Lehr v. State, 7 Div. 680

• Decision Date: 05 May 1981
• Docket Number: 7 Div. 680
• Citation: 398 So.2d 791
• Parties: Michael Dennis LEHR v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 791

398 So.2d 791

Michael Dennis LEHR v. STATE.

7 Div. 680.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

May 5, 1981.

Andrew W. Bolt, II of Wilson, Bolt, Isom, Jackson, Bailey & Owens, Anniston, for appellant.

Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and Cynthia D. Welch, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

DeCARLO, Judge.

Murder, second degree; thirty years.

The appellant was indicted by the Calhoun County Grand Jury for the murder of Rodney Paul James, by shooting him with a shotgun.

In support of this indictment the State presented the following evidence.

Sherry Roberts, the victim's girlfriend, testified she spent the night with Rodney James before the morning of the shooting. She and the victim took the drug "PCP" that night, and then slept soundly. The following morning, she and James went to the house trailer of appellant and his wife, Sheila Lehr. James and appellant left for a short while and returned with milk and a package of disposable hypodermic syringes. When they returned to the trailer, they took two of the syringes and stated they were going to Ohatchee. The two men left in appellant's truck, while Ms. Roberts remained at the trailer with Sheila Lehr.

Two or three hours later, appellant returned to the trailer alone and told Sherry and Sheila that he left the victim at the creek because he had "O.D.' d" on methedrine. Appellant said he was going to get someone and go back to see if the victim was alive. He left, and then returned some forty-five minutes later and stated that Rodney James was dead. He also had the victim's ring with him and offered Sherry the ring, which she refused. He told her to keep her mouth shut and he would take anything from the victim's body she wanted. Appellant then took Sherry Roberts to her house and left her there.

The story appellant told Sherry Roberts and Sheila Lehr as to the victim's death began to unravel when witness, Clyde Carlisle, found the victim leaning on a car parked on the Ohatchee road on the same afternoon of July 18, 1978. The victim appeared to have been bleeding badly from two gunshot wounds and a gash on his forehead. He was still bleeding and was very white and weak. The victim told Carlisle that appellant had shot him. Mr. Carlisle then took the victim to the Fuller's Bait Shop, where an emergency unit came and picked up the victim.

Joe Fincher, Chief of the Alexandria Fire Department testified he went to Fuller's Bait Shop in answer to a reported shooting. Chief Fincher, an emergency medical technician, rendered aid to the victim. He said James was sitting in a chair, semi-conscious, and bleeding badly. When questioned by Fincher as to who shot him, James responded that appellant Lehr had shot him. The victim stated that Lehr had shot him "on purpose," as opposed to accidentally, and that he had taken no drugs or medication. Chief Fincher observed the victim to be in bad shape and close to death.

Deputy Sheriff Jerry Chandler participated in the investigation of the shooting of Rodney James. Chandler testified he went to the appellant's trailer approximately forty-five minutes after learning of the shooting. Appellant answered Deputy Chandler's knock and came out into the yard where he was advised of his rights. At appellant's request, he was taken to the sheriff's office. Deputy Chandler informed him of his rights again in the presence of Officer Jerry Kelley. Appellant then made the following statement to the officers which was reduced to writing and admitted into evidence at his trial:

"I Michael David (sic) Lehr have been knowing Rodney Paul James for about three years, maybe 4 years. We had done drugs together before, just a day or so after the robbery of Regional Medical Center Pharmacy. Rodney Paul James asked me if I would hide some drugs. We agreed and I met him at the Shell Service Station on Highway 431 at the Highway 62 intersection and he gave me a plastic bag full of drugs. I carried the drugs down beside the creek and buried them. Rodney and I would get together about every day and go out there and do some of the drugs. Rodney and Ronald Wayne Ritter were the ones who did the robbery at the hospital and Waymon Knighton was the one who planned it. Rodney was arrested for the robbery and later released on bond. Someone else thought Rodney was going to testify against Waymon Knighton and on Sunday July 16, 1978 at about dark a big man came to my trailer and knocked on the door. I opened the door and he said I want to talk to you and we stood outside the trailer, he said you know about (Rod) Rodney if he opens his mouth about Knighton he is dead as a Micreal (sic) anyway. And you have got a mighty nice little boy there if you want to keep him you better have a searce (sic) talk with Rod. And he walked off. I had to make a trip to Ky. so I left at 8:30 P.M., July 16, 1978. I got back at 7:20 July 17, 1978. At 9:00 A.M. July 18, 1978, Rod came to my trailer, we stayed there about an hour then we left and went to the creek. We always carry the shotgun with us and we went to the hardware store in Jacksonville and got a box of shells, but before we bought the shells we went to Boozers Drug store and got some disposal needles. We went to the creek and did some drugs. We just sat on the creek bank and talked and shot the shotgun into the creek. We talked about Rod testifying against Waymon Knighton and he said he didn't know if he would or not that his life had never been on the line before. I loaded the shotgun and was holding it in my hands and it went off and hit Rod in the back and side, it scared me so bad I didn't know what to do and I was messed up on drugs. I talked to Rod for a minute or two and he said help me man and I helped him to the truck and let the tailgate down and put him the back of the truck. I stopped and wet a rag and put it on his face. About that time we started struggling and he was wild so I went to the front of the truck and got my shotgun and reloaded it. Rod was right on me and he was talking real loud and I told him to get back in the truck but he just kept coming toward me and grabbed a holt (sic) of me and I shot him again. Rod was laying (sic) on the ground and I sat down beside him and talked to him for a minute and he asked me to get the wet rag and I did and wiped his face off. He asked to see a picture of his little girl and I got his billfold out and showed him the picture. When Rod got quite and stopped talking I left him and went up the side of the mountain and hid the shotgun. It was broken down in three pieces. Then I went back to where Rod was, I stayed there about 15 minutes then I left and rode around for a few minutes and then I went home. I stayed around the house for awhile then I went into the bathroom and changed pants because the ones I had on had blood on them. I put those pants in the dirty close (sic) hamper. Shortly after that (about 20 minutes) the deputies came to the trailer...."

After making the statement, appellant took the officers to the area of the shooting near the Tallaseehatchee Creek in Calhoun County. There he showed the officers a drug stash alongside a dirt road where drugs and empty drug wrappers were found. Farther along the road appellant pointed out where the victim's body had been lying when he left him and where the shotgun was buried in two pieces under leaves. About one-half mile farther, appellant led the officers off the road and across two fences, down to the creek bank. There they found one sixteen-gauge spent shotgun shell and two unopened and unused hypodermic needles. They also observed a great deal of blood at the scene.

Deputy Allen Reese testified to receiving a ring and a wallet during the course of the investigation. The wallet, which he received from Deputy Chandler, was one identified by Chandler as having been found in a tissue box on the dash of the truck driven by appellant the day of the shooting. Reese stated the wallet contained an Alabama driver's license with James' picture on it. The ring was given to him by Ms. Laura James, the victim's wife, who identified it as belonging to Rodney James. She stated the ring was given to her after James' death by Sheila Lehr, appellant's wife.

Deputy Reese also testified that the drugs in the stash referred to by Deputy Chandler were hidden there by appellant for a Waymon Knighton, who had stolen the drugs from the Regional Medical Center Pharmacy. The victim and appellant were then "ripping him off," by taking Knighton's stolen drugs for their own use. Reese also identified pictures of the victim, showing the nature and location of the shotgun wounds, which he had taken during the investigation.

Laura James testified to having seen her husband, dead, at the funeral home on Wednesday after he was killed on Tuesday. On cross-examination, she stated her husband did have several knives and carried one sometimes. She had been separated from her husband for about three weeks at the time of his death. She had never seen her husband take drugs, but did know of his close friendship with appellant, and identified pictures of Lehr and James fishing together.

Joseph Embry, a pathologist for the State, conducted a post-mortem examination of Rodney James on July 19, 1978. He discovered two shotgun wounds, one in the right arm and right chest, and the other in the right lower back. There were also bruises and deep lacerations on the victim's forehead. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest with pellets in the heart, which compressed the heart by causing the sack around the heart to fill with blood. A piece of leather, which appeared to be belt leather, was found in the right chest. Test records indicated no detectable amount of any drug was present in the victim's system.

Chip Walls, a toxicologist for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, testified he examined the victim's blood, urine, and bile for evidence of drugs in the victim's body. No drugs, "PCP" or otherwise, were shown...