State v. Hunt

• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: MITCHELL
• Citation: State v. Hunt, 325 N.C. 187, 381 S.E.2d 453 (N.C. 1989)
• Decision Date: 26 July 1989
• Docket Number: No. 41A87,41A87
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Lee Wayne HUNT.

Page 453

381 S.E.2d 453

325 N.C. 187

STATE of North Carolina v. Lee Wayne HUNT.

No. 41A87.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

July 26, 1989.

Appeal by the defendant, pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-27(a), from judgments sentencing him to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment entered by Brannon, J., on 17 October 1986, in Superior Court, Cumberland County. On 27 September 1988, the Supreme Court allowed the defendant's motion to bypass the Court of Appeals as to additional judgments imposing sentences of less than life imprisonment. Heard in the Supreme Court on 10 April 1989.

Lacy H. Thornburg, Atty. Gen. by James J. Coman, Sr. Deputy Atty. Gen., William N. Farrell, Jr., Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., and Ellen B. Scouten, Asst. Atty. Gen., Raleigh, for the State.

Gordon Widenhouse, Raleigh, for defendant-appellant.

MITCHELL, Justice.

The defendant Lee Wayne Hunt was tried upon proper bills of indictment charging him with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. A jury found the defendant guilty of all crimes as charged. After a sentencing hearing pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-2000, the same jury recommended a sentence of life imprisonment for each murder conviction. The trial court entered judgments sentencing the defendant to two consecutive life sentences for the first degree murder convictions. The trial court also entered judgments sentencing the defendant to two consecutive ten-year terms for the conspiracy to commit murder convictions.

The evidence at trial tended to show that on 7 March 1984, Roland "Tadpole" Matthews and his wife Lisa K. Matthews were found dead in the living room of their Fayetteville home. Roland Matthews was found seated in a chair; Lisa was on her knees, slumped over a coffee table. Their two-year-old child was found unharmed in a bedroom. Autopsies of the bodies revealed that both victims died as a result of being shot and stabbed. Three men--Jerry Dale Cashwell, Kenneth Wayne West, and the defendant--were indicted for the murders.

Gene Williford, Jr. testified for the State under a grant of immunity. He testified that, approximately two weeks prior to the murders, ten to fourteen pounds of marijuana had been "ripped off" from the defendant. On 6 March 1984, the day before the murders, Williford went to the defendant's house around 8:00 a.m. after being told that the defendant wanted to see him. When Williford arrived at the defendant's house, Jerry Cashwell, Kenneth West, and a man named Terry Lofton were there with the defendant. The defendant told the men that he had found out that Roland Matthews--also known by the nickname "Tadpole"--had stolen the marijuana and that he was going to "teach Tadpole a lesson" that nobody could steal "pot" from him. The defendant gave Cashwell fifty dollars and a bag of marijuana. He then instructed Cashwell to go to Roland Matthews'place of work and wait for him. After buying something for Tadpole with the money, Cashwell was to accompany him home. Williford was to take the defendant and West to the Matthews' home later that night, where the defendant was going to confront Tadpole about the theft. Nothing was said in Williford's presence about how the defendant intended to "teach Tadpole a lesson".

During the early morning hours of 7 March 1984, Williford picked up the defendant and West at the defendant's house. The three men went to River Road where Williford let the defendant and West out near a dirt road not far from the Matthews' residence. The defendant instructed Williford to pick them up in thirty minutes. Williford left and returned in thirty minutes but did not see anyone. He left a second time and returned later to see West, Cashwell and the defendant running up to the car. West was carrying a green trash bag. Williford noticed that West and the defendant "looked like they had blood on them." The defendant told Williford to "shut up and get out of there quick." Williford then drove to the defendant's house.

At the defendant's house, all four men got out of the car, but Williford stayed outside while the others went inside to change clothes and clean up. About fifteen minutes later, West, Cashwell and the defendant came back out of the house. They had changed clothes and had two green trash bags with them. Williford testified that the defendant told him that they were going to "stash the pot and get rid of the clothes" and for Williford to go home, be careful and get with the defendant later.

Several days later Williford returned to the defendant's residence. While the defendant and Williford were standing outside the house, the defendant told Williford that he and West were going to Florida for a couple of weeks until "all this blew over." The defendant also warned Williford not to say anything about being on River Road "that night" and, if he were questioned, to state that he had not seen the defendant "that night."

Jeffrey Dale Goodman testified that while he and the defendant were in safekeeping at Central Prison, the defendant told him that he was charged with two counts of first degree murder but that "all they had was just two dead bodies, no witnesses" and that "they would never find the gun." The defendant described the murders to Goodman, stating that the man was shot first, the woman jumped up and she was shot in the head, their throats were cut and a baby who was too small to tell anything was put in the back room. The defendant told Goodman that the couple was "killed over drug money."

Additional evidence for the State included expert testimony tending to show that the two bullets recovered from Lisa Matthews' body and two other bullets recovered from the Matthews' home were all fired from the same gun. The bullets were either .38 or .357 caliber and were probably made by Remington-Peters.

An officer from the Fayetteville Police Department testified that on 16 March 1984, he received six .38 caliber Remington-Peters bullets from Allen Jernigan. Subsequently, Jernigan turned over a partial box of Remington-Peters .38 caliber ammunition to the authorities. Jernigan testified that Jerry Cashwell gave him the box of ammunition after the victims were murdered. Expert testimony tended to show that the four fired bullets recovered from the crime scene and the unfired bullets from the box were so similar that it was likely that they all came from the same box.

The defendant offered evidence that Jerry Cashwell, alone, was responsible for the murders. Several people testified that Cashwell told them how he had killed the victims. The defendant also testified that Cashwell told him that he (Cashwell) had murdered the victims.

In rebuttal, the State offered the testimony of Samuel Thompson. He said that Cashwell told him while they were both inmates in the Cumberland County Jail that West, Cashwell and the defendant had killed Lisa and Roland Matthews. Thompson also testified that Cashwell informed him that he (Cashwell) was in jail for attempted murder of his girlfriend.

By his first assignment the defendant contends that the trial court committed reversible error by admitting evidence that Jerry Cashwell had been arrested for attempted murder of his girlfriend. He argues that this evidence was inadmissible because it amounted to improper impeachment of Cashwell's statements which had been introduced by the defendant and because it was inadmissible evidence of Cashwell's character. The defendant points out that this Court ruled that this same evidence was irrelevant and unduly prejudicial to Cashwell in his own trial. State v. Cashwell, 322 N.C. 574, 369 S.E.2d 566 (1988).

When, as here, alleged errors relate to rights arising other than under the Constitution of the United States, a defendant is prejudiced only when there is a reasonable possibility that, had the error in question not been committed, a different result would have been reached. N.C.G.S. § 15A-1443(a) (1988). The defendant has the burden of showing such prejudice. Id.

In the present case, even if it is assumed arguendo that it was error to admit the evidence the defendant complains of, it was not prejudicial. The defendant offered evidence through several witnesses that Cashwell, alone, committed both murders. The evidence that Cashwell had attempted to kill his girlfriend, if anything, buttressed the defendant's evidence and theory of the case. The defendant could only benefit from evidence that tended to show that Cashwell was a bad character with a propensity for murder. The defendant having failed to show prejudice, we overrule the defendant's first assignment of error.

The defendant next assigns as error the trial court's admission into evidence of testimony concerning certain statements made by West several days after the victims were killed. Williford testified that he returned to the defendant's residence several days after the victims were killed. After talking to the defendant outside the house, Williford accompanied him inside. Cashwell, West and Terry Lofton were present. Williford testified that during this time someone--West thought it was Lofton--had asked "what happened," and West made the statements "that fat bitch begged us not to kill her too" and that he "was surprised how easy it was and how easy it had gone over that they got the pot back." Williford also testified that after each of these statements, the conversation ceased and the defendant looked up and gave West "a long glance like he had better shut up."

The defendant argues that Williford's testimony concerning West's statements and the defendant's reaction was inadmissible hearsay because the defendant's "silence" did not meet the requirements for implied admissions under Rule 801(d)(B) of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence. N.C.G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 801(d)(B) (1986). We conclude, however, that the defendant's affirmative conduct indicating that West "had better hush" or "had better shut up" could reasonably be found by a jury...