State v. Miller

• Decision Date: 08 November 1996
• Docket Number: No. 544A94,544A94
• Citation: 477 S.E.2d 915,344 N.C. 658
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Antonio Orlando MILLER.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

Page 915

477 S.E.2d 915

344 N.C. 658

STATE of North Carolina v. Antonio Orlando MILLER.

No. 544A94.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Nov. 8, 1996.

Michael F. Easley, Attorney General by Ronald M. Marquette, Special Deputy Attorney General, for the State.

Malcolm Ray Hunter, Jr., Appellate Defender by Constance H. Everhart, Assistant Appellate Defender, for defendant-appellant.

LAKE, Justice.

The defendant was indicted on 27 April 1992 for the 8 April 1992 murder of Walter Lee Moore. On 17 August 1992, the grand jury returned a second bill of indictment charging defendant with the attempted armed robbery of Moore. The defendant was tried capitally, and the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder on the basis of premeditation and deliberation and under the felony murder rule. Defendant was also convicted of attempted armed robbery. Following a capital sentencing proceeding pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-2000, the jury recommended a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder conviction. The trial court imposed this sentence and a consecutive thirty-five-year sentence for the attempted robbery conviction. For the reasons discussed herein, we conclude that defendant received a fair trial, free from prejudicial error.

At trial the State presented evidence tending to show that on 8 April 1992, Walter Lee Moore was shot to death as he sat in his van, which was parked in the driveway of his home located near Powellsville, North Carolina. Defendant Antonio Orlando Miller was seventeen years old at the time of the murder. He lived next door to Moore with his mother, Myra Porter, and his brother, Daric Miller.

Moore worked as a mechanic and maintenance man in Smithfield, Virginia; drove a blue Dodge van; and provided transportation for several riders who also worked in Smithfield. Moore generally left his home around 3:30 a.m. in order to get everyone to work on time. He was known to carry large sums of money, to always pay in cash and occasionally to sleep in his van.

On the evening of 7 April 1992, Moore was at the Red Apple, a twenty-four-hour convenience store located near his home. Vanessa Peele, an acquaintance, stopped to get gas and talked with Moore. They had a discussion about Ms. Porter and her sons, and Moore told Peele that "Snoot" (defendant) had asked to borrow some money from him and that defendant had to go to court for something. That same evening, Moore's sister, Mary Vinson, arrived at the Red Apple between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. As Moore came out to talk with her, Vinson noticed defendant standing outside alone, looking into the store. Vinson then noticed defendant behind her car with both hands in his pockets, "just prancing around like something was bothering him." She asked Moore why defendant was standing out there watching him. Moore replied, "I don't know, but let me turn my back from him because I don't know what might would happen. Cause a dude like that, you can never tell, you know." Moore also stated to Vinson that defendant's mother had asked Moore to loan her $300 or $400 for defendant to go to court, but that he had refused her request. Moore and Vinson left soon thereafter, and Vinson saw defendant walking down the road toward his house.

Around 1:00 a.m. on the morning of 8 April 1992, Moore returned to the Red Apple and after talking briefly with a friend, drove away in the direction of Moore's house. He did not pick up his riders later that morning. One of them walked to Moore's house to check on him about 4:00 a.m. He discovered Moore's body inside his van, observed blood running down the side of Moore's head, and walked to the Red Apple to call for help. When investigating officers arrived, Moore's body was in his van, and two nine-millimeter shell casings were found on the ground on the driver's side of the van.

An autopsy performed by Dr. Lawrence Stanley Harris revealed that Moore sustained two gunshot wounds to the face. The first, and probably fatal, wound was over the left side of the face outside the eye. It contained multiple slivers of glass, but no gunshot residue, suggesting that the bullet passed through glass. This bullet struck a major artery in the neck and came to rest in the back of the right shoulder. Its track suggested that Moore's face was turned away from the muzzle when the shot was fired. The impact of this bullet would have caused immediate unconsciousness and would have resulted in death within five minutes. The second bullet struck the central part of the face beside the nose. This wound was surrounded by a halo of black and red dots characteristic of powder burns. The distance of the gun's muzzle from the skin when the second shot was fired was approximately ten to twelve inches.

Special Agent Dwight Ransome and Deputy Steve Johnson interviewed defendant's mother at her residence. They also interviewed defendant's brother and several acquaintances. Thereafter, they began looking for defendant and eventually traced him to a mobile home. When the officers arrived at the mobile home, they saw defendant run from the back of the home and head for some woods. He was caught by the arresting officers before he entered the trees. A nine-millimeter pistol was found in a ditch behind the mobile home.

Agent Eugene Bishop, an expert in firearms and toolmark identification, examined the nine-millimeter weapon recovered and analyzed the two fired cartridges from the shooting scene along with the two bullets recovered from the body of Moore. He concluded that the two bullets and the two fired cartridges all had been fired from the nine-millimeter pistol found in the ditch.

After defendant was arrested, he was taken to the sheriff's office and advised of his rights. Since defendant was only seventeen years old, the arresting officers looked for a juvenile rights form but could not find one. Instead, they used an adult Miranda form and inserted an additional clause at the end, "Do you wish to answer questions without your parents/parent present?" After each of the first eight questions, defendant stated that he understood his rights. He also stated that he did not want a lawyer and was willing to answer questions. When defendant was asked if he wanted to answer questions without his parent(s) present, he replied, "No, I want her here." No more questioning occurred until defendant's mother was present.

The sheriff located and brought defendant's mother to the station. In her presence, defendant was readvised of his rights, and he gave the same responses. Defendant was not asked again if he wished to answer questions without his parents present since his mother was there. Agent Ransome told defendant, "Your mother's here. You wanted her here so you could talk with us." Defendant responded, "Yes, that's what I wanted." After going back over the rights form, defendant signed it, certifying that he had been advised of his rights. His signature was witnessed by his mother and Deputy Johnson.

After the officers asked about his whereabouts the preceding few days, defendant indicated he had arrived home at 11:00 the night before. One of the officers then said that defendant was wrong, that they knew from talking with his mother and others that he had not arrived home until 2:00 a.m. and had left shortly after that. Defendant then appeared embarrassed and ill at ease. He was asked, "Are you comfortable talking in front of your mom or would you like for her to step out of the room?" When defendant replied, "She might as well leave," his mother stood, left the room and sat on a bench outside the open doorway where defendant could see her if he leaned forward. She was told she could come back in at any time.

Defendant then made a full statement, confessing to the killing of Moore. He explained how he got up about 2:00 a.m. on the morning of 8 April 1992, got dressed, and left home about 2:30 a.m. He started walking to the home of his cousin Trina Sessoms, which took him past Moore's home. Defendant stated he walked toward Moore's house and crept up on the van that was in the driveway. He heard a car coming and hid in the bushes. After the car left, defendant crept back up on the driver's side of the van and stooped to pass the driver's seat. He thought he saw Moore's hand move but could not tell whether Moore was asleep. Defendant stated he then took out the pistol, aimed it at Moore and pulled the trigger. However, the pistol did not fire because the safety was on. Defendant bent down and took off the safety. He then stood up, again pointed the gun at Moore, turned his head, and "the gun shot twice." Defendant stated he did not take any of Moore's money because he was scared. Defendant also confessed to having thrown the nine-millimeter pistol into the ditch while running from the mobile home. At this point, defendant's mother returned to the room, and they talked about everything he had said. She then announced she was leaving and departed with defendant's apparent consent.

Defendant made a pretrial motion to suppress this statement. After a hearing and findings of fact, the trial court denied the motion, and defendant's confession was admitted at trial. The State's evidence further showed that two days before the killing, defendant told his cousin Kenyon Askew that if he did not get any money for court, he was going to kill his next-door neighbor, Moore. The State and defendant stipulated that, "The defendant was scheduled to appear in court on April 9, 1992, because he was $200 in arrears on a $395 obligation or court indebtedness."

The defendant presented no evidence.

In his first assignment of error, defendant contends the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion to suppress his confession on the grounds that neither he nor his mother was advised expressly that defendant had the right to his mother's presence during questioning and that he did not waive his right to have her present. This assertion is not supported by the evidence.

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