State v. Horskins

• Decision Date: 02 July 2013
• Docket Number: No. COA12–1489.,COA12–1489.
• Citation: 743 S.E.2d 704
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Shawn Antonio HORSKINS, Defendant.
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals

743 S.E.2d 704

STATE of North Carolina

v.Shawn Antonio HORSKINS, Defendant.

No. COA12–1489.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

July 2, 2013.

Appeal by defendant from Judgment entered on or about 18 May 2012 by Judge Walter H. Godwin Jr. in Superior Court, Pasquotank County. Heard in the Court of Appeals 22 May 2013.

Attorney General Roy A. Cooper III by Assistant Attorney General C. Norman Young Jr., for the State.

Law Offices of John R. Mills NPC by John R. Mills, for defendant-appellant.

STROUD, Judge.

Shawn Antonio Horskins (“defendant”) appeals from the judgment entered on 18 May 2012 after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. Defendant argues on appeal that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the charge of first-degree murder at the close of all the evidence because there was insufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation. Defendant further argues the trial court erred in excluding testimony that defendant had been told Antoine Williams, the decedent, was a gang member. For the following reasons, we conclude that there was no prejudicial error at his trial.

I. Background

On 19 January 2010, defendant was indicted for first-degree murder. Defendant pled not guilty on a theory of self-defense and proceeded to trial by jury in Superior Court, Pasquotank County.

The State's evidence at trial tended to show that Mr. Williams was killed in the parking lot of the Trios nightclub in Elizabeth City during the early morning hours of 1 January 2010. Defendant was an enlisted soldier in the United States Army stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia. Defendant met Everett “Booty” Bynum and Dominique Blunt while in training and associated with them while they were stationed at Fort Lee. On 30 December 2009, defendant, Mr. Bynum, and Mr. Blunt drove to Elizabeth City, Mr. Bynum's hometown.

On the evening of 31 December 2009, defendant and his friends were drinking and visiting local nightclubs. After leaving a club called “the Hut,” Mr. Bynum drove defendant and Mr. Blunt to another nightclub called “Trios.” On the way to Trios, Mr. Bynum handed defendant, who was riding in the front passenger seat, a nine millimeter pistol, which defendant kept by his feet.

Mr. Williams was celebrating the New Year that night with his sister, Triquita Williams, and her then-boyfriend Zarius Bohler. Ms. Williams drove the three of them to Trios, but they decided not to go in. As they were leaving the Trios parking lot, around 1 a.m., the car being driven by Mr. Bynum pulled in, blocking their way. Mr. Bynum immediately got out of his car and began yelling for his brother. Ms. Williams, who knew Mr. Bynum, yelled at him to move his car. He ignored her and continued yelling for his brother. Defendant got out of the passenger seat as Mr. Bynum was yelling.

At that point, Mr. Williams got out of his sister's car, walked toward Mr. Bynum's car, and yelled something to the effect of “You-all got to go, we trying to go home ...” In response, defendant drew his pistol and fired one shot, after which Mr. Williams fell to the ground. Defendant then shot Mr. Williams six more times before he, Mr. Bynum, and Mr. Blunt got back in their car and left the scene.

As they were leaving the scene, defendant said “I think I just caught a body.” Defendant, Mr. Bynum, and Mr. Blunt then went back to the house of Mr. Bynum's mother, retrieved their clothes, and started driving back to Fort Lee. They called a friend from Fort Lee to meet them in Petersburg, Virginia, to switch vehicles. On the way from Petersburg to Fort Lee, defendant used Mr. Blunt's jacket to wipe off the gun and then asked Mr. Blunt to throw the gun out of the window, which he did when they passed over the James River Bridge, near Fort Lee.

After the State rested its case-in-chief, defendant presented evidence to support his claim that he only shot Mr. Williams in self-defense. Defendant testified that when they got to Trios, Mr. Williams got out of his sister's car and said, “What's cracking?” to Mr. Bynum. In response, Mr. Bynum said, “What's popping?” Mr. Williams then said, “[Y]our slop ass needs to move this car out the way.” Defendant testified that he recognized this exchange as gang-related. Officer Ervin Rodriguez, the gang coordinator for the Elizabeth City Police Department, testified that these phrases identified the speakers as members of the “Crips” gang and “Bloods” gang respectively and that a Crip calling a Blood “slop” was a grave insult.

After this exchange, Mr. Bynum told Mr. Williams they had a handgun with them. Mr. Williams responded, “[Y]ou not the only one with a forty” and then made a motion that looked to defendant like reaching for a gun. Defendant testified that he only fired at Mr. Williams when he saw that motion. He also testified that he did not shoot Mr. Williams after he fell.

At the close of all evidence, defendant moved to dismiss the charge of first-degree murder. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss. The charge of first-degree murder was submitted to the jury along with the lesser-included offenses of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. The jury returned a verdict of guilty as to first-degree murder. The trial court accordingly sentenced defendant to life imprisonment without parole. Defendant gave oral notice of appeal in open court.

II. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Defendant first argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the charge of first-degree murder at the close of all evidence when there was insufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation. We disagree.

A. Standard of Review

The standard of review for a motion to dismiss is well known. A defendant's motion to dismiss should be denied if there is substantial evidence of: (1) each essential element of the offense charged, and (2) of defendant's being the perpetrator of the charged offense. Substantial evidence is relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. The Court must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and the State is entitled to every reasonable inference to be drawn from that evidence. Contradictions and discrepancies do not warrant dismissal of the case but are for the jury to resolve.

State v. Teague, ––– N.C.App. ––––, ––––, 715 S.E.2d 919, 923 (2011), app. dismissed and disc. rev. denied,––– N.C. ––––, 720 S.E.2d 684 (2012). “The defendant's evidence, unless favorable to the State, is not to be taken into consideration, except when it is consistent with the State's evidence, the defendant's evidence may be used to explain or clarify that offered by the State.” State v. Abshire, 363 N.C. 322, 328, 677 S.E.2d 444, 449 (2009) (citations and quotation marks omitted).

B. Analysis

Here, it is uncontested that defendant shot Mr. Williams. The only question is whether there was substantial evidence of “each essential element of the offense charged”. Teague, ––– N.C.App. at ––––, 715 S.E.2d at 923.

“Murder in the first degree is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice and with premeditation and deliberation.” State v. Robbins, 275 N.C. 537, 542, 169 S.E.2d 858, 861 (1969). The elements of murder have been well established by the courts of this state. If the State proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant unlawfully killed another with malice,

[n]othing else appearing, the defendant would be guilty of murder in the second degree.... The additional elements of premeditation and deliberation, necessary to constitute murder in the first degree, must be established beyond a reasonable doubt, and found by the jury, before the verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree can be returned; and the burden of so establishing these additional elements of premeditation and deliberation rests and remains on the State.

State v. Propst, 274 N.C. 62, 71, 161 S.E.2d 560, 567 (1968) (citations omitted).

Premeditation has been defined ... as thought beforehand for some length of time, however short. No particular length of time is required; it is sufficient if the process of premeditation occurred at any point prior to the killing. An unlawful killing is committed with deliberation if it is done in a “cool state of blood,” without legal provocation, and in furtherance of a fixed design to gratify a feeling of revenge, or to accomplish some unlawful purpose. The intent to kill must arise from a fixed determination previously formed after weighing the matter.

State v. Corn, 303 N.C. 293, 297, 278 S.E.2d 221, 223 (1981) (citations omitted).

“Cool state of blood” does not mean the absence of passion and emotion, but an unlawful killing is deliberate and premeditated if done pursuant to a fixed design to kill, notwithstanding that defendant was angry or in an emotional state at the time unless such anger or emotion was such as to disturb the faculties and reason.

State v. Britt, 285 N.C. 256, 262, 204 S.E.2d 817, 822 (1974) (citations omitted).

As with other mental states,

premeditation and deliberation are not usually susceptible of direct proof and are therefore, susceptible of proof by circumstances from which the facts sought to be proven may be inferred. That these essential elements of murder in the first degree may be proven by circumstantial evidence has been repeatedly held by this court.

State v. Faust, 254 N.C. 101, 107, 118 S.E.2d 769, 772 (citations and quotation marks omitted), cert. denied,368 U.S. 851, 82 S.Ct. 85, 7 L.Ed.2d 49 (1961).

Our Supreme Court has outlined several factors relevant to the determination of whether the defendant acted with premeditation and deliberation:

Among the circumstances to be considered in determining whether a killing was with premeditation and deliberation are: Want of provocation on the part of deceased. The conduct of defendant before and after the killing. Threats and declarations of defendant before and during the course of the occurrence giving rise to the death of...