State v. Lewis

• Decision Date: 17 August 2007
• Docket Number: No. M2004-02255-SC-R11-CD.,M2004-02255-SC-R11-CD.
• Citation: 235 S.W.3d 136
• Parties: STATE of Tennessee v. Sabrina Renee LEWIS.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

235 S.W.3d 136

STATE of Tennessee v. Sabrina Renee LEWIS.

No. M2004-02255-SC-R11-CD.

Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Nashville.

April 27, 2007 Session Heard at Clarksville.¹

August 17, 2007.

Jay Norman, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Sabrina Renee Lewis.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; Elizabeth B. Marney, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson III, District Attorney General; and Pamela Anderson and Roger Moore, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

GARY R. WADE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which WILLIAM M. BARKER, C.J., and JANICE M. HOLDER, CORNELIA A. CLARK, JJ., and FRANK F. DROWOTA, III, Sp.J., joined.

The Defendant, Sabrina Renee Lewis, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and facilitation of especially aggravated robbery. The trial court imposed a twenty-one-year effective sentence. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed. We granted permission to appeal in order to consider three evidentiary questions, the last two of which require interpretations of the federal and state constitutional provisions relating to the right of confrontation: (1) whether a videotaped statement by the Defendant was admissible as "against interests"; (2) whether a statement by the victim was admissible as a dying declaration; and (3) whether expert testimony regarding DNA test results was admissible. Because the videotaped statement by the Defendant was properly allowed as an admission by a party opponent, because a testimonial dying declaration does not violate the right of confrontation under the federal or state constitution, and because confrontation rights do not prohibit an expert evaluation of DNA data, the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals is affirmed.

On July 13, 2001, Gary Dean Finchum ("the victim") was shot during a robbery of his antiques store. He later died from his injuries. For her role in the crimes, Sabrina Renee Lewis ("the Defendant"), who was originally charged with felony murder and especially aggravated robbery, was convicted by a jury of criminally negligent homicide and facilitation of attempted especially aggravated robbery.

Factual and Procedural Background

The victim and his wife, Linda Finchum ("Finchum"), owned and operated Always Antiques in Madison. Some three weeks before the shooting, the Defendant stopped at the store seeking an estimate of value for two vases that she wanted to sell. Because the victim, who had left for the day, was responsible for the appraisals, Finchum asked the Defendant to come back later. The Defendant returned in two weeks, purportedly looking for a gift for her mother who lived in New York. The Finchums offered to travel to the Defendant's residence to examine the vases but she declined, explaining that she would return with the vases later in the day. Finchum did not see the Defendant again that day, but at approximately 10:00 a.m. on the day of the shooting, the victim telephoned her and before ending the conversation remarked, "I believe the woman with the vases is coming in."

One hour later, at approximately 11:00 a.m., Brenda Farmer and Judy Summers, who worked at Pugh's Pharmacy, heard several loud crashes coming from the direction of the antiques store located next door. Summers saw someone enter the front passenger's side of an older, gray, "long" vehicle which was parked outside the back door with the motor running. After a few minutes, the two women walked to the antiques store to investigate the noises. As they entered, the victim called out for help and asked them to "call 911," explaining that he had been "shot in the heart." Farmer ran back to the pharmacy, informed the other employees of the situation, and directed them to call 911. When she returned, the victim informed Farmer that "they" tried to rob him and that "a black man in blue jeans" had shot him. Summers, who also noticed a bullet wound in the victim's arm, observed the victim's shallow breathing and believed that he would likely die before the ambulance arrived.

Detective Mike Chastain of the Metro Police Department Armed Robbery unit arrived at the scene prior to the paramedics and observed the victim lying on the floor at the rear of the store. The victim, who was in "obvious pain" and "blood[-]soaked," identified himself to the detective and when asked if he had been robbed, responded, "[H]e tried to." He described his assailant as a "young male black" and showed the detective a blue, "floppy" hat that he had left behind. When the paramedics arrived and initiated treatment, the victim pointed with both of his hands and said, "[O]fficer, officer, the lady's information is on the desk." When asked about what "lady" to whom he was referring, the victim responded, "[T]he lady with the vases." On further questioning about whether the "lady" was connected to the robbery and shooting, the victim stated, "I know she is." Another detective found a piece of paper on the counter bearing the name "Sabrina Lewis," what appeared to be a driver's license number, and the words "two vases."

Detective Norris Tarkington discovered an address for "Sabrina Lewis," drove to her residence, and knocked on the door. Several minutes later, the Defendant answered the door and agreed to travel to the police station to provide a statement. The police also determined that the Defendant had a gray, late 1980s model vehicle registered in her name.

In a videotaped statement, the Defendant admitted to the police that she was in the antiques store on the date of the shooting, explaining that she had spoken with the victim, had negotiated a $125 price for the vases, and had given the victim her contact information. She claimed that she left the antiques store in a car that she had borrowed from her ex-boyfriend, dropped it off at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and then visited at her mother's house for a few hours before returning to her own residence. The Defendant told the police that she gave $100 of the sale proceeds to her son and kept the remainder.

During the investigation, the police learned that at the time of the shooting, Mary Fisher was driving her vehicle when she saw a black man run out of Always Antiques with a black object in his hand. She described him as dressed in a red shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. Fisher also noticed a car driven by an unidentified woman at the corner of a side street flanking the antiques store. According to Fisher, the woman made a left turn through a red light, nearly hitting her vehicle.

Six months after the shooting, a detective interviewed Fisher, who at that time was incarcerated for driving under the influence. When shown photographs of a number of women, she mentioned that a photograph of the Defendant looked familiar. Within a day or so thereafter, she identified the Defendant as the woman driving the getaway car. At trial, Fisher again identified the Defendant as the driver.

Terry Battle, a prison inmate, testified at the trial as a witness for the State. He recalled that when the Defendant visited him in prison only weeks after the shooting, she informed him that she was under investigation for the shooting death of a man in Madison. According to Battle, the Defendant explained that she sold some vases to a man at an antiques store, drove to her mother's home, and told a cousin nicknamed "Black" that the man had a large sum of money. The Defendant told Battle that she drove her mother and "Black" to the antiques store, that "Black" went inside while she and her mother waited in the vehicle, and that she heard a shot after which "Black" ran out of the store and jumped into the vehicle. According to Battle, the Defendant informed him that she then transported "Black" to a nearby housing project.

Dr. Terry Melton, a forensic scientist specializing in mitochondrial DNA analysis, testified that her laboratory performed an analysis on hairs taken from the floppy hat found at the scene. After comparing the DNA profile of the hair with the DNA of the Defendant's sons, Eton and Todd Bryant, she determined that neither individual could be excluded as the contributor of the hair. She explained that individuals with the same mother share an identical mitochondrial DNA profile, not only with each other but also with their maternal relatives. Dr. Melton, who testified that the mitochondrial DNA profile excluded 99.94% of the North American population, confirmed that the hair sample was completely consumed during testing and pointed out that the same mitochondrial DNA profile would also be found in the Defendant, her sisters and brothers, her sister's children, and her mother, that is, all of the maternal relatives of Eton and Todd Bryant. During cross-examination, Dr. Melton acknowledged that a co-worker, Dr. Kimberly Nelson, actually performed the mitochondrial DNA testing. She asserted, however, that she did "analyze all of the data on that sample and on every sample."

At the conclusion of the trial, the State conceded that the evidence was insufficient to support especially aggravated robbery. In consequence, the trial court instructed the jury only on the offenses of felony murder, attempted especially aggravated robbery, and their lesser-included offenses. The jury returned guilty verdicts on the lesser-included offenses of facilitation of attempted especially aggravated robbery and criminally negligent homicide. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant to six years as a Range III, persistent offender for the criminally negligent homicide and fifteen years as a Range III, persistent offender for the facilitation of attempted especially aggravated robbery. Because the sentences were ordered to be served consecutively, the effective sentence is twenty-one years.

Standard of Review

Generally, questions concerning the admissibility of evidence rest within the sound...