State v. Knotts

• Decision Date: 23 July 1992
• Docket Number: No. 20522,20522
• Citation: 187 W.Va. 795,421 S.E.2d 917
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of West Virginia, Plaintiff Below, Appellee, v. Richard A. KNOTTS, Defendant Below, Appellant.

Page 917

421 S.E.2d 917

187 W.Va. 795

STATE of West Virginia, Plaintiff Below, Appellee, v. Richard A. KNOTTS, Defendant Below, Appellant.

No. 20522.

Supreme Court of Appeals of

West Virginia.

Submitted April 29, 1992.

Decided July 23, 1992.

Syllabus by the Court

1. " '[W]hen there is a quarrel between two or more persons and both or all are in fault, and a combat as a result of such quarrel takes place and death ensues as a result; in order to reduce the offense to killing in self-defense, two things must appear from the evidence and circumstances in the case: first, that before the mortal shot was fired the person firing the shot declined further combat, and retreated as far as he could with safety; second, that he necessarily killed the deceased in order to preserve his own life or to protect himself from great bodily harm....' " Syl. Pt. 6, in part, State v. Foley, 131 W.Va. 326, 47 S.E.2d 40 (1948).

2. "Where a person who has been accused of committing a crime makes a voluntary statement that is inadmissible as evidence in the State's case in chief because the statement was made after the accused had requested a lawyer, the statement may be admissible solely for impeachment purposes when the accused takes the stand at his trial and offers testimony contradicting the prior voluntary statement knowing that such prior voluntary statement is inadmissible as evidence in the State's case in chief." Syl. Pt. 4, State v. Goodmon, 170 W.Va. 123, 290 S.E.2d 260 (1981).

3. Where a person accused of committing a crime makes a voluntary statement which is declared inadmissible in the State's case-in-chief due to a violation of the accused's prompt presentment rights pursuant to West Virginia Code § 62-1-5 (1989) and West Virginia Rule of Criminal Procedure 5(a), the statement may be admissible solely for impeachment purposes if the accused takes the stand at his trial and offers testimony inconsistent with the prior voluntary statement.

4. "When a trial court determines that prospective jurors have been exposed to information which may be prejudicial, the trial court, upon its own motion or motion of counsel, shall question or permit the questioning of the prospective jurors individually, out of the presence of the other prospective jurors, to ascertain whether the prospective jurors remain free of bias or prejudice." Syl. Pt. 1, State v. Finley, 177 W.Va. 554, 355 S.E.2d 47 (1987).

5. "A prosecuting attorney can only appear before the grand jury to present by sworn witnesses evidence of alleged criminal offenses, and to render court supervised instructions, W.Va.Code § 7-4-1 (1976 Replacement Vol.); he is not permitted to influence the grand jury in reaching a decision, nor can he provide unsworn testimonial evidence." Syl. Pt. 2, State ex rel. Miller v. Smith, 168 W.Va. 745, 285 S.E.2d 500 (1981).

6. "A prosecuting attorney who attempts to influence a grand jury by means other than the presentation of evidence or the giving of court supervised instructions, exceeds his lawful jurisdiction and usurps the judicial power of the circuit court and of the grand jury...." Syl. Pt. 3, in part, State ex rel. Miller v. Smith, 168 W.Va. 745, 285 S.E.2d 500 (1981).

7. "In a criminal case, a verdict of guilt will not be set aside on the ground that it is contrary to the evidence, where the state's evidence is sufficient to convince impartial minds of the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. The evidence is to be viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution. To warrant interference with a verdict of guilt on the ground of insufficiency of evidence, the court must be convinced that the evidence was manifestly inadequate and that consequent injustice has been done." Syl. Pt. 1, State v. Starkey, 161 W.Va. 517, 244 S.E.2d 219 (1978).

Joanna I. Tabit, Deputy Atty. Gen., Charleston, for appellee.

Daniel R. James, James E. Smith, II, Barr & James, Keyser, for appellant.

WORKMAN, Justice:

This case is before the Court upon a December 18, 1990, final order of the Circuit Court of Preston County sentencing the appellant, Richard A. Knotts, to life imprisonment without mercy. The sentence was based on a November 29, 1990, jury conviction for first degree murder. The appellant alleges that the trial court erred 1) in disallowing the appellant's and State's instructions relative to self-defense; 2) in ruling that some of the appellant's statements which were ruled inadmissible in the State's case-in-chief could be used by the State for impeachment purposes should the appellant testify; 3) in failing to strike one member of the jury panel sua sponte and two jurors challenged for cause; 4) in not granting the appellant's motion to dismiss the indictment on the ground that the prosecuting attorney impermissibly instructed the grand jury; and 5) in failing to grant the appellant's motion for judgment of acquittal on the first degree murder conviction. Upon review of the record, the briefs of the parties and all other matters submitted before the Court, we find no error was committed by the lower court and affirm the conviction.

Robert Barlow was last seen alive on the evening of February 14, 1990, by his brother Bill Barlow between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. When Robert dropped off his brother Bill, Robert indicated that he was going to visit his girlfriend, Penny Knotts Kuhn, because it was Valentine's Day. According to Ms. Kuhn's testimony, Robert Barlow never arrived.

On that same day, the appellant had worked an evening shift from 1:30 p.m. to 9:20 p.m. as a coal truck driver for Thorn Trucking, Inc. Robert Johnson, one of appellant's co-workers, testified that after work that day he saw the appellant driving toward Tunnelton, which is in the direction of St. Joe Road. The victim's father testified that his son Robert would also have been travelling on St. Joe road en route to visit his girlfriend who resided in that area.

At approximately 10:15 p.m., a motorist, Randall Wiles, also travelling on St. Joe Road toward Tunnelton, observed a car parked on the side of the road with its hazard lights flashing. A pick-up truck was parked directly in front of the car. Mr. Wiles stopped, found the driver's side door of the automobile open, but saw no one in the area. Around 10:30 p.m., another motorist, Larry Haney, observed the same pick-up truck parked toward Route 7 near Herring Road. The pick-up truck was later identified as belonging to the victim, Robert Barlow.

Later that same night, the appellant's brother, Dale Knotts, took the appellant to the appellant's home in Masontown, West Virginia. The appellant had sustained multiple stab wounds and his girlfriend, Karen Mayfield, tried to clean the wounds. Ms. Mayfield called her son, Raymond Finn, for help. According to Mr. Finn, the appellant initially told Ms. Mayfield and Mr. Finn that he had been driving his coal truck, and had stopped when three men jumped him and stabbed him. Ms. Mayfield took the appellant to Ruby Memorial Hospital in nearby Morgantown, West Virginia.

In the early morning hours of February 15, 1990, the appellant was admitted for several hours to Ruby Memorial Hospital for the treatment of six stab wounds. The hospital then notified the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office. Sergeant Ed Pietroski was dispatched to the hospital where he interviewed the appellant. According to Sergeant Pietroski, the appellant told him that he had picked up three hitchhikers while driving his car, not his coal truck, to Osage, West Virginia, and that one of the men pulled a knife on him and stabbed him several times. Based on the information given to him by the appellant, Sergeant Pietroski went to the alleged crime scene, but found no physical evidence to corroborate the appellant's story.

Consequently, the sergeant went back to the hospital and interviewed the appellant again. The sergeant testified that the appellant seemed annoyed at having to retell his story and told the officer that "I can take care of it myself and there was no need for me [the sergeant] to go beyond what ... [I was] doing." At that point, the sergeant stated he became suspicious and turned the investigation over to Lieutenant Charlie Cira.

On the morning of February 15, 1990, Lieutenant Cira talked with the appellant. The appellant gave the officer a taped statement which was admitted in evidence and essentially recounted the statement previously given to Sergeant Pietroski.

Because the appellant's car was found in Preston County, West Virginia, and due to the fact that Lieutenant Cira found no physical evidence which indicated that the alleged assault occurred in Monongalia County, West Virginia, Lieutenant Cira testified that he believed the alleged assault took place in Preston County and accordingly advised the Preston County Sheriff's Office.

Deputy Joseph Stiles of the Preston County Sheriff's Office then began investigating the case. On February 19, 1990, Deputy Stiles stated that he went to the appellant's home to question him about the stabbing. ¹ Once again the appellant told the deputy the same story he had previously relayed to Sergeant Pietroski.

During Deputy Stiles' investigation of the appellant's stabbing, he testified that he became aware of a missing person, Robert Barlow. Deputy Stiles testified that he learned that Robert Barlow's truck had been recovered on Herring Road in Preston County. The deputy visited the scene where the truck was found and made contact with Robert Barlow's family who were conducting a search of the area.

Deputy Stiles testified that Robert Barlow's body was found in the woods along St. Joe Road on February 21, 1990. Also recovered in the same vicinity were a .22 calibre pistol without the grip or butt attached, the grip of the pistol, a blue and white handkerchief, a small black strap which was a part of the victim's jacket, and an oval-shaped section of a fiber or hair. Moreover, the victim was wearing a belt with a...