State v. Quick

• Decision Date: 12 June 1991
• Docket Number: No. 541A87,541A87
• Citation: 329 N.C. 1,405 S.E.2d 179
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Harold Vernard QUICK.

Page 179

405 S.E.2d 179

329 N.C. 1

STATE of North Carolina v. Harold Vernard QUICK.

No. 541A87.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

June 12, 1991.

Appeal of right by defendant pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-27(a) from a judgment imposing a sentence of death entered by Washington, J., at the 24 August 1987 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Richmond County, upon a jury verdict finding defendant guilty of first-degree murder. Heard in the Supreme Court 10 December 1990.

Lacy H. Thornburg, Atty. Gen., by Steven F. Bryant, Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., Raleigh, for the State.

Malcolm Ray Hunter, Jr., Appellate Defender by Gordon Widenhouse, Asst. Appellate Defender, Raleigh, for defendant-appellant.

WHICHARD, Justice.

Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder on the basis of premeditation and deliberation and felony murder. He also was convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon. The jury recommended that defendant be sentenced to death for the first-degree murder. The trial court imposed a sentence of death for the murder and arrested judgment on the robbery charge. We find no prejudicial error in the guilt phase of defendant's trial, but conclude that defendant is entitled to a new sentencing proceeding under McKoy v. North Carolina, 494 U.S. 433, 110 S.Ct. 1227, 108 L.Ed.2d 369 (1990).

Between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, 5 April 1987, William Patterson left his house in Hamlet, North Carolina, to find a soft drink for his sick daughter who was complaining of thirst. Patterson went to a store where a vending machine normally was located and found that the machine had been moved. Because Patterson had been drinking, he went to Charlie Mack Quick's house instead of driving into Hamlet for the soft drink. Quick, who apparently was unrelated to defendant, lived two or three miles from Patterson. When Patterson got to Quick's house the lights were off, but the front door was open slightly. Quick did not respond to Patterson's call and Patterson then saw Quick's arm "laying out on the floor." Patterson went to the police station and told the police he thought Quick had suffered a heart attack.

At about 6:00 a.m. Richmond County Deputy Sheriff Stokes arrived at Quick's house. He entered the house and discovered Quick's dead body on the floor, lying on a telephone that was off its receiver; Quick's billfold, containing personal papers but no cash, lay nearby.

State Bureau of Investigation Agent Snead found no sign of forced entry when he arrived at the victim's house at about 7:00 a.m. Agent Sweatt, who arrived at the crime scene later in the day, removed nine latent fingerprints from an ashtray found just a few feet from the victim's body. One fingerprint matched defendant's ring finger; none of the other fingerprints from the ashtray matched defendant's, and there were no other fingerprints of value in the house. Agent Snead found bicycle tracks outside the victim's house, but was unable to make a cast from the tracks. Snead testified, however, that the tracks found outside the victim's house had the same width and tread design as tracks found in the yard of Willis Bristoe.

The autopsy of the victim's body revealed seventeen stab wounds in the chest area and bruises on the forearm. In the medical examiner's opinion, the victim died from multiple stab wounds and the resulting loss of blood. The victim might have lived as long as ten minutes after the first stab, but it was impossible to say exactly how long he lived. The medical examiner testified that the depth of the wounds ranged from three and one-half to six inches and that the wounds could have been made by a pocketknife. The depth of the wounds was consistent with a single-edge knife blade approximately three and one-half inches long.

The victim was a seventy-eight-year-old disabled man who lived alone. His cousin, Gertha Mumfort, testified that she saw him several days each week and she knew he received two checks from the government in the mail, one on the first and one on the third day of each month. She also testified that the victim usually carried several one hundred dollar bills in his wallet. Mumfort testified that she last saw the victim on 3 April 1987.

Julian Hunsucker testified that between noon and 1:30 p.m. on 4 April 1987, the victim came to the neighborhood store where Hunsucker worked. Hunsucker testified that the victim showed him $800.00 in one hundred dollar bills; the victim always carried money and never asked for credit at the store.

Patricia Sturgess, a part-time worker with the Department of Social Services, testified that she spoke on the telephone with the victim sometime between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. on 4 April 1987. Sturgess testified that she heard other voices in the background but could not tell if they were male or female. Sturgess gave her opinion that at the time the victim did not sound normal. Mary Davis, the victim's daughter, received a busy signal when she attempted to call victim at about 7:00 p.m. on 4 April 1987. Likewise, Willie Dawkins testified that the line was busy when he tried to call the victim between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. on April 4th.

On 6 April 1987, police officers went to Karel Company, defendant's place of employment, to speak with him. Defendant voluntarily accompanied the officers to police headquarters. During an interrogation there, defendant said that on the day in question he had ridden a bicycle to a store around noon and later had gone to his cousin's house to play cards. Defendant said he had never been to the victim's house. During this interrogation, the police received a telephone call notifying them that defendant's fingerprint was on the ashtray found at the victim's house. The officers then arrested defendant.

Willis Bristoe testified that on the afternoon of Saturday, 4 April 1987, he went with defendant and several others to visit a friend. Bristoe testified that they returned to his house and that defendant left on his bicycle at about 5:00 p.m. Bristoe said that he loaned defendant eighty-four cents to buy cigarettes.

Verlie Williams testified that defendant, his girl friend, and his mother came to her home for a card game between 8:30 and 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, 4 April 1987. Defendant bought two beers and paid for them with a twenty dollar bill. Williams testified that defendant came back to her home the next morning, 5 April 1987, between 11:00 a.m. and noon, and bought three beers.

Boyd Goodman, a disc jockey at a local club, testified that he remembered seeing defendant playing cards on 3 April and 5 April. He also testified that defendant purchased a beer the evening of 5 April with a one hundred dollar bill.

James Patterson worked for Karel Company in April 1987. Patterson testified that he had known defendant for several years and that defendant had asked him to sharpen a knife during the week before the victim's death. The knife Patterson sharpened for defendant had two blades--one was three inches long; the other was two or two and one-half inches long. Patterson testified that many people carry such knives and that he had sharpened knives for others on previous occasions.

Harold McRae, who met defendant while they were both incarcerated, testified that defendant approached him while in jail and wanted to talk. McRae testified that defendant told him he killed a man. According to McRae, defendant said he rode his bicycle to the man's house around midnight. Defendant said he knocked on the door, then went inside looking for money. When the man inside recognized defendant, defendant stabbed him and took $1,300 and a gun. Defendant rode his bicycle home, and later buried the gun and knife. McRae also testified that defendant said he did not mean to kill the victim.

Defendant's evidence tended to show the following: Anthony Snyder, who was in jail with defendant and McRae, testified that he spoke with defendant every day they were incarcerated, and defendant never spoke about his case to anyone. Snyder also said McRae had been threatened with beatings by several of the prison guards.

James Davis testified that he saw defendant around 6:00 or 6:15 p.m. on 4 April. Davis said defendant was riding in his father's car with his brothers; Davis also said he saw a bicycle in the back of the car.

Charles Quick, defendant's brother, saw defendant on the evening of 3 April. Quick testified that defendant had a "little light roll" of money. Quick also testified that he saw defendant's bicycle with a flat tire on 4 April. Willis Bristoe corroborated the testimony regarding the bicycle's flat tire.

Harold Fisher testified that he saw the victim on the afternoon of 4 April. Fisher said the victim told him defendant had been to his house the previous night, but had not come inside. Gail Jackson, defendant's girl friend, also testified that she and defendant went to the victim's house on 3 April and that defendant smoked a cigarette while they were there. Jackson testified that she gave defendant $150.00 on the first of April.

Defendant testified in his own behalf and denied killing the victim. Defendant said he was paid $53.00 on 3 April 1987. Later that evening, he and his girl friend visited several friends, including the victim. Defendant testified that he smoked a cigarette while at the victim's house. The next day he rode his brother's bicycle to see several people. During the day he noticed the tire was going flat. His brother came to pick him up and they took the bicycle home around 6:00 p.m. He stayed at home until about 11:30 p.m. the evening of 4 April, when he went to Verlie Williams' house to play cards.

Johnnie Quick, defendant's supervisor at Karel Company, testified that defendant was a "real good worker" with a good record of attendance. Terry Warner, a psychologist at Sandhills Mental Health Center, testified that defendant had an IQ of seventy-four (borderline range of intellectual functioning). This IQ made defendant less capable of making reasoned...