State v. Parkhurst

• Decision Date: 20 January 1998
• Docket Number: No. 96-63-A,96-63-A
• Citation: 706 A.2d 412
• Parties: STATE v. Steven PARKHURST. ppeal.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 412

706 A.2d 412

STATE v. Steven PARKHURST.

No. 96-63-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Jan. 20, 1998.

Andrea J. Mendes and Aaron L Weisman, Providence, for Plaintiff.

Paula Rosin, Providence, for Defendant.

Before WEISBERGER, C.J., and LEDERBERG, FLANDERS and GOLDBERG, JJ.

OPINION

WEISBERGER, Chief Justice.

This case comes before us on appeal by the defendant, Steven Parkhurst (defendant or Parkhurst), following a conviction after a jury trial in the Providence County Superior Court on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, breaking into and entering a dwelling house, theft of a motor vehicle, theft of a firearm, and possession of a stolen firearm when committing a crime of violence. The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and ten years' imprisonment each for the convictions of conspiracy to murder, breaking and entering of a residence, theft of a motor vehicle, and possession of a stolen firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. All sentences were to be served consecutively to the sentence of life imprisonment and to one another. A further consecutive five-year sentence was imposed for the theft of a firearm. We affirm the judgment of conviction. The facts of the case insofar as pertinent to this appeal are as follows.

On November 23, 1992, Francis Ramella, his wife, and their two daughters left their residence at 24 Jefferson Road, North Smithfield, Rhode Island, for a vacation in the Grand Cayman Islands. The Ramella's twenty-year-old son, Trevor, remained at home. Over the course of the following five nights, while the rest of the family vacationed, Trevor hosted parties in the family home attended by a number of teens and young adults, including defendant. During Monday night's festivities Trevor removed a .22 caliber revolver from his father's locked gun cabinet. Witnesses testified that during several of the nightly gatherings Trevor would carry the gun on his person while socializing with guests. On Wednesday evening, a confrontation erupted between Trevor and Parkhurst when Trevor suspected defendant of taking unfair advantage of an inebriated sixteen-year-old girl. Trevor ejected defendant from the party at gunpoint. Several guests attempted to defuse the situation by disarming Trevor and assuring defendant that it was "no big deal" and simply to let matters "blow over."

The defendant then left the party with Ryan Wright, Rebecca Moran, and Wendy Bouvier. The group left in Rebecca's car driven by defendant. After bringing Wendy home, defendant parked in a nearby parking lot to provide Rebecca time to sober up. During this period Rebecca overheard defendant and Wright talking. According to Rebecca, defendant told Wright he was angry at Trevor for pointing a gun at him and he wanted to "get [Trevor] back." As the two boys discussed the incident, they became increasingly agitated. They spoke of returning to the party to "kick his ass" before leaving the State of Rhode Island. By the end of the conversation Wright was urging defendant to act. Despite this exchange defendant and Wright did not return to the Ramella residence that evening.

The following night Rebecca and another friend, Sarah Dexter, met defendant at Trevor's house for another night of revelry. When Rebecca asked defendant whether he was serious about leaving the State of Rhode Island, Parkhurst responded that he had been drunk the night before and had not meant what he said. Subsequently Rebecca and Sarah left the Ramella residence and returned to Sarah's home for the night, where defendant and a second teen, Chris Ribidoux, met them shortly thereafter. Sarah then informed defendant that Trevor, earlier that evening, had demanded oral sex from her. In response defendant allegedly stated, "Don't worry. I'm going to kill him on the last night of the party." Sarah testified that she believed defendant was jesting and dismissed his comments.

On Friday night, November 27, defendant and several others arrived at Trevor's house for another party. Trevor invited defendant into his home in spite of Wednesday night's confrontation. By 9:30 p.m., approximately forty youths had gathered at the Ramella residence. Concerned that matters were getting out of hand, Trevor brandished his father's revolver and ordered a number of people to leave the party, including defendant. Heath LeClair, a friend of Trevor, urged Trevor to put the gun away. Trevor opened the revolver and showed LeClair that although the gun was loaded, the next slot in the chamber was empty. Charles Mayer (Mayer), another friend of Trevor, also recalled Trevor having the revolver in his possession Friday night. He testified that although the gun was loaded, four chamber slots were empty for "safety" reasons. Upon Mayer's request Trevor placed the gun in his bedroom atop his bureau.

After being asked to leave the party, defendant and Ryan Wright obtained a ride from Jay O'Hara, Shar Chauvin, and a third boy in O'Hara's motor vehicle. The five teens drove to an Almac's parking lot where they met with friends to discuss attending another party in Burrillville, Rhode Island. Shar Chauvin testified that while en route to Almac's, defendant and Wright discussed how much they both disliked Trevor Ramella. According to Chauvin, defendant stated that Trevor had humiliated him in front of his friends and that he should have "done something" in retaliation. However, Jay O'Hara, the driver of the motor vehicle, did not recall defendant's having made any disparaging remarks.

After attending the Burrillville party for approximately twenty minutes, defendant suggested that the group return to Trevor's party, and they all agreed. Upon their return the teens spotted two police cruisers parked in front of the Ramella residence so they drove past the house and pulled into the next-door neighbor's driveway. Once parked, Wright and defendant jumped out of the car and ran into the woods. Both defendant and Wright returned to Trevor's house immediately after the police had left and Trevor quickly ushered them in.

Eventually only a handful of people remained at the Ramella home. Several witnesses testified that Trevor gave defendant and Wright permission to stay the night because Parkhurst had wrecked his car earlier in the week after having left one of Trevor's parties drunk. However, Jonathan Lautieri, a friend of Trevor present at the party that evening, recalled Trevor's objecting to defendant's sleeping over, preferring that he arrange a ride home. Brian Heroux, another guest present at the party that evening, testified that Trevor had asked him to offer defendant and Wright a ride to their homes in Woonsocket. When he did, both defendant and Wright refused. Thereafter, Trevor volunteered to drive the two teens home in the morning. After Brian Heroux left the party, six people remained at the Ramella residence--defendant, Wright, Trevor, Mayer, William Bergeron (Bergeron), and Ali Girard (Girard--Trevor's girlfriend). Trevor, Mayer, Bergeron, and Girard were in the basement playing pool while defendant and Wright watched television upstairs.

Mayer testified that after hearing noises resembling people running about the household, he and Trevor proceeded upstairs to investigate. Once upstairs the two observed that the television was off and that defendant and Wright were gone from the room. Quickly Trevor headed for his bedroom, followed by Mayer. Almost immediately Trevor exclaimed, "[T]hey got my guns," and ran from the room. After checking the bedroom, Mayer discovered that the revolver was missing from Trevor's bureau. He also noticed that a black-powder hunting rifle was gone and that the contents of an ammunition bag were scattered on the floor. Mayer then raced toward the front door in pursuit of his friend. After reaching the front door, he looked out the window and saw Trevor lying face down in a pool of blood. Mayer observed defendant standing over Trevor's body with a revolver in his hand. Wright stood to the right of Trevor, holding the barrel of a rifle. Immediately Mayer ducked behind the front door and locked it. He told Bergeron and Girard that Trevor was "down." Speeding to Trevor's bedroom, Mayer retrieved a shotgun from under the bed and loaded it. As the three discussed what to do next, they heard the sound of breaking glass. Hearing voices emanating from the basement, the trio quickly left the house through a back door.

Minutes later Bergeron and Girard heard a car "peeling out" from the Ramella's driveway. Mayer, meanwhile, was urging a neighbor to call 911. Upon his return he noticed that the Ramella's Toyota Celica was missing from the driveway.

Police and emergency medical personnel soon arrived at the scene. According to police and other witnesses, the front of the house was well lit with exterior flood lights. The medical technician observed a small bullet hole in the back of Trevor's head. The body was lying face down, and the area was awash in blood. Upon turning the body over, the technician noted that Trevor had suffered extensive facial trauma, including cheek and lip lacerations. Two of his teeth and a piece of facial skin were found on the sidewalk. A third tooth was located under his left arm. Trevor's wallet was lying on the lawn seven feet from his body, blood stained, open, and emptied of cash. Pieces of the gunstock of a rifle were found near his body. Detecting no cardiac function, the medical technician turned the body over to representatives of the medical examiner. The barrel of the rifle was found several days later by Trevor's father in a nearby wood pile.

When questioned by police, Mayer recalled defendant's first name and the name of Tara Lanctot, defendant's friend who had also been present at the party that evening. Within hours, at the police station, Lanctot identified a photograph of defendant. Soon thereafter, Mayer, Girard, and Bergeron positively identified d...