State v. Clonts
| Decision Date | 20 June 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. COA16-566,COA16-566 |
| Citation | 802 S.E.2d 531,254 N.C.App. 95 |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. Sam Babb CLONTS, III |
Sam Babb Clonts, III ("Defendant") shot Aaron Brandon Allen ("Allen") on the evening of 28 July 2014. Defendant and Allen became friends while training together prior to deployment to Afghanistan; Defendant was in the Navy and Allen was in the Marine Corps. During their time together in Afghanistan, they became "almost like brothers." Allen left the military in 2011 and moved back to Mint Hill, North Carolina. Defendant left the military in early 2014, and moved into Allen's house in Mint Hill ("the house"). Denise Kathleen Whisman-Vazquez ("Whisman")1 stopped in Mint Hill on 28 July 2014 to visit Defendant, a friend from the Navy, while on her way to Jacksonville.
The following alleged facts are taken from: (1) a video interview Defendant gave to police the night of 28 July 2014, which was played for the jury at the 16 June 2015 trial; (2) deposition testimony given by Whisman on 23 March 2015; and (3) Allen's testimony at trial. We present the relevant statements and testimony from all three individuals because the similarities and differences between their statements are particularly relevant to our review.
Defendant and Whisman were having drinks at Whisman's hotel when Defendant texted Allen and asked Allen to join them. Whisman had never met Allen, but she had heard a lot about him from Defendant, and testified: "In fact, I [honestly] believed they were brothers." Allen left work at approximately 6:30 p.m. and joined Defendant and Whisman at the hotel. All three possessed valid concealed carry permits and were armed. Allen visited with Defendant and Whisman before he left to return home in his Jeep. Shortly thereafter, Defendant drove Whisman in her Jeep back to the house, and stopped on the way to purchase beer. At the house, Allen joined Defendant and Whisman on the porch and all three drank some beers.
All three continued to drink and things were, according to Allen, "happy go lucky, joking around" until later in the night, when Whisman stated that she wanted to go back to her hotel. Defendant stated that, because he was planning to drive Whisman back to her hotel that night, he had stopped drinking at approximately 9:30 p.m., but that Whisman was intoxicated at the time she asked to leave the house.
Allen testified concerning Whisman: "She was happy throughout the whole night, obviously became more and more intoxicated throughout the night, and she wanted to leave." Allen testified that because of Whisman's condition, he According to Allen, after the first time he asked Defendant and Whisman not to leave, they all "continued to drink and laugh and joke and have fun." Allen testified that only later did Whisman again state her desire to leave, and that "[Defendant] and [ ] Whisman decided they were going to go jump in [Whisman's] Jeep." A llen believed at the time Whisman attempted to leave that she was impaired, but that Defendant was not impaired. However, Allen did not want Defendant to drive anywhere at that time because Defendant had been drinking. Neither Whisman nor Defendant corroborated Allen's testimony concerning this initial encounter.
Whisman testified that, after a few hours of drinking at the house, she wanted to return to her hotel room. When she told Defendant and Allen that she wanted to leave, Defendant She testified that Allen did not want either her or Defendant to drive because they had both been drinking, but that Defendant had stopped drinking earlier "because he was going to drive back to the hotel, and so he got into the driver's side."
Defendant stated that once Whisman told him she wanted to leave, Defendant told Allen goodbye and got into the driver's seat of Whisman's Jeep, while Whisman got into the front passenger seat. After Defendant started the Jeep, Allen came "storming out," and the mood of the evening, which had up until then been jovial, changed dramatically. Defendant said that Allen was screaming at them and "it was bad." Defendant had the Jeep in reverse, ready to leave, when Allen approached the Jeep and told Defendant to "turn off the f*cking truck." Defendant claimed Allen was "irrational." At this point, Defendant stated that Whisman "started to freak, quite literally."
According to Whisman's testimony, after she said she wanted to leave she got into the passenger side of her Jeep, "[a]nd then [Allen] ... walked over ... and was very angry and was trying to tell [Defendant] not to drive." Whisman testified that Allen yelled something like "where the f*ck do you think you're going." She said that Allen "seemed very agitated that we were leaving" and was yelling at Defendant; Defendant than "got out of [Whisman's] Jeep and tried to calm him down."
Allen testified that he may have told Whisman at some point in time that she was "not going to leave[,]" but that Whisman and Defendant attempted to leave anyway. Allen testified that he was by his porch when he heard the Jeep doors "open," so he "grabbed [his] gun, met them out there." Allen testified that Defendant and Whisman had their guns with them, too. He stated: 2 Allen testified that it was not Defendant who was in the driver's seat; that it was Whisman who was going to drive Defendant back to the hotel.
Allen testified that he went to the driver's side of Whisman's Jeep, reached into the vehicle, and retrieved the keys. He was not certain "if [he] pulled ‘em out of the ignition or if [Defendant] handed ‘em to me." Allen testified that he might have asked Whisman "What the f*ck are you doing?" Allen testified he threw Whisman's keys into the woods near his recycling container, whereupon Whisman "freaked out."
Defendant stated that, in response to Allen's behavior, he took the key out of the ignition, exited the Jeep, and tried to talk to Allen and calm him down. Defendant stated that Whisman then got out of the passenger seat, recovered a spare key from a bag in her Jeep, climbed into the driver's seat, and placed the spare key in the ignition.
Whisman testified that she made it clear to Allen that she wanted to leave, but "the more I said it, the more irritated [Allen] got, so I decided to get into the driver seat because I was bound and determined that I was going to leave." Whisman testified that, once she sat down, Allen "pulled me out of the driver seat of my Jeep, lifted me out of the driver seat of my Jeep, threw me up against a tree and was screaming at me" saying "how dare you try to leave." Whisman stated that Allen's hands were "[a]round my shoulders and neck." Whisman testified that she was terrified because she had been in "a situation like that before."
According to Defendant, after he had exited Whisman's Jeep and Whisman had gotten into the driver's seat, Allen "came up, shoved me out of the way, grabbed [Whisman] by the hair, [and] pulled her out onto the ground." Defendant stated that at first, while on the ground, Whisman was laughing, perhaps thinking that Allen was joking around. However, Whisman's laughing "infuriated" Allen, and he grabbed Whisman and "had her up against a tree, hand around her throat, faces nose to nose, asking her if she thought it was a f*cking joke." Defendant stated that at this point Whisman was Defendant stated that Whisman "got free" and started "backing away, down towards the pond."
According to Whisman, Defendant "got [Allen] away from me and was trying to calm me down[,]" then she walked around the side of the house while Defendant and Allen were still up at her Jeep. Whisman She testified that at one point Allen was "crouching and calling me basically like I was his dog, telling me that it was okay, come here, patting his leg."
Allen testified that he did not remove Whisman from her Jeep, that after he threw her keys she got out herself "and she took off screaming." According to Allen, Allen testified that Whisman ran in back around his house "into the dark[.]" Allen also denied pushing Whisman up against a tree or screaming right in her face once she was out of her Jeep. Allen testified that at that point he disarmed himself by placing his weapon on his chicken coop because " ‘[o]bviously, for some reason she was afraid of me[,]’ " then he moved toward Whisman and "tried to reason with her." However, Allen later testified that, after Whisman ran off, he remained standing by the chicken coop for a minute then walked back to his porch. Allen told police investigators that he disarmed himself because Whisman was "screaming she was afraid for her life." The State introduced photographs of Allen's handgun and magazine on top of his chicken coop, which was positioned between his house and Whisman's Jeep.
Allen testified that Whisman screamed: "Sam [Defendant], don't let him do this to me again" either once or twice, but mainly she was screaming: "Help." Allen testified that he did not know what Whisman meant by: "Sam [Defendant], don't let him do this to me again." Allen denied clapping his hands together and calling for Whisman to come back like he was calling to a dog. Allen testified that Defendant went into the woods to find Whisman, and she eventually stopped screaming.
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