Sheffield v. State, CR–15–1467
Decision Date | 09 June 2017 |
Docket Number | CR–15–1467 |
Citation | 248 So.3d 38 |
Parties | Larry SHEFFIELD v. STATE of Alabama |
Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Alabama Supreme Court 1160839
William Gregory Hughes, Mobile, for appellant.
Luther Strange, atty. gen., and Audrey K. Jordan, asst. atty. gen., for appellee.
On Application for Rehearing
This Court's opinion of March 17, 2017, is withdrawn, and the following is substituted therefor.
Larry Sheffield was convicted of murder, see § 13A-6-2, Ala. Code 1975, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The circuit court ordered Sheffield to pay a $1,000 fine, a $1,603 crime victims compensation assessment, and court costs.
The State's evidence at trial tended to show that Sheffield shot and killed Jeffrey McMillian. On July 19, 2014, Kimberly Paige and Latitia Lamley were bartending and Cathy McCary and Alfred Bean of the musical duo "Al and Cathy" were performing at Trader's Bar, a nightclub in Baldwin County. Paige, Lamley, McCary, and Bean testified that McMillian, Sheffield, and Sheffield's wife, Sheila, were at Trader's that evening. Bean testified that, during a break in his performance, he sat down at the bar to speak with a friend. Bean observed Sheila sitting at the bar and McMillian standing next to her. Bean testified:
(R. 187.) Bean heard Sheffield tell Sheila "that she could get a ride home with him, meaning Mr. McMillian."
Hank Wilson, who went to Trader's on July 19, 2014, to see Al and Cathy perform, spoke with McMillian several times throughout the evening. At one point, he and McMillian went to the area of the bar where Sheila was sitting between two open spots. Wilson stood to Sheila's left, and McMillian stood to Sheila's right and began talking to her. Wilson then witnessed Sheffield—whom he identified in court—approach Sheila, slap her head, and pull her hair. Wilson heard Sheffield say to Sheila, "[Y]ou can fuckin' go home with him." Wilson saw Sheffield turn toward McMillian, say something that Wilson did not hear, and gesture toward McMillian with his finger before leaving Trader's.
Lamley saw Sheffield shove Sheila and say that he was ready to leave. Lamley testified:
(R. 153-54.)
Gwen Falkenberry, V.J. Autrey, Mike Smith, and Terri Smith were talking in the Trader's parking lot on July 19, 2014, when they each heard a "pop" that they assumed was a firecracker. Falkenberry "didn't think anything about it at the time" but when she turned to walk to her car, she saw McMillian lying on the ground and realized that the sound she heard was actually a gunshot. Falkenberry testified, Falkenberry testified that Mike then ran over and "went off on Mr. Sheffield." Falkenberry testified:
(R. 343.) Falkenberry, Autrey, Mike, and Terri testified that they did not hear an altercation prior to hearing the gunshot and that the conditions in the parking lot were such that they would have heard an altercation had one occurred. Falkenberry identified Sheffield in court as the person who admitted to shooting McMillian.
Investigator Richard Chenoweth with the Spanish Fort Police Department responded to the shooting. A .40 caliber Glock-brand semiautomatic pistol was recovered from Sheffield; no other weapon was recovered from the scene, and McMillian appeared to have been unarmed. Investigator Chenoweth transported Sheffield to the police station and informed him of his Miranda 1 rights. Sheffield gave an audio-recorded statement, and the State played the recording for the jury. A summary of Sheffield's account of the incident follows:
Dr. Stacy Turner, a medical examiner with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, testified as an expert in the field of forensic pathology. Dr. Turner, who performed the autopsy on McMillian's body on July 21, 2014, testified that McMillian died as a result of a gunshot wound
to the head and that "the gun was pressed up against the skin at the time it was fired." Dr. Turner recovered a bullet fragment from McMillian during the autopsy.
In a hearing held outside the presence of the jury, the trial court considered the State's motion to introduce a recorded telephone conversation between Sheffield and Sheila under Rule 804(b)(3), Ala. R. Evid.—the statement-against-interest exception to the rule against hearsay. The State argued that because Sheila had invoked her spousal privilege, she was an unavailable witness, and, as Sheffield's wife, Sheila's statements against Sheffield's penal interest were therefore also contrary to Sheila's pecuniary and proprietary interest.3 In response, Sheffield argued, among other things:
(R. 623-24.)
The trial court allowed the State to admit the recording under Rule 804(b)(3), Ala. R. Evid., because, the court stated, Sheila was an unavailable witness, and a reasonable person would not want her spouse to be sentenced to prison. The court offered to issue an instruction with respect to Sheila's unavailability as a witness and Sheffield's lack of opportunity to cross-examine her, but Sheffield declined an instruction. The State played the recordings for the jury:
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