Riley v. State
| Decision Date | 28 March 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 21240,21240 |
| Citation | 107 Nev. 205,808 P.2d 551 |
| Parties | Billy Ray RILEY, Appellant, v. The STATE of Nevada, Respondent. |
| Court | Nevada Supreme Court |
Morgan D. Harris, Public Defender and Stephen J. Dahl, Deputy Public Defender, Clark County, for appellant.
Frankie Sue Del Papa, Atty. Gen., Carson City, Rex Bell, Dist. Atty., and William T. Koot, Deputy Dist. Atty., Clark County, for respondent.
A jury convicted the appellant, Billy Ray Riley, of first degree murder with use of a deadly weapon and robbery with use of a deadly weapon. Thereafter, Riley was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole and to a sentence of death. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the convictions and the sentences imposed pursuant to those convictions, including the sentence of death.
Albert "Ramrod" Bollin was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest on October 1, 1989. The weapon used to kill Bollin was a sawed-off .410 caliber shotgun that belonged to the appellant, Billy Ray Riley. Three persons, Darrell Lee Jackson, Kim Johnson, and Leotis Gordon, were at or near the scene where Ramrod Bollin was shot, and all three testified at trial.
Darrell Lee Jackson told the jurors that sometime after 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the shooting, he and Ramrod Bollin arrived at Leotis Gordon's residence where they met Billy Ray Riley. Riley asked Ramrod Bollin if he had any drugs. Then, all three men proceeded to a bedroom-lounge located in the home.
According to Jackson, appellant Riley was emotional and angry about the treatment he had received from drug dealers, and Riley said he was going to start robbing drug dealers who did not treat him appropriately. Thereafter, Darrell Jackson and Ramrod Bollin gave some rock cocaine to Billy Ray Riley, and Riley smoked the cocaine while Ramrod Bollin went into the bathroom to take a shower. Jackson testified that while Ramrod Bollin was in the shower, Riley began to ask about the money and drugs Ramrod Bollin had in his possession.
When Ramrod Bollin finished his shower, the three men went into Ramrod's room. Ramrod Bollin sat on the dresser facing Riley who was sitting on a bed. Riley was holding the shotgun and Jackson was standing near Ramrod toward the middle of the dresser. At that point, Jackson testified that Billy Ray Riley killed Ramrod Bollin:
Q Was there some conversation between Billy Ray Riley and "Ramrod" at that time?
A Yes. Billy asked him whose dope he had and "Ramrod" said "it's none [sic] mine." So Billy Ray say "it's mine now," you know.
And "Ramrod" said,
And so Billy Ray asked him "was he ready to die?" He said,
And after he--after he smoked the dope, then he put down his pipe, he asked him whether he was ready to die. He said "yeah." So Billy Ray shot him.
Kim Johnson also testified at trial. She said she was cooking in the kitchen when Ramrod Bollin was shot. She told the jury that just before the shooting, she heard Ramrod say, "if you're going to kill me, just kill me." Then she heard the flick of a cigarette lighter, and thereafter, a gunshot blast. Kim Johnson left the kitchen and walked toward the bedroom. She arrived at the scene in time to see Ramrod sitting upright on the dresser, clutching his chest. Riley was on the bed holding his shotgun.
At that point, Kim Johnson heard Ramrod Bollin say "Leo" and she exited towards Leotis Gordon's room across the hall. According to Johnson, Leotis Gordon asked her what had happened. Riley and Jackson also came into Gordon's bedroom and Riley told Johnson to go to the front room of the house and get a container of shotgun shells.
Leotis Gordon also testified. He told the jurors that he was sleeping in his room and was awakened by the gunshot blast. Gordon said he heard someone call "Leo, run." Gordon responded by asking, "what's going on in there?" Then Gordon said he proceeded to the bedroom window, apparently to get out of the home. Before Gordon could leave, Riley appeared in the doorway of the bedroom with the shotgun, and told Gordon to "just hold it."
Gordon testified that Riley then told Jackson to get Ramrod Bollin's money and drugs. Thereafter, Riley, Jackson, Johnson, and Gordon proceeded to the living room. While they were in the home, Riley had the shotgun in his possession most of the time, but allowed Jackson to hold the shotgun for approximately five minutes. Gordon said he was afraid for his life when he asked Riley, 1 Riley apparently thought this question over and then said, "okay, we will get 'L.L.' "
Riley and the others went to L.L.'s home, but L.L. did not answer his door so they left. Carolyn Henry was nearby in her father's automobile. Riley and the others got into Henry's car and Riley proceeded to drive the car to some convenience stores and then towards Tonopah, Nevada. Riley apparently held the shotgun for most of this trip, but Darrell Lee Jackson and Kim Johnson also handled it and, at one point, Jackson allegedly "had" the gun on Leotis Gordon.
Eventually, Riley and the others returned to Las Vegas. While Riley left the group to visit an individual named Andy, Carolyn Henry's "god brother" came upon the scene and told those remaining in the car to get out. Riley returned to the group at this time, but did nothing to stop the departure of the others.
Billy Ray Riley and Kim Johnson left together and walked out into the desert where Riley hid the shotgun under some boards. Thereafter, the two were arrested and Johnson led the police to the shotgun.
Riley was tried before a jury and convicted of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon and first degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon. 2 After a penalty phase hearing, the district court sentenced Riley to two consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole and to a sentence of death. This appeal followed.
Riley assigns error to the district court's refusal to allow a bench trial in this case. He also contends there was insufficient evidence produced at trial to support his convictions, and he argues that the prosecutor committed prejudicial misconduct during the proceedings. Finally, Riley asserts the district court erred in instructing the jury. We will assess the merits of each of these assignments of error separately.
Prior to trial, Riley asked the court for a bench trial; however, the court refused this request because the State would not stipulate to a non-jury trial. In Nevada, a criminal defendant cannot waive his right to a jury trial unless the district court and the prosecutor consent to the waiver. NRS 175.011(1) provides:
In a district court, cases required to be tried by jury must be so tried unless the defendant waives a jury trial in writing with the approval of the court and the consent of the state. A defendant who pleads not guilty to the charge of a capital offense must be tried by jury.
Riley does not challenge the constitutionality of that portion of NRS 175.011(1), which requires consent from the court and the prosecutor before a criminal defendant can waive the right to a jury trial; rather, Riley argues his convictions and sentences should be reversed because the State's decision not to stipulate to a non-jury trial was based upon an "improper consideration", to wit: the prosecutor did not want to afford Riley an opportunity to challenge the constitutionality of mandatory jury trials in capital cases under NRS 175.011(1). 3 We should note at this juncture that the record does not indicate why the prosecutor would not stipulate to a non-jury trial. In any event, we reject Riley's contentions on this issue.
A criminal defendant has the constitutional right to a trial by an impartial jury, but he does not have the right to compel a bench trial. Rains v. State, 83 Nev. 58, 60, 422 P.2d 541, 542 (1967). See also Singer v. United States, 380 U.S. 24, 85 S.Ct. 783, 13 L.Ed.2d 630 (1965). The State was within its rights when it refused to stipulate to Riley's request for a non-jury trial. 4
Next, in assessing the sufficiency of a jury's conclusions regarding issues of fact in a criminal action, this court is constrained to view the facts in a manner most favorable to the State; thus, this court asks whether any rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the crime involved beyond a reasonable doubt. Koza v. State, 100 Nev. 245, 250, 681 P.2d 44, 47 (1984). Riley argues there was insufficient evidence produced at trial to support his guilty convictions. We disagree.
First, it is uncontradicted that the murder weapon belonged to Riley and that Riley brought the weapon to Leotis Gordon's home on the day in question. Darrell Lee Jackson testified at trial that he witnessed Riley kill Ramrod Bollin with the sawed-off shotgun. 5 Kim Johnson testified that after the shooting, she saw Riley cradling his gun while Ramrod Bollin was "sitting" on the dresser with the gunshot wound in his chest. 6 Riley seemed to have a motive: he was angry at drug dealers, and evinced an inclination to rob them because they were not treating him fairly. The evidence further indicates that Riley's acts were premeditated: Riley discussed what he was going to do to the victim before killing him, and allowed Ramrod Bollin to take one last "hit" of cocaine before he was shot. Finally, Riley generally maintained control of the murder weapon and hid it in the desert after it was used to kill Ramrod Bollin. We conclude there was ample evidence produced at the trial to support Riley's convictions. 7
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