Phillips v. State, No. CR-06-1577 (Ala. Crim. App. 5/28/2010)
| Decision Date | 28 May 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. CR-06-1577.,CR-06-1577. |
| Parties | Bobby O'Lee Phillips, v. State of Alabama. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Appeal from Covington Circuit Court (CC-03-155).
On November 18, 2002, Bobby O'Lee Phillips and his codefendant, Oscar Roy Doster, were arrested near Ozona, Texas, on outstanding Alabama fugitive arrest warrants, bringing an end to a crime spree that began when Phillips Doster, and two other inmates escaped from the custody of the Covington County jail two weeks earlier on November 4, 2002. Over the two-week period that Phillips and Doster were at large, they murdered Paul LeMaster, as well as committed numerous property crimes at six locations in Covington County: (1) VFW Post 3454; (2) Jason Pettie's mobile home; (3) the Florala City Yard; (4) Florala High School; (5) Conecuh River Baptist Church; and (6) Pleasant Home School.
In February 2003, a Covington County grand jury returned a 23-count indictment against Phillips, charging him with escape in the first degree, six counts of capital murder, and numerous property crimes.
Following a trial by jury, Phillips was convicted of three counts of capital murder in connection with the death of Paul LeMaster. The murder was made capital because: (1) the murder was committed during the course of a first-degree burglary, see § 13A-5-40 (a) (4), Ala. Code 1975 (); (2) the murder was committed during the course of a first-degree robbery, see § 13A-5-40(a)(2), Ala. Code 1975 (); and (3) the murder was committed by Phillips firing a deadly weapon from outside LeMaster's residence while LeMaster was inside the residence, see § 13A-5-40 (a) (16), Ala. Code 1975 ().1
The jury recommended, by a vote of 12-0, that Phillips be sentenced to death for the capital-murder convictions. The circuit court accepted the jury's recommendation, and it sentenced Phillips to death on the three capital-murder convictions.2
The jury also convicted Phillips of the following 16 crimes:
1. Escape in the second degree, see § 13A-10-32, Ala. Code 1975 (3). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.4 The circuit court ordered this sentence to be served consecutively to the sentences imposed for the remaining convictions.
2. Burglary in the third degree, see § 13A-7-7, Ala. Code 1975, for the burglary of VFW Post 3454 (count II of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
3. Theft of property in the second degree, see § 13A-8-4, Code of Alabama, for the theft of various items from VFW Post 3454 (count III of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
The sentences imposed pursuant to counts II and III, the crimes committed at VFW Post 3454, were to be served concurrently to one another but consecutively to all the remaining sentences. See Ex parte McKelvey, 630 So. 2d 56, 57-8 (Ala. 1992) ().
4. Burglary in the first degree, see § 13A-7-5, Ala. Code 1975, for the burglary of Jason Pettie's mobile home (count IV of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
5. Theft of property in the first degree see § 13A-8-3, Ala. Code 1975, for the theft of various items from Jason Pettie's mobile home (count V of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
The sentences imposed for convictions under counts IV and V, the crimes committed at Jason Pettie's mobile home, were to be served concurrently to one another but consecutively to the remaining sentences. See Ex parte McKelvey, supra.
6. Burglary in the third degree, see § 13A-7-7, Ala. Code 1975, for the burglary of the Florala City Yard (count XIII of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
7. Theft of property in the second degree, see § 13A-8-4, Ala. Code 1975, for the theft of various items from the Florala City Yard (count XIV of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
The sentences imposed for convictions under counts XIII and XIV, the crimes committed at the Florala City Yard, were to be served concurrently to one another but consecutively to the remaining sentences. See Ex parte McKelvey, supra.
8. Burglary in the third degree, see § 13A-7-7, Ala. Code 1975, for the burglary of the Florala High School (count XV of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
9. Theft of property in the second degree, see § 13A-8-4, Ala. Code 1975, for the theft of various items from Florala High School (count XVI of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
10. Criminal mischief in the third degree, see § 13A-7-23, Ala. Code 1975, for damage done to vending machines inside Florala High School (count XVII of the indictment5). The circuit court sentenced Phillips to six months' incarceration in the Covington County jail.
The sentences imposed for the convictions under counts XV, XVI, and XVII, the crimes committed at the Florala High School, were to be served concurrently to one another but consecutively to the remaining sentences. See Ex parte McKelvey, supra; Rowell v. State, 447 So. 2d 193, 196 (Ala. Crim. App. 1983) ().
11. Burglary in the third degree, see § 13A-7-7, Ala. Code 1975, for the burglary of Pleasant Home School (count XVIII of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
12. Theft of property in the third degree, a violation of § 13A-8-5, Ala. Code 1975, for various items stolen from Pleasant Home School (count XIX of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips to one year of incarceration in the Covington County jail.
13. Criminal mischief in the third degree, see § 13A-7-23, Ala. Code 1975, for damage to vending machines inside Pleasant Home School (count XX of the indictment6). The circuit court sentenced Phillips to six months' incarceration in the Covington County jail.
The sentences imposed for convictions under counts XVIII, XIX, and XX, the crimes committed at the Pleasant Home School, were to be served concurrently to one another but consecutively to the remaining sentences. See Ex parte McKelvey, supra; Rowell v. State, supra.
14. Burglary in the third degree, see § 13A-7-7, Ala. Code 1975, for the burglary of the Conecuh River Baptist Church (count XXI of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
15. Burglary in the third degree, see § 13A-7-7, Ala. Code 1975, for the burglary of the fellowship hall of the Conecuh River Baptist Church (count XXII of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment.
16. Theft of Property in the third degree, a violation of § 13A-8-5, Ala. Code 1975, for the theft of various items in the Conecuh River Baptist Church (count XXIII of the indictment). The circuit court sentenced Phillips to one year of incarceration at the Covington County jail.
The sentences imposed for convictions under Count XXI, XXII, and XXIII, the crimes committed at the Conecuh River Baptist Church, were to be served concurrently to one another but consecutively to the remaining sentences. See Ex parte McKelvey, supra.
The circuit court order Phillips to pay a total amount of restitution of $14,473.54, to be allocated to the various victims of the crimes. The circuit court also ordered Phillips to pay court costs and attorney fees.
Phillips filed a motion for new trial, which the circuit court summarily denied. This appeal followed.
After Phillips was arrested, he gave a detailed statement to Covington County Sheriff's investigators, confessing his involvement in all the aforementioned crimes. This statement was admitted into evidence at trial. In addition to corroborating the details of the crimes and Phillips's involvement in the crimes, Phillips's statement helped paint a complete picture of the events that transpired while he and Doster were at large. The following facts were compiled from the State's evidence presented at trial, including Phillips's statement.
In the early morning hours of November 4, 2002,7 inmates Bobby O'Lee Phillips, Oscar Roy Doster, Michael Barbaree, and Charles Meeks escaped from the Covington County Jail. The four inmates pried the door off a ventilation area in the jail, kicked out the louvers connected to the outside wall of the jail, and then climbed down the louvers to the ground.
In order to get over the inside perimeter razor-wire fence, the men went to the back of the jail and climbed up another set of louvers. They used a mattress pad to cover the razor-wire fence, and then they went over the fence. Once outside the fence, Phillips removed his jail coveralls — he had on clothes underneath the coveralls. To get over the outside perimeter razor-wire fence, the group scaled the communications tower, and then climbed down a guy wire, over the fence, to the outside.
After the men escaped, Barbaree split off from the group. Phillips, Doster, and Meeks traveled on foot through the woods, on back roads, and along a railroad track until they came to an abandoned shed. It was raining, so the three men stayed in the abandoned shed until the morning of November 4.
After leaving the shed around 9:00 a.m. that morning, the group continued to travel on foot...
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