Smith v. State

• Decision Date: 22 May 2014
• Docket Number: No. SC11–1076.,SC11–1076.
• Citation: 139 So.3d 839
• Parties: Terry SMITH, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

139 So.3d 839

Terry SMITH, Appellant,

v.STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. SC11–1076.

Supreme Court of Florida.

Jan. 16, 2014.

Rehearing Denied May 22, 2014.

Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and Nada M. Carey, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, FL, for Appellant.

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Carolyn Snurkowski, Associate Deputy General, Tallahassee, FL, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

This case is before the Court on appeal from Terry Smith's first-degree murder convictions and sentences of death for the killings of Berthum Gibson and Keenethia Keenan, and his first-degree murder conviction and life sentence for the killing of Desmond Robinson. We have jurisdiction. Seeart. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the convictions and sentences.

I. BACKGROUND

While looking for narcotics on June 5, 2007, Terry Smith, then age nineteen, called an acquaintance, Breon Williams. Williams, a street level drug dealer, informed Smith that he was going to purchase some drugs and invited Smith to join him. Smith took Williams up on his offer. In the late evening of June 5, Williams picked Smith up from the home of Smith's mother. From there they rode on Williams' motorized scooter to a house in Jacksonville, Florida, where Desmond Robinson and Berthum Gibson sold drugs.

Williams had previously purchased drugs from Desmond Robinson at that location. On previous occasions, Williams had entered through the back door of the home, which was locked and contained a sheet of Plexiglas on its interior. When Williams and Smith arrived at the house, they pulled into the driveway, parked Williams' scooter, and walked up to the back door. Williams knocked on the door, and Robinson let them in.

After Williams and Smith entered the kitchen, Robinson locked the door and left the key in it. When they entered, Gibson and Keenethia Keenan were sitting at a table in the kitchen and dining room area of the home. Williams walked to the kitchen counter, which was located near the door, and began to count his money to determine how much cocaine he could purchase. While Williams was counting his money, he heard Smith say “[g]ive it up,” followed by gunshots. Williams turned to run out of the residence, which required turning the key that was already in the door to unlock it. Before exiting, Williams saw Smith shoot Robinson multiple times. Williams was in such a hurry to leave the house that he left approximately $400 on the kitchen counter and his scooter in the driveway.

The State then presented circumstantial evidence that instead of escaping out the back door after killing Robinson, Smith stepped over Robinson's body and proceeded into the hallway, where he shot in the direction of Gibson and Keenan. Gibson and Keenan each died from a single gunshot wound that was attributed to Smith's ten millimeter handgun. Keenan's body was found unarmed in the back of the southeast bedroom, where she died within seconds of the gunshot piercing her heart. When police arrived, they found Gibson, who was still alive despite a gunshot wound to his abdomen. He was leaning against the bed in the same bedroom with a rifle in his hands. Paramedics transported Gibson to the hospital, where he died due to internal injuries from the gunshot wound. Police found shell casings from the gun used by Smith in the kitchen and dining room area as well as in the living room area of the home. They also found shell casings from the rifle used by Gibson in the southeast bedroom and the hallway leading up to the bedroom.

After shooting Gibson and Keenan, Smith ran out the back door of the house, touching the Plexiglas portion of the door on his way out. When police arrived, they found Williams' money on the kitchen counter and drugs on the dining room table. After exiting the crime scene, Smith called Ullysses Johnson to pick him up from the area. At the time, Johnson was at home playing video games with his brother Raylan Johnson and Jonathan Peterson. The three then picked Smith up near the crime scene. In the car, Smith told them that he had shot three people.

After arriving at the Johnsons' home, Ullysses Johnson and Peterson went inside, while Smith and Raylan Johnson remained outside. Smith gave his gun to Raylan Johnson, who buried it in the yard and then sold it a few days later to Walter Dumas. They also burned Smith's clothes in a bin that was in the yard.

The jury found Smith guilty of first-degree murder for the deaths of Robinson, Gibson, and Keenan. The jury found Smith guilty of first-degree murder under both the felony murder and premeditated theories in the deaths of Gibson and Keenan, and guilty under only the felony murder theory in the death of Robinson. The jury also found Smith guilty of attempted armed robbery.

The jury recommended a life sentence in the first-degree murder of Robinson. The jury recommended sentences of death by a vote of eight to four for the first-degree murder of Gibson and by a vote of ten to two for the first-degree murder of Keenan.

The trial court held a hearing pursuant to Spencer v. State, 615 So.2d 688 (Fla.1993), prior to sentencing Smith to death for the first-degree murders of Gibson and Keenan and to life imprisonment for the first-degree murder of Robinson. The court gave great weight to the aggravating circumstances that Smith was previously convicted of another capital felony, § 921.141(5)(b), Fla. Stat. (2011), and that the capital felony was committed while Smith was engaged in an attempt to commit robbery, § 921.141(5)(d), Fla. Stat. (2011), merged with the aggravator that Smith committed the capital felony for pecuniary gain, § 921.141(5)(f), Fla. Stat. (2011). The court found the statutory mitigating circumstance of Smith's age at the time of the crime, nineteen, established and gave it moderate weight. Regarding the nonstatutory mitigating factors sought by Smith, the court concluded that the following factors were established: (1) Smith's mental status was mitigating (moderate weight); (2) Smith loves his children and their mothers and they love him (some weight); (3) Smith was a good brother to his siblings (little weight); (4) Smith took care of his sister's seven children while she was at work (moderate weight); (5) Smith is dependable (some weight); (6) Smith was a good employee and therefore he would do well in prison (slight weight); (7) Smith was well behaved during court proceedings (no weight because it is not mitigating); (8) Smith could be rehabilitated in prison and make positive contributions to society (little weight); (9) Breon Williams was never charged with a crime arising out of the murders on June 5, 2007 (no weight because it is not mitigating); (10) Smith grew up in a “terrible” neighborhood (some weight).

II. ANALYSIS

On appeal of his convictions and sentences Smith raises four issues: (A) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions for premeditated murder for the killings of Gibson and Keenan; (B) the trial court erred in giving additional weight to the felony murder aggravating circumstance on the basis that the murders were premeditated; (C) Smith's sentence is disproportionate; and (D) the trial court erred in sentencing Smith to death because Florida's capital sentencing proceedings are unconstitutional under Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002).

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

In his first claim on appeal, Smith claims that the trial court erred in denying his motions for judgments of acquittal because the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions for first-degree premeditated murder in the deaths of Gibson and Keenan. Specifically, Smith asserts that the evidence does not refute his claim that he acted in self-defense. As we explain below, Smith did not preserve this claim for review. In any event, under this Court's independent review of the evidence, Smith's argument lacks merit. Sufficient evidence supports Smith's three first-degree murder convictions.

“Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.380(b) states that a motion for judgment of acquittal ‘ must fully set forth the grounds on which it is based.’ ” Victorino v. State, 23 So.3d 87, 103 (Fla.2009). This Court has further held that when a defendant does not raise in the trial court the same grounds for granting the motion argued on appeal, the claim is not preserved for appeal. See id.; Archer v. State, 613 So.2d 446, 448 (Fla.1993). After the State rested its case, Smith moved for a judgment of acquittal “as to each count in the Indictment, in that the State has not established a prima facie case of evidence. No further argument.” The trial court denied Smith's motion. After the close of evidence, Smith's counsel renewed the “motion for judgment of acquittal and all of [his] previously made motions.” The trial court denied the renewed motion for judgment of acquittal. Smith did not argue to the trial court, as he argues on appeal, that he killed Gibson and Keenan in self-defense. Therefore, Smith failed to preserve his self-defense claim for appeal.

Even though Smith failed to preserve his claim that the trial court erred in denying his motions for judgment of acquittal, “this Court independently reviews the record to confirm that the jury's verdict is supported by competent, substantial evidence.” Davis v. State, 2 So.3d 952, 966–67 (Fla.2008) (citing Fla. R.App. P. 9.142(a)(6)). The jury found Smith guilty of the first-degree murder of victims Gibson and Keenan under two theories: felony murder and premeditated murder. Additionally, the jury found Smith guilty of the first-degree murder of victim Robinson under the felony murder theory. The evidence is sufficient to support all three convictions.

Two standards of review apply to the determination of whether the evidence of guilt is sufficient. Where the evidence of guilt is direct, either in whole or in part, this Court reviews whether “a rational trier of fact, upon...