway leading to the bedrooms, he was forced to lie face down, and was shot at short range in the back of the head.... Money, checks, and a credit card were taken from [Oliver], and stereo equipment was stripped from his truck. Lebron directed others present at the time to burn [Oliver's] identification papers, to dispose of [his] body, and to clean up the area where [he] had been shot.
Over the next several days, Lebron and some of the others used [Oliver's] credit card, pawned his stereo equipment, and cashed his checks. An attempt was also made to burn [Oliver's] truck.... Shortly thereafter, Lebron left for New York City, the place where "Legz Diamond," a topless juice bar owned by his mother, was located.
[Oliver's] body was later discovered in a rural area near the Walt Disney World property. Although the body was covered with a blanket and some shrubs, it was still visible from the road.
The medical examiner, Dr. Julia Martin, performed the autopsy on Oliver's body after it was discovered. She testified that ... [t]here were no bruises to the hands consistent with defensive wounds. The cause of death, which was instantaneous, was from a shotgun wound to the head.
After Lebron left for New York, the others having knowledge of the event reported the murder to law enforcement officers.... All of the witnesses other than the Tocci brothers gave statements which were consistent throughout, and also consistent with what the police were able to verify with evidence and other statements (such as where the body was hidden; where the truck was burned; how the checks were cashed; and where Oliver's property was pawned).
At about the same time, a crime-scene investigation was being conducted by the Osceola County Sheriff's Department. Investigators observed several drops of what appeared to be dried blood in a big area at the southeast bedroom door of the home where the event allegedly occurred. They also discovered what appeared to be blood that had some foreign substance on it. The area was at least twelve to fourteen inches in diameter. A very strong stench of dried blood was detected immediately upon entering the residence.
Plastic balls were found inside the southeast bedroom, along with sponges and pellets. A spent Winchester twelve-gauge pheasant shotgun shell was found in a drawer in another bedroom. In a third bedroom, the police found four shotgun shells and the decedent's ring in a pair of sneakers.
Shortly after these eyewitness reports were made to law enforcement, Lebron, accompanied at the time by Stacie Kirk and Howard Kendall (who was involved in burning Oliver's truck), was apprehended in a car parked on the street outside of Legz Diamond, and arrested. Incident to the arrest, a search of the vehicle was conducted, and a day planner was recovered from the center console underneath the dashboard between the passenger seat and the driver's seat. Upon opening the planner, an identifying card with the name "Larry N. Oliver" was found. Detective Rodriguez retrieved the planner and secured it for safekeeping. He also found four shotgun shells in the center console.
Lebron's first trial resulted in a mistrial due to jury deadlock. See id. at 1001. During the guilt phase of the second trial, the jury found the following on special-verdict forms: (1) Lebron was guilty of first-degree felony murder; (2) Oliver was killed by someone other than Lebron; (3) Lebron did not possess a firearm during the commission of the felony murder; (4) Lebron was guilty of robbery with a firearm; and (5) Lebron possessed a firearm during the commission of the robbery. See id. at 1004. During the penalty phase for this same proceeding, the jury recommended the death penalty by a vote of seven to five. See id. at 1006. The trial court sentenced Lebron to death. See id. at 1008. In 2001, this Court affirmed Lebron's convictions but vacated the death sentence and remanded for resentencing. See id. at 1022.1 After a new penalty phase was held, the jury recommended the death penalty by a vote of seven to five. See Lebron v. State, 894 So.2d 849, 852 (Fla.2005). The trial court sentenced Lebron to death. See id. In 2005, this Court again vacated the death sentence and remanded for resentencing. See id. at 856.2
During the most recent penalty-phase proceeding, which commenced on August 16, 2005, the State presented the testimony of Detective Andrew Lang, who provided a summary of the facts surrounding the incident. Lang testified that Daniel Summers supplied the following information with regard to Lebron's conduct immediately prior to Oliver's death: (1) Lebron was playing with the shotgun in the vehicle on the ride home after Oliver had agreed to follow them; (2) Lebron stated that he could not believe Oliver was stupid enough to follow them to the house; (3) at the house, Lebron had the shotgun in his possession when Summers and Oliver walked down the hallway; and (4) Lebron directed Oliver to lie on the floor, and Oliver eventually complied after an initial struggle. Additionally, Lang testified that the autopsy of Oliver showed no signs of defensive wounds or wounds consistent with a struggle. Lang also testified that Charissa Wilburn provided information that was consistent with Summers' statement: Wilburn stated that immediately after she heard a struggle in the hallway, she heard a shotgun blast.
Lang also presented evidence that Dwayne Sapp made the following statements with regard to Lebron's conduct: (1) when Sapp arrived at the house, Lebron had the gun in his possession; (2) Lebron directed Sapp to look at "his" (Lebron's) truck (the red pickup truck that belonged to Oliver) which had been parked in the garage; (3) Lebron directed Sapp and the others to clean the area where Oliver had been shot; (4) Lebron directed that the red pickup truck be destroyed; and (5) Lebron was present when equipment from Oliver's truck was pawned and Oliver's credit card was used. Lang addressed that when Lebron was arrested in New York, both a shotgun shell and Oliver's day planner were found in the car used by Lebron, and, finally that Lebron had been previously convicted of a robbery and kidnapping and also on a charge of aggravated assault.
The State presented evidence from Oliver's mother with regard to victim-impact evidence and also exhibits which included (1) proof of Lebron's prior-violent-felony convictions; (2) pictures of the deceased Oliver after the murder and the hallway at the crime scene; and (3) evaluations of mental health professionals who analyzed Lebron.
The defense presented only the testimony of Jocelyn Ortiz, Lebron's mother. Her testimony revealed that while she was living on the streets of New York City, she became pregnant with Lebron when she was sixteen years old and had used drugs during this pregnancy. Lebron's father was only involved with Lebron for the first few months of his life. Her memory of Lebron during the first few months after his birth was her drug involvement and unsuccessful attempts to feed him. When Lebron was about three months old, she entered a drug rehab program. Her motivation to enter this residential program was based on being advised that Lebron would be taken from her if she did not rehabilitate. Lebron was in foster care during this time.
After completing rehab, she married Tony Ortiz and she worked as a counselor with the rehab program she attended. From the time Lebron was three months old until he was four or five years old, she did not use drugs. After her job as a counselor there ended, she became a dancer and later a stripper which covered approximately ten years.
During this period of time, Lebron would steal from her on different occasions. She testified that on occasion she used corporal punishment on Lebron in an attempt to instill discipline and would tell him to leave her alone when he would "cling" to her. Her employment provided sufficient income to provide for Lebron, and she would provide him with money and the items (e.g., clothes) he desired.
The defense presented exhibits which included (1) the charges and convictions of the other individuals involved in the Oliver incident; (2) reports with regard to Lebron's prior arrest in New York (these reports disclosed that he was seventeen at that time and a codefendant possessed a gun that was used during the crime);3 and (3) reports with regard to Lebron's attendance and performance at various schools and group homes during his teenage years.
On August 17, 2005, the jury returned a recommendation of death by a vote of seven to five. The jury found three...
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