Pierce v. State

• Decision Date: 03 August 1990
• Docket Number: 4 Div. 406
• Citation: 576 So.2d 236
• Parties: Andy Dwight PIERCE v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 236

576 So.2d 236

Andy Dwight PIERCE v. STATE.

4 Div. 406.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Aug. 3, 1990.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 21, 1990.

W. Phil Etheridge, Hartford, for appellant.

Don Siegelman, Atty. Gen., and William D. Little and Beth Jackson Hughes, Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellee.

TYSON, Judge.

Andy Dwight Pierce was indicted for intentional murder during the course of a robbery, in violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975. The jury found the appellant guilty of the capital offense as charged in the indictment and recommended the death penalty by a vote of ten to two. The trial judge accepted the jury's recommendation, and the appellant was sentenced to death.

Nancy Miller testified that her mother, Annie Ruth Brooks, the victim in this case, lived at 109 South Commerce Street in Geneva, Alabama, in early May 1988. At the time, the victim owned a 1987 Buick LaSabre automobile. Miller stated that her mother always kept between $25 and $50 in cash on her person. During the month of April 1988, the victim wrote three checks for cash: (1) on April 1, in the amount of $100; (2) on April 13, in the amount of $100; (3) on April 26, in the amount of $75. On April 29, 1988, the victim wrote a check to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store in the amount of $50, and she received cash in the amount of $46.34 in return.

John Juhnke testified that on May 2, 1988, he and the appellant went over to the victim's house to trim some hedges in her yard. At some point, Juhnke left the appellant's house to check on some insurance matters. When he returned, he helped the appellant carry the hedge trimmings out to the street. When they finished, the appellant went inside the victim's house while Juhnke waited outside. In a few minutes, the appellant came outside and said that the victim had given him $10. The appellant then gave Juhnke $5 and told him that the victim wanted him to do some plumbing work for her. The appellant told Juhnke to go on home and tell the appellant's girlfriend, Linda Powell, that he would be home soon. Juhnke, who lived next door to the appellant, went home. He stated that he did not see any vehicles other than the victim's car when he left the victim's house. Later that night, Powell woke up Juhnke and asked him to show her where the victim lived. Juhnke then took Powell to the victim's house. Powell knocked on the front door and Juhnke went around to the back door. Juhnke noticed that the victim's car was gone but that some lights and the television were on in the house. Powell then went inside the victim's house. When she came out, the two went home.

Several witnesses who were neighbors of the victim testified that they saw the appellant and Juhnke working in the victim's yard on the afternoon in question. However, none of these witnesses saw any vehicles, other than the victim's car, parked at the victim's house that afternoon.

D.D. McDaniels testified that on May 2, 1988, he was employed by ALFA Insurance and his office was located at 300 Commerce Street in Geneva, Alabama. On that day, Juhnke came to his office about 5:15 p.m. and talked to him about some insurance matters. Juhnke stayed about 10 minutes.

Greg Ward, a deputy with the Geneva County sheriff's department, testified that he was at the Chicken Box in Geneva on the night of May 2, 1988, when Linda Powell approached him and stated that she had found a person dead. Powell then took Ward to the victim's house on 109 Commerce Street and showed him the victim's body. After talking to Powell and Juhnke, a BOLO (be on the lookout) was issued for the 1987 Buick LaSabre which belonged to the victim.

Charles Brooks, an analyst for the Department of Forensic Sciences, stated that he found the victim's body on a bed in one of the bedrooms of the house. The victim had a ligature around her left wrist and a gag in her mouth. Nearby, a 10 pound traction weight was found on the floor. Hairs and blood similar to the victim's were found on the traction weight. The autopsy revealed that the victim's cause of death was a massive injury to the right side of the victim's head that shattered the skull. The victim's injury would be consistent with being hit by the traction weight. The victim also suffered a bruise on the left side of the neck and a break in the hyoid bone which would be consistent with attempted strangulation. The victim's wallet was found lying open on the kitchen table.

Nathan Pierce, the appellant's brother, testified that the appellant arrived at his house in Kinston, Alabama, at approximately 6:30 on the afternoon in question. The appellant was driving a gray Buick, and he told Nathan that the woman he worked for had loaned him the car. The appellant and Nathan then stopped by Tony and Leigh Pritchard's house in Kinston. When Leigh Pritchard asked the appellant where he had gotten the car, the appellant asked her if she wanted to buy it for $5. The appellant and Nathan then left the Pritchards' house and went to Tina Harrison's house in Opp, Alabama. When Tina Harrison inquired about the car, the appellant told her it belonged to his "boss lady."

Around 11:00 on the night of May 2, 1988, Eddie Harrison saw the appellant and Nathan at the Depot Lounge in Opp. The three drank some beer and then rode around Opp for a while in the victim's car. At some point, the appellant passed out in the car, and the three returned to the Depot Lounge. While Nathan was inside the Depot Lounge, one of his and the appellant's other brothers, Dickie, came into the lounge and told Nathan that the victim had been found dead and that the police were looking for the appellant. Nathan told Dickie that he did not know where the appellant was. Dickie left, and Nathan then went out to the car and asked the appellant what had happened. The appellant told him the same story that he later told the police. The appellant then took Nathan home around 3:00 a.m. on May 3, 1988.

During the early morning hours of May 3, 1988, Thomas Weeks of the Coffee County sheriff's department received information that the appellant was wanted for questioning in Geneva County, and he began looking for the appellant in the Kinston area where the appellant and his family had lived. Sometime after daylight, Weeks and Jack Hubbard, an investigator, drove past the appellant's home and saw the appellant standing near a bridge. Weeks stopped the car and started talking to the appellant. The appellant identified himself as his brother, Danny Pierce, and said that he was checking some fishing lines under the bridge. Weeks and Hubbard then drove away. A few minutes later, Weeks realized that he had been talking to the appellant and not Danny. Weeks turned around and went back to the bridge where they had seen the appellant, but he had disappeared into the woods. A short time later, the appellant's mother and Nathan drove up. Nathan went into the woods and talked to the appellant. The appellant came out of the woods a short time later and was arrested and advised of his Miranda rights.

Weeks and Hubbard then transported the appellant to the Kinston Police Department. During the trip, the appellant stated that while he was doing some yard work for the victim, an older man was in the victim's house doing some plumbing work for the victim. The appellant said that he thought he heard the man and the victim arguing and that he did hear some scuffling noises inside the house. The appellant stated that, at some point, the man came out of the house and threw some car keys at him and told him that he better get out of there. The appellant alleged that the man was driving an older model pickup truck and had parked the truck near the curb. The appellant said that he then left in the victim's Buick LaSabre and drove it to Opp where he parked it at the Four Sons Lounge and left the keys in the car.

Deputy Ward and Geneva County Sheriff Doug Whittle picked up the appellant at the Kinston Police Department at 11:30 a.m. on May 3, 1988 and transported him back to Geneva. When the appellant was placed in the patrol car, he was again advised of his Miranda rights. The appellant stated that he knew his rights and knew the law. Sheriff Whittle asked the appellant where the victim's car was, and the appellant replied that he had left it at the Four Sons. The appellant then stated that while he and Juhnke were doing some yard work for the victim, Juhnke left to check on some insurance matters. During this time, a man named Jim, who was driving a 1963 blue Chevrolet truck, pulled up in front of the victim's house and parked his truck on the street. Jim told the appellant that he was going to do some plumbing work for the victim, and then he went inside the victim's house. The appellant said that he heard Jim and the victim arguing. He said that when the appellant and Juhnke finished working, the appellant went to the victim's back porch, at which time Jim came outside, pointed a gun at him, and told him to come inside the house. After the appellant went inside, Jim gave him some money and told him to go pay Juhnke and tell him to go home. The appellant did this and then went back inside the victim's house and Jim told him to lay on the floor, and he threw him some car keys and told him to take the victim's car and leave. The appellant said he then left in the victim's car and went to his brother's house. The two drove to Opp and left the victim's car at the Four Sons Lounge.

Later that day, Sheriff Whittle received information that the victim's car had been found in the Pea River about five miles from where the appellant was arrested. When he told the appellant this information, the appellant admitted that he ran the victim's car into the river. A match book from the Depot Lounge in Opp was found in the victim's car as was a $5 bill, a partially smoked cigarette and two empty beer cans.

The appellant's testimony was basically the same as the statement which he gave to the...