State v. Harrison

• Decision Date: 09 May 2000
• Citation: 24 S.W.3d 215
• Parties: (Mo.App. W.D. 2000) State of Missouri, Respondent, v. Bobby L. Harrison, Appellant. WD56609 0
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

24 S.W.3d 215 (Mo.App. W.D. 2000)

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District

State of Missouri, Respondent, v. Bobby L. Harrison, Appellant.

WD56609

05/09/2000

Appeal From: Circuit Court of Boone County, Hon. Frank Conley

Counsel for Appellant: Susan L. Hogan

Counsel for Respondent: Philip M. Koppe

Opinion Summary: Bobby L. Harrison appeals his convictions of second degree murder and armed criminal action. Harrison's sole point on appeal is that the trial court abused its discretion in sustaining the state's objection to his attempt to testify about a prior incident involving two individuals who were at the crime scene, in that such evidence was relevant to his claim that he shot the victim in self-defense.

Division III holds: It was not an abuse of discretion to find that any prior incident involving the two individuals who were at the crime scene was irrelevant to any claim of self-defense Harrison may have had. The two individuals were not the victims in this case. In addition, at best, Harrison's proposed testimony about the earlier incident involving the two individuals would only have been relevant to show that they were possibly armed, and at least as to one of the individuals, this was not in dispute. Furthermore, there was no evidence before the trial court that Harrison was aiming at either of these two individuals, or intended to shoot them, but inadvertently hit the victim. Harrison also admitted that he knew that neither of the two individuals had fired the gun that prompted him to shoot.

Victor C. Howard, Judge

Bobby L. Harrison appeals from his convictions of murder in the second degree, section 565.021, and armed criminal action, section 571.015.¹ Harrison's sole point on appeal is that the trial court abused its discretion in sustaining the State's objection to his attempt to testify about a prior incident involving Chris Sledd and Carlos Kelly, in that such evidence was relevant to his claim that he shot Jamin McClanahan in self-defense.

We affirm.

Facts

The evidence most favorable to the verdict is as follows. On December 31, 1997, Jamin McClanahan and his fiancee, Rayanne Johnson, decided to celebrate New Year's Eve with Rayanne's sister, Angela Johnson, and Arqralo Robinson at several Columbia, Missouri night spots. At around 10:30 p.m., they went to Lou's Lounge. After about fifteen minutes inside the bar, they went outside and saw several girls fighting, including Kim and Coretta Williams. Kim and Coretta were fighting Tina and Dee Dee Simpson.

At around 1:30 a.m. on January 1, 1998, McClanahan, Robinson and the Johnson sisters went downstairs to a bar called Big Papa's. A short time later, a fight broke out near the entrance to the bar. Again, Kim and Coretta Williams were involved, along with some of their friends.

McClanahan, Robinson and the Johnson sisters decided to leave Big Papa's. As McClanahan walked up the stairs leading out of the bar, Kim Williams, Harrison, and several other individuals began swinging at and punching McClanahan. Harrison struck McClanahan in the eye with a shoe. McClanahan was "jumping up" and attempting to defend himself by "punching up" at Harrison. Several others, including Carlos Kelly and Chris Sledd, came to McClanahan's aid, and the fight ended.

McClanahan, Rayanne Johnson and Sledd were walking toward their car when Harrison came around the corner and started advancing toward McClanahan. McClanahan, who was unarmed, raised his hands up and said, "If he's going to kill me, he's going to kill me." However, when McClanahan saw Harrison pull out a pistol and point it at him, he turned as if to run. But before McClanahan could take a step, Harrison fired the pistol once, striking McClanahan on the right side of his body, about twenty inches below his shoulder. The bullet wound proved to be fatal. After Harrison shot McClanahan, he ran from the scene, and guns suddenly "came out of the woodwork." "People started shooting up in the air" and "guns started going off everywhere." Rayanne Johnson said she saw Carlos Kelly start shooting after McClanahan was shot. Robinson said it was actually Sledd who did the shooting. He testified that Kelly handed his gun to Sledd, who started "shooting in the air." In addition to the fatal bullet, police later recovered three 9-millimeter shell casings, three live rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition, and six .380-caliber shell casings in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene.

Immediately after the shooting, police searched for Harrison, but were unable to find him at his Columbia apartment or anywhere else. Police did locate Lonnie Williams, Harrison's nephew, who took them to a shed located behind a residence at 507 Lyons Street. There they discovered the .357-caliber Magnum revolver that Harrison had used to shoot McClanahan.

Lonnie Williams told police that Harrison had fired the first shot. He said Harrison had given him the weapon immediately after the shooting and told him to hide it. He also told police that Sledd had a gun and began firing it after McClanahan was shot.

Immediately after the shooting, Harrison went to his apartment, then drove to Boonville with his fiancee, Antonia Thomas, and checked into a motel. He later decided to return to Columbia, and surrendered to police at the Columbia police department. He told the police that he assumed that they wanted to speak with him because he had been involved in a fight at Big Papa's. During the first thirty minutes of the interview he said nothing about the shooting. The interviewing officer told Harrison he believed he was being untruthful, and advised him of his Miranda rights. Harrison then related the following story:

At around 10:45 p.m. on New Year's Eve, he and Antonia Thomas went to Lou's Lounge. While they were there, Kimberly Williams and Leanna Johnson became involved in an argument with Tina and Dee Dee Simpson. He was able to break up the argument before it came to blows.

He and his fiancee decided to leave the bar. As he was leaving Lou's Lounge, he observed the same group of girls, including Kimberly Williams and Leanna Johnson, engaged in a fist fight in the bar's parking lot. He said he physically pulled Leanna out of a group of combatants after she was knocked to the ground. He was also able to pull Kimberly Williams out of the fight.

Harrison and Thomas then went to Big Papa's. He told police that he had been hired by Ed Tibbs to work there as a bouncer that night. He said he thought he arrived at the bar around 1:00 a.m. After parking his car, he retrieved a handgun, a .357 Magnum Blackhawk revolver, from underneath the driver's seat of his vehicle, and put the gun in his front waistband. He said he carried the gun whenever he was working as a bouncer.

On the way to Big Papa's, he ran into his nephew, Lonnie Williams. He said he gave the weapon to Lonnie because he felt it was a real young crowd so he didn't feel he needed the gun. He went inside Big Papa's and saw that Kimberly Williams and the same girls who were fighting in the parking lot had moved the fight into Big Papa's.

Harrison said he was escorting Kimberly Williams outside when Jamin McClanahan "started cursing him." Although he did not know why McClanahan was angry with him, he thought it might have been because "he used to date a gal named Big Kim and that Big Kim was somehow involved in this fight." Kimberly Williams and McClanahan then began "mouthing at each other." According to Harrison, McClanahan struck Kim and Harrison went over to help her. Harrison said McClanahan "struck him with his fist on the left side of his face." Harrison said the fight ended when "Jamin and a few of his buddies then went back in the bar and slammed the door."

Harrison said that two or three minutes later, Jamin and two of his friends came out of the bar and rushed him. When the interrogating officer asked him what he meant by "rushed," he said they walked toward him. Harrison then held up his hands and said, "Hold up." Carlos Kelly, who was standing to the right of McClanahan, asked him what he meant by "hold up or hold on." Kelly then raised the right side of his shirt to show he was carrying a gun. At this point, Kelly, McClanahan, and Chris Sledd were about seven or eight feet in front of Harrison.

Harrison turned his back to the three individuals and took a couple of steps back. He then saw a person named Morgan Calhoun walking around the corner. He asked Calhoun, whom he knew to be a friend of Lonnie Williams, if he had his gun, and when Calhoun said yes, Harrison asked him for it. Calhoun gave him the weapon and Harrison put it in the front waistband of his pants.

Approximately a minute later, while Harrison was still facing McClanahan, Kelly and Sledd, he heard a shot. In response, he immediately pulled his gun out and "laid one back." He said he was not aiming at McClanahan, but added that in view of the fact that McClanahan was standing in front of him only a few feet away, he was not surprised he hit him. Harrison said he knew that the shot had not been fired by McClanahan, Kelly or Sledd, because "none of them had a weapon in their hand."

Harrison said he then turned around and started to run. As he was running across the street, he fired a second shot straight up in the air. He ran into Lonnie Williams. He gave Williams his gun and "told him to put it up." Harrison then went to his apartment in southwest Columbia. He and Thomas then...