State v. Baum, 3653.
| Decision Date | 16 June 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 3653.,3653. |
| Citation | 355 S.C. 209,584 S.E.2d 419 |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent, v. Uuno Mattias BAUM, Appellant. |
Deputy Chief Attorney of S.C. Office of Appellate Defense Joseph L. Savitz, III, of Columbia; for Appellant.
Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster; Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh; Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka; Assistant Attorney General Melody J. Brown; Assistant Deputy Attorney General Edward G. McDonnel, of Columbia; Robert M. Ariail, of Greenville; for Respondent.
Uuno Mattias "Matt" Baum was convicted of the murder of his stepfather, Randall Pinion, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Baum appeals his conviction contending that his prosecution was barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States and South Carolina Constitutions. We affirm.
On October 26, 1999, Randall Pinion went to his bank and filled out an affidavit of forgery concerning two checks in the amount of $450.00 apiece and made out to Matt Baum. The bank employee who assisted Pinion gave him the original affidavit of forgery and instructed him to take it to the police if he desired to prosecute. On October 27, 1999, two days prior to Pinion's disappearance, he arrived at work upset and told a co-worker that Matt Baum, Pinion's stepson, had stolen some money from him. Pinion told the co-worker he would give Baum two days to repay the money or he was going to turn Baum in to the police. On the morning of his disappearance, Pinion stated to the co-worker that he was giving Baum until that evening to give him his money. Pinion never filed a police report in regard to the alleged forgeries. Two weeks earlier, Baum threatened to kill Pinion after Pinion had physically abused Baum's mother.
On Friday, October 29, 1999, Pinion disappeared after leaving work. His black pickup truck was not at his home on Friday night or Saturday morning, but appeared at his house between 3:00 and 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 30. Between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday October 31, the truck again disappeared from the house. Pinion's truck was subsequently found in a church parking lot a few days later.
On November 1, 1999, Baum sold a set of Taylor Made golf clubs to a sporting goods store, explaining they belonged to his stepfather, who had passed away and left him the clubs. Pinion owned several sets of golf clubs, including a Taylor Made set.
Police investigated Pinion's home and pickup truck and found Pinion's blood in various places throughout his home, as well as in the bed of his pickup truck. The police also found a bloody shoe print inside Pinion's home. The police concluded that Pinion had been beaten to death inside of his home and someone thereafter attempted to clean up the crime scene.
Based on their investigation, the authorities developed Baum as a suspect in Pinion's disappearance. On November 7, 1999, after receiving a tip on his possible location, police attempted to apprehend Baum as he fled in a white pickup truck. The chase reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, and ended when the white truck became disabled following a traffic accident. When the police searched the disabled truck they discovered the keys to Pinion's truck, a couple of Pinion's checks, Baum's driver's license, and a pair of tennis shoes whose tread was consistent with the bloody shoe print found inside Pinion's home.
On November 11, 1999, the grand jury returned a true bill against Baum for Pinion's murder, even though the police had not found Pinion's body. Baum's trial began on October 9, 2000, and the jury was sworn on that day. After Court recessed for the evening, the Easley Police Department was notified of the discovery of an unidentified, decomposed body found on October 7, 2000 in McDowell County, North Carolina. The following day, the solicitor informed defense counsel and the court that the State had evidence it was, in fact, the body of Randall Pinion. The State moved for a mistrial or a continuance based upon the discovery of Pinion's body. Baum's counsel did not agree with the State and asserted they were ready to proceed to trial.
The circuit court granted the State's motion for a mistrial finding it was imperative the jury charged with deciding the case be given all relevant evidence upon which to base its decision. The court concluded there was a possibility that exculpatory evidence would be revealed and that the discovery of Pinion's body constituted manifest necessity to grant a mistrial. Baum's second trial began on January 22, 2001, at which time Baum objected to the new trial and moved the State be barred from proceeding to trial on the ground that it violated the Double Jeopardy Clause. The circuit court denied Baum's motion and Baum was subsequently convicted for Pinion's murder. This appeal followed.
Baum argues the circuit court erred when it allowed the second trial to proceed because the discovery of Pinion's body did not constitute manifest necessity to justify a mistrial, and therefore, the second trial was barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause. We disagree.
The Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States and South Carolina Constitutions prevent all citizens from being placed twice in jeopardy of life and liberty. See U.S. Const. amend. V (); S.C. Const. art. I, § 12 (). The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution is made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause. See Benton v. Maryland, 395 U.S. 784, 794, 89 S.Ct. 2056, 23 L.Ed.2d 707 (1969)
() Pursuant to the Double Jeopardy Clause, a...
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