State v. Hill
| Decision Date | 14 January 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. CR-90-0164-AP,CR-90-0164-AP |
| Citation | 848 P.2d 1375,174 Ariz. 313 |
| Parties | STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Clarence David HILL, Appellant. |
| Court | Arizona Supreme Court |
Clarence David Hill (hereinafter "Defendant") was convicted of one count of first degree murder under A.R.S. § 13-1105(A)(1) and was sentenced to death. Defendant appeals from his conviction and death sentence. See Rule 31.2(b), Ariz.R.Crim.P., 17 A.R.S. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Ariz. Const. art. 6, § 5(3) and A.R.S. § 13-4031.
Shortly after 5:30 a.m. on June 18, 1989, a local resident discovered a burning body in a Mohave County dump and called the sheriff. When the deputies responded, they found the body still burning and lying on its left side. The deputies noted the presence of vehicle tracks and shoeprints. A comparison of these markings with the tires of the resident's vehicle and his shoes indicated that another vehicle had been in the area and that other shoes had made the prints.
Deputies found a wallet that contained the victim's driver's license but no money. Based on the address on the driver's license, deputies went to the victim's home, where they observed tire tracks and shoeprints similar to those found near the body. Defendant answered the door at the victim's home, wearing only a blanket. He explained that he lived in his motor home on the victim's property. He informed the deputies that the victim drove a small blue pickup truck and described the vehicle. He then asked permission to get dressed, and the deputies followed Defendant to his motor home. The deputies examined Defendant's tennis shoes and noted that the sole design was similar to the shoeprints found near the victim's body.
According to Defendant, he and the victim had been drinking at nearby bars on the previous day. He said that the victim left briefly to go grocery shopping at Best Buy Market, after which they returned to the victim's home. The victim then left again in his pickup truck to "make the rounds." Defendant claimed that he stayed at the victim's home watching television and fell asleep. Defendant said that when he woke up, he went back to his motor home, undressed, and went to bed. He awoke again at approximately 11:00 p.m. and could hear the victim's air conditioner running. Knowing that the victim regularly turned off his air conditioner in the evening, Defendant went to the victim's home to see if he had returned. Finding that he had not, Defendant turned off the air conditioner and fell asleep on the couch, awakening when the deputies knocked on the door. Deputies noted, however, that the air conditioner was running when they arrived.
Detective Sergeant Lent, a tracking specialist, met the deputies at the victim's home, examined the tire tracks and shoeprints, and took measurements. He also examined one of Defendant's tennis shoes. He then proceeded to a nearby bar, where a deputy had located the victim's truck. A gallon container half full of paint thinner and a pair of gloves were found in the back of the truck.
Detective Lent observed and followed shoeprints with distinctive markings, including the logo of "Athletix" and a distortion on the ball of the right shoe, from the bar to the back yard of the victim's home. Defendant's shoes had similar markings, including the "Athletix" logo, and there was a "glob" on the right shoe. Detective Lent then went to the scene and identified the shoeprints there as having been made by the same shoes that made the prints leading from the bar to the victim's home. Based on his examination of Defendant's shoes and the prints both at the scene and from the bar to the victim's home, Detective Lent concluded that Defendant's shoes made the prints. Detective Lent also identified the tire tracks at the scene as having been made by the victim's truck.
A Mohave County fire investigator, George Koskela, examined the position and condition of the body and concluded that a flammable substance had been poured on the front lower portion of the victim as he was lying on his back and that the fire was started while he was in that position. Because the body had fresh blisters, Koskela deduced that the victim had been alive when the fire was started. He further believed that the victim ended up on his side while trying to get up to escape the fire. The state's coroner, as well as Defendant's pathologist, also concluded that the victim was alive when set on fire and that he died from smoke and gas inhalation.
The victim's roommate testified that the victim and Defendant had a heated argument approximately two weeks before the murder over the victim's failure to pay Defendant for work done around the victim's house. When Defendant was arrested on the afternoon of June 18, deputies found over $200 in his wallet, including four $1 dollar bills folded over a receipt from Best Buy Market, dated June 17, showing purchases for $17.75 and change of $2.25. At trial, Defendant testified that he gave the victim $20 to make the purchases and that the victim returned the folded bills as change from the store along with the sales receipt.
A jury found Defendant guilty of first degree murder. Following an aggravation-mitigation hearing, the trial judge found three aggravating factors and one statutory mitigating factor. After considering Defendant's proffered mitigating factors and finding them not substantial enough to call for leniency, the trial judge sentenced Defendant to death.
Defendant first asserts that the evidence introduced at trial was insufficient to convict him of first degree murder. A judgment of acquittal is appropriate when there is "no substantial evidence to warrant a conviction." Rule 20(a), Ariz.R.Crim.P., 17 A.R.S. (hereinafter "Rule ____"); see State v. Mathers, 165 Ariz. 64, 67, 796 P.2d 866, 869 (1990). "Substantial evidence is more than a mere scintilla and is such proof that 'reasonable persons could accept as adequate and sufficient to support a conclusion of defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.' " Mathers, 165 Ariz. at 67, 796 P.2d at 869 (quoting State v. Jones, 125 Ariz. 417, 419, 610 P.2d 51, 53 (1980)).
Without recounting every incriminating fact, we note that:
1. Approximately two weeks before the victim's death, the victim and Defendant had a heated argument.
2. The victim had no money in his wallet.
3. Defendant had over $200 in his wallet, including four $1 dollar bills folded over a receipt, dated June 17, from Best Buy Market.
4. On June 17, Defendant did not go shopping at Best Buy Market, but the victim did.
5. Defendant's last significant source of income was $500 from his father in March 1989 and a $232 tax refund in late May or June 1989.
6. Tire tracks at the scene corresponded to the tire tracks of the victim's truck, which was found behind a nearby bar.
7. Shoeprints matching Defendant's tennis shoes were found both at the scene and leading from where the victim's truck was found to the victim's home, where Defendant was found.
8. The victim was alive when set on fire and died from smoke and gas inhalation.
From these facts, we believe a reasonable jury could have found that Defendant drove the victim's truck to near where the body was found, dragged the victim from the truck, took the money that he believed the victim owed him, and then set the victim on fire, drove the truck to a nearby bar that the victim frequented, and walked home. Thus, giving the benefit of all reasonable inferences to support the verdict, we believe there was sufficient evidence from which a rational trier of fact could have found Defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defendant next contends that the trial court erred by refusing to strike juror Brown, a police officer, for cause. The challenge was made because Brown stated that he would presume police investigations to be complete and thorough. Additionally, Defendant suggests that Brown was biased in favor of the state because he was acquainted with the prosecutor's investigator, the prosecutor, and the coroner associated with this case. Defendant argues that the court's denial of the challenge forced him to use a peremptory challenge to remove Brown from the jury panel.
Although a juror may possess certain opinions or preconceived ideas, he or she is not necessarily rendered incompetent to make a fair and impartial decision. State v. (Ricky) Tison, 129 Ariz. 526, 533, 633 P.2d 335, 342 (1981), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 882, 103 S.Ct. 180, 74 L.Ed.2d 147 (1982). The juror may serve if willing and able to put personal opinions aside and weigh the evidence as the law requires. See State v. Greenawalt, 128 Ariz. 388, 393-94, 626 P.2d 118, 123-24, cert. denied, 454 U.S. 848, 102 S.Ct. 167, 70 L.Ed.2d 136 (1981). To prevail on the issue of failure to strike for cause, a defendant must show that the potential juror was unable to do this. See State v. Clabourne, 142 Ariz. 335, 344, 690 P.2d 54, 63 (1984). We will not disturb the trial judge's decision on such challenges absent a clear showing of an abuse of discretion. See State v. Rose, 121 Ariz. 131, 139, 589 P.2d 5, 13 (1978).
In the instant case, Defendant failed to meet this burden. Although Brown stated in his juror questionnaire that he presumed police investigations to be thorough and complete, he stated in subsequent voir dire that ...
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