State v. Evans

• Decision Date: 20 November 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90-1452,90-1452
• Citation: 63 Ohio St.3d 231,586 N.E.2d 1042
• Parties: The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. EVANS, Appellant.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Page 231

63 Ohio St.3d 231

586 N.E.2d 1042

The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. EVANS, Appellant.

No. 90-1452.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Submitted Nov. 20, 1991.

Opinion Announced March 11, 1992. ^*

On the evening of March 25, 1987, appellant, Derrick Evans, and his friends, brothers Wayne Frazier and Michael Frazier, appeared at the apartment of Joann Richards and Marcellus Williams, located at 49th and Central in Cleveland, Ohio. Williams's nineteen-year-old son, Derek Speights, who was visiting his father at the time and who earlier that evening had had a conversation with appellant and the Fraziers, opened the apartment door and let the three men into the apartment. Also present in the apartment that evening were Richards's seven-year-old son, Albert Richards, and Richards's infant son.

Shortly after the arrival of appellant and the Fraziers at the Richards's apartment, Williams, Joann Richards and Speights were repeatedly stabbed. Speights survived the attack, but Williams and Joann Richards died from the wounds they received.

On April 6, 1987, a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury issued a six-count indictment naming appellant, Wayne Frazier and Michael Frazier as the perpetrators of the stabbings. The first two counts in the indictment charged appellant and the Fraziers with the aggravated murders of Joann Richards and Marcellus Williams respectively, each in violation of R.C. 2903.01. With respect to appellant, the counts each carried three death-penalty specifications: (1) the offense was part of a course of conduct in which the offender purposely killed Joann Richards and Marcellus Williams, and attempted to kill Derek Speights--the "mass murder" specification, R.C. 2929.04(A)(5); (2) the offense was committed while the offender was committing or attempting to commit or fleeing immediately after committing or attempting to commit aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, and either the offender was the principal offender in the commission of the aggravated murder or, if not the principal offender, committed the aggravated murder with prior calculation and design--the "felony-murder" specification, R.C. 2929.04(A)(7); and (3) prior to the offense, the offender was convicted of the crime of murder, of which an essential element was the purposeful killing or purposeful attempt to kill another--the "prior-murder" specification, R.C. 2929.04(A)(5). Also with respect to appellant, each aggravated murder count contained an aggravated-felony specification and a gun specification.

Count three of the indictment charged appellant and the Fraziers with aggravated burglary of the Richards residence in violation of R.C. 2911.11, and count four charged appellant and the Fraziers with the attempted murder of Derek Speights in violation of R.C. 2903.02 and 2923.02. Both counts three and four contained the same aggravated felony and gun specifications as in counts one and two.

Count five of the indictment charged appellant and the Fraziers with aggravated robbery of Marcellus Williams, and count six charged appellant and the Fraziers with aggravated robbery of Joann Richards, both in violation of R.C. 2911.01. Each count also contained the same aggravated felony and gun specifications as in counts one, two, three and four.

Appellant entered a plea of not guilty to each of the counts in the indictment. He proceeded to trial on all the charges with the exception of the prior-murder and aggravated felony specifications, which he elected to have determined by the trial judge.

On September 28, 1987, jury selection commenced, and on the following day a jury of twelve jurors and four alternate jurors was empaneled and sworn. On September 30, 1987, counsel gave their opening statements, and the prosecution began the presentation of its case.

The prosecution's chief witness, Derek M. Speights, testified that on March 25, 1987 at about 10:00 p.m., appellant and the Fraziers pulled up in an orange Chevette shortly after Speights left a store across the street from his father's home where he had gone to purchase a beer. He identified Wayne Frazier as the driver of the car, Michael Frazier as a passenger in the back seat and appellant as the front seat passenger. Speights stated that they asked him if his father was home, to which he responded affirmatively. Speights then was told to tell his father they would be back to see him.

Speights related that approximately one-half hour after his encounter with appellant and the Fraziers, the three came to the apartment and knocked on the door. Speights let them into the apartment and they all sat down, with Wayne Frazier sitting on the couch next to Joann Richards and Michael Frazier and the appellant sitting together on a love seat.

According to the testimony, after about five minutes of general conversation, the appellant suddenly jumped up with a gun, ran over to Williams and put the gun to Williams's head. Appellant asked for some money and told "nobody to move." Speights stated that at that same moment, Wayne Frazier ran over to Joann Richards with a knife, and Michael Frazier knocked him (Derek) to the floor. While Speights was down, he could see what appeared to him to be Wayne Frazier stabbing Richards. Speights also observed the appellant knock Williams down, tie him up with a telephone cord, and stab him on both sides.

At some point during the incident, Michael Frazier tied Speights's hands behind his back with a towel. Michael Frazier then stabbed Speights twenty-one times before he, Speights, was hit in the head with a gun. After Speights was stabbed, he saw Wayne Frazier run into one of the bedrooms and grab a television set. Speights also observed appellant take money from Williams's pockets.

Speights further testified as to various orders appellant gave to Wayne and Michael Frazier during the entire incident, including an order to kill Speights if he moved, and an order to Wayne Frazier to grab Richards. In his opinion, it was "[l]ike they planned it because the way it happened, as soon as he [appellant] moved, they [the Fraziers] all moved after him."

After the trio left the apartment, Speights tried to get up, but could not walk. He testified that he then crawled over to his father and kicked him to see if he was alive, but his father did not respond. Speights then crawled to the stairway and rolled down the steps, where a tenant who lived downstairs found him. An ambulance was summoned, and after two days of hospitalization for his injuries, Speights gave police the names of the perpetrators.

After the court held a hearing to determine whether seven-year-old Albert Richards was competent to testify, the court found him qualified, and permitted the jury to hear his testimony. Albert testified that, after being put to bed at about 9:00 p.m., he was awakened by banging noises. He got out of bed and saw Wayne Frazier, whom he referred to as "Twin," stabbing his mother on the couch. He also testified that he saw the appellant, known to him as "Da Da," run out of the apartment with a television.

Albert further testified that he observed Wayne Frazier kick his father, Williams, "in the eye," and that he did not look for Speights because he (Albert) hid under the bed until the police came. After telling the police officers who arrived on the scene not to shoot him, that he was "a kid," he came out from under the bed and was picked up by one of the officers, and was taken downstairs. Subsequently, Albert gave the police a statement describing the incident that evening.

On March 26, 1987, after speaking with Albert, the police apprehended Wayne Frazier at about 4:00 a.m. After interviewing Wayne, the police learned of two locations where various items relating to the crime were located. At one location, the police found items belonging to the victims including personal papers and Williams's prescription bottle, a buck knife (state's exhibit 16), and a television. At a second location, the police found pieces of burnt clothing and a bottle of cologne that had been used to ignite the clothing. A second knife, found by uniformed officers at another location, was identified to police by both Wayne Frazier and Albert Richards. The knife, state's exhibit 17, was confirmed through the testimony of Michael Frazier as belonging to him.

In addition to identifying the knife, Michael Frazier testified as to his version of the events of March 25, 1987. He related that he, his brother Wayne, and appellant visited the home of Marcellus Williams at around 11:00 or 12:00 p.m. According to Michael, appellant jumped up with a gun, stated, "Everybody get on the floor," and told Wayne to tie up Williams with a telephone cord. Then, Michael testified that Williams was asked for money, to which Williams responded that he did not have any, but indicated that there was some cocaine in an ashtray in the bedroom.

Michael stated that he went to the bedroom, got the cocaine from the ashtray and, upon his return, he saw Joann Richards jump up and try to leap out the window. Wayne grabbed her and, according to Michael, told her nobody was going to get hurt, but that appellant then yelled, "Shut up. Shut up, bitch," ran to her and stabbed her, and while stabbing Joann, stabbed Wayne in the hand.

Michael also testified that appellant was the only one who stabbed anybody, and that appellant had used his (Michael's) knife, state's exhibit 17, to stab each of the victims.

In addition to the testimony of Speights, Albert Richards, Michael Frazier, and members of the police department involved in the investigation of the crime and the apprehension of Wayne Frazier, the prosecution presented the testimony of Dr. John A. Daniels, a pathologist with the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office, and Linda Luke, a forensic serologist with the Trace Evidence Department of the same office. Daniels testified that he had performed autopsies upon the bodies of Joann Richards and Williams. His investigation revealed...