State v. Bowman

• Decision Date: 31 December 1998
• Docket Number: No. 142A97.,142A97.
• Citation: 509 S.E.2d 428,349 N.C. 459
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Terrence Dion BOWMAN a/k/a Terrence Taylor.

509 S.E.2d 428

349 N.C. 459

STATE of North Carolina v. Terrence Dion BOWMAN a/k/a Terrence Taylor.

No. 142A97.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

December 31, 1998.

Michael F. Easley, Attorney General, by Ralf F. Haskell, Special Deputy Attorney General, for the State.

Marshall L. Dayan, Durham, for defendant-appellant.

LAKE, Justice.

The defendant was indicted on 20 May 1996 for two counts of first-degree murder. Defendant was tried capitally to a jury at the 3 February 1997 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Lenoir County, the Honorable Louis B. Meyer presiding. The jury found defendant guilty of both counts of first-degree murder on the basis of premeditation and deliberation. Following a capital sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended sentences of death as to each murder conviction. On 18 February 1997, the trial court sentenced defendant to two separate sentences of death, one for each of the two convictions for first-degree murder. At trial, the State's evidence tended to show that Venice Taylor, a first cousin of defendant's, knew that Antoinette Gilchrist had been selling marijuana for defendant for approximately six months prior to the murders. Venice Taylor stated that he was at his uncle Charles Taylor's home in the Simon Bright Apartments about one week before the murders, which occurred on 13 January 1996. Defendant, who shared the apartment with Charles Taylor, was also in the apartment at this time. Venice Taylor overheard defendant talking on the phone with Gilchrist. Defendant was discussing how some "weed" was stolen from Gilchrist, and defendant told Gilchrist to show him who took it. Following this phone conversation, defendant stated that whoever had stolen his marijuana was going to get his "sh—pushed back." Venice Taylor (hereinafter "Taylor") testified that he understood this phrase to mean that defendant was going to shoot someone in the head. Defendant then left to go to Gilchrist's house.

The next morning, Taylor again saw defendant at his uncle's apartment. Defendant told Taylor that he was going to return to New York. Defendant frequently traveled back and forth between New York and Kinston, but he resided in New York. While in Kinston, defendant stayed with either Charles Taylor or with Crystal Jones, who lived nearby. Defendant also kept a lot of marijuana at Gilchrist's house.

On 12 January 1996, approximately one week after Taylor last saw defendant, Taylor was at his uncle's home with his cousins, Johnny James and Chris Kent, and a "dude" from Maryland whom he did not know. It was close to 10:30 p.m., and they were all watching a basketball game on television. At that time, defendant and Bobby Jennings entered the apartment and sat down. Taylor, Jennings and defendant left the apartment to obtain beer, returned and then drove to a local nightclub called "The Vibe" in James' Mercedes Benz. In the car, and before they arrived at The Vibe, defendant stated that "somebody's going to get it tonight."

Inside the club, Clarence Jones approached Taylor and asked him for a cigarette. Approximately thirty minutes after they arrived at the club, Michael Cannon entered the club to find Taylor. Cannon took Taylor outside The Vibe, where Taylor observed defendant holding one of the victims, Michael Smith, by his coat collar. Defendant told Smith, "I know you robbed me, so you'll pay for it." At the same time, defendant held a gun to Smith's back. Taylor grabbed defendant and pulled him away from Smith. Defendant then pointed the gun at the head of a man named Chad. Taylor and James grabbed defendant's hand because they thought he was going to shoot Chad. While this occurred, the two victims, Michael Smith and Clarence Jones, walked away from the club.

When the Vibe closed for the night, James, Kent, Taylor, defendant and the "dude" from Maryland got back into the Mercedes Benz and proceeded to get something to eat. They rode to a take-out restaurant located next to K-town Taxi. After thirty minutes at the restaurant, they all rode to an area of Kinston known as "Georgetown." Once in Georgetown, they stopped at a house because James wanted to see his girlfriend. She was not there, but the house was filled with people playing pool and drinking alcohol. A fight began inside the house, and defendant participated in this fight. Immediately after the fight, Taylor, James, Kent, defendant and the "dude" from Maryland got back into the Mercedes Benz and drove away.

After leaving the house in Georgetown, they drove to Crystal Jones' house for the second time that night. Taylor knew that defendant kept his cocaine and guns at Jones' house. Everyone waited inside the car while defendant entered Jones' house. After approximately ten minutes, defendant returned to the Mercedes Benz. They all rode in the car to Simon Bright Apartments. From the car, defendant saw the two victims, Michael Smith and Clarence Jones. Defendant got out of the car and walked over to Smith and Jones. It appeared to Taylor that defendant was speaking to Smith, but Taylor could not hear anything because the car windows were up. Approximately one minute after defendant left the car, defendant shot Smith. Defendant then shot Jones. Defendant got back into the car and told Taylor to "forget them country boys. They should not have robbed me." At defendant's request, James drove the Mercedes Benz to Yashica Miller's house located in the Richard Green Apartments. On the way to Miller's apartment, Taylor repeatedly asked defendant why he had to do it, and defendant answered that the victims should not have robbed him. Defendant also stated that Smith and Jones "got it flatbush style in the head."

Once they arrived at Miller's house, everyone stayed inside the car except the defendant. Defendant entered the house and stayed approximately five to ten minutes. Defendant then got back into the Mercedes Benz. Taylor, James, Kent and the "dude" from Maryland were still in the car. They all drove to the Sheraton Inn. On the way to the Sheraton Inn, they drove over a bridge where defendant threw bullet shells out the car window. Defendant and Taylor were still arguing about the murders while riding to the Sheraton Inn.

When they arrived at the Sheraton, everyone from the Mercedes Benz went inside. The five men shared two connecting rooms. Sometime after 12:00 p.m. the next day, defendant received a page on his beeper. Defendant called the Kinston Police Department and learned that the police had a warrant for him. When defendant told Taylor about the warrant, defendant laughed. Defendant then stated that since the police were coming, he needed to switch rooms. Defendant called the Comfort Inn, which was across the street from the Sheraton, and he inquired as to whether the Comfort Inn had any rooms available. Defendant sent the "dude" from Maryland over there and told James, Kent and Taylor not to say anything to the police. Approximately thirty minutes later, the police arrived.

Initially, defendant tried to hide under the mattress when the police knocked on his motel room door. Defendant then changed his mind, answered the door and told the police his name was Eric Fludd. Both Taylor and defendant were taken to the police station and placed in custody. At this point, Taylor told the police everything defendant had done.

At trial, Yashica Miller testified that she was dating defendant in January 1996. She stated that defendant came to her house early on the morning of 13 January 1996. Defendant asked if he could leave a gun at her place. Defendant left after five or ten minutes. Later that same morning, the police stopped by Miller's house. They were looking for defendant, and they told Miller that defendant had been involved in a shooting. Miller did not tell the police about the gun; rather, she hid the gun inside a paper bag and placed the bag under a bush in a nearby park. Later, she called the police, told them the gun was in the park, went with the police to the park and retrieved the gun from where she had left it.

In his first assignment of error, defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his pretrial motion to quash the jury venire based on an underrepresentation of African-American citizens in the jury pool. Defendant submitted a certified copy of the 1990 census for Lenoir County in support of his motion. The census indicated that Caucasians constituted 59.9% of the county's population, while African-Americans represented 39.17% of the population. However, the venire summoned for jury service contained 75% Caucasians and 23% African-Americans. Defendant argues in his brief that this resulted in a 16.17% absolute disparity between the percentage of African-Americans in the general population and their percentage in the venire.

The State disagrees with defendant's calculations. The State points out that in his challenge to the jury panel, defendant states that "[t]he jurors summoned include 48 white males (37.5%), 49 white females (38.3%), 12 black males (9.4%) and 19 black females (14.8%)." The State claims that this results in a jury pool made up of 24.2% African-Americans, and a disparity of 14.8%. Therefore, depending on whether the defendant's or the State's calculations are correct, the disparity between the number of African-Americans in the general population and their proportion in the venire is either 16.17% or 14.8%. Our state and federal Constitutions protect a criminal defendant's right to be tried by a jury of his peers. U.S. Const. amend. VI; N.C. Const. art. I, §§ 24, 26. This constitutional guarantee assures that members of a defendant's "own race have not been systematically and arbitrarily excluded from the jury pool which is to decide [his] guilt or innocence." State v. McNeill, 326 N.C. 712, 718, 392 S.E.2d 78, 81 (1990). The United States Supreme Court has set forth a three-part test for determining whether a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a fair cross-section in...