State v. Taylor

• Citation: 669 S.E.2d 239,362 N.C. 514
• Decision Date: 12 December 2008
• Docket Number: No. 719A05.,719A05.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of North Carolina
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Eddie Lamar TAYLOR.

669 S.E.2d 239

362 N.C. 514

STATE of North Carolina v. Eddie Lamar TAYLOR.

No. 719A05.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

December 12, 2008.

Appeal as of right pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-27(a) from a judgment imposing a sentence of death entered by Judge Jack A. Thompson on 24 August 2005 in Superior Court, Harnett County, upon a jury verdict finding defendant guilty of first-degree murder. On 26 February 2007, the Supreme Court allowed defendant's motion to bypass the Court of Appeals as to his appeal of additional judgments. Heard in the Supreme Court 12 February 2008.

Roy Cooper, Attorney General, by William B. Crumpler and Daniel P. O'Brien, Assistant Attorneys General, for the state.

Staples Hughes, Appellate Defender, by Anne M. Gomez and Daniel K. Shatz, Assistant Appellate Defenders, for defendant-appellant.

MARTIN, Justice.

On 12 January 2004, Eddie Lamar Taylor (defendant) was indicted for the murder of Talmadge "Mitch" Joseph Faciane, Jr. (Mr. Faciane or the victim). Defendant was also indicted for two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, and three counts of first-degree kidnapping. Defendant was tried capitally at the 25 July 2005 session of Superior Court, Harnett County.

On 17 August 2005, a unanimous jury found defendant guilty of first-degree murder on the basis of malice, premeditation, and deliberation, and under the felony murder rule. Following a capital sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended a sentence of death for the first-degree murder conviction, and the trial court entered judgment accordingly. Defendant gave notice of appeal pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-27(a).

The evidence admitted during the guilt-innocence phase of defendant's trial tended to show the following: Mr. Faciane and his wife Dawn (Mrs. Faciane) owned and operated a community store known as Mitch's Grocery in Bunnlevel, North Carolina. The store contained food and various supplies, along with pinball machines, arcade games, and video poker machines. The video poker machines dispensed tickets, which customers could exchange for cash at the check-out counter. An envelope under the register held cash designated for video poker activities.

The check-out counter and cash register were located at the front of the store. At the back of the store were two steps, which led around a corner to the area containing the video poker machines. Surveillance cameras monitored both the front counter area and the video poker area. A door to the side of the check-out counter led to a garage where employees performed tire changes and other automotive repairs. This door also led to a side room that the Facianes used for storage and for sleeping on nights they did not want to drive home after closing.

At approximately 9:00 p.m. on 4 December 2003, the Facianes were working at their store when two customers, Barry and Sandra Butts (Mr. and Mrs. Butts or the Buttses), arrived and began playing the video poker machines. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Faciane went into the side room to take a shower while Mrs. Faciane remained at the front counter.

Minutes later, defendant and Tyrone Crawley (Crawley) entered the store wearing masks, gloves, and hooded sweatshirts and carrying guns. Defendant rounded the corner to the back where the Buttses were sitting, while Crawley moved towards Mrs. Faciane at the front. Crawley came around the front counter, pointed his gun at Mrs. Faciane, and said, "Give me the money." In response, Mrs. Faciane opened the cash register, and Crawley grabbed a handful of twenty dollar bills and receipts and put them in his pocket. Crawley began to reach for the ten dollar bills, but then stated, "No, I want `the' money." Mrs. Faciane, assuming he was referring to the envelope containing cash for the games, retrieved the envelope from a shelf below the register and handed it to him.

In the meantime, defendant walked up behind the Buttses, pointed a gun at them, and ordered them to "stay still." The Buttses raised their arms in the air. Defendant then asked if they had anything in their pockets. Mr. Butts, who could not reach into his pockets, asked if he should stand, to which defendant responded, "No." Defendant then moved behind Mrs. Butts, leaned over her with his gun behind her neck, and removed her billfold from her jacket pocket. Defendant began looking through the billfold, which contained a check card, checkbook, and loose change.

Meanwhile, in the front of the store, Mr. Faciane appeared in the side doorway holding a twelve-gauge shotgun and said, "No." The next moment, Mrs. Faciane heard a loud noise. Mr. Faciane fell forward, no longer holding his gun. Mr. Faciane and Crawley then began struggling with each other on the floor, apparently wrestling over their guns. Mrs. Faciane grabbed her own revolver from a shelf behind the counter and fired twice at Crawley, attempting to hit his back or shoulder. In response to the gunfire in the front of the store, defendant stepped around the corner, saw Crawley and Mr. Faciane wrestling on the floor, and began firing at Mr. Faciane.

Mrs. Faciane testified that around this time, "it seemed like a war broke loose" and "gunshots seemed to be coming from everywhere." Bullets were flying past her from the back of the store. Mrs. Faciane saw Mr. Faciane, who had been attempting to stand up by bracing himself at the counter, fall to the ground. As Mrs. Faciane reached down to help Mr. Faciane, Crawley pumped the shotgun and fired at her, shooting her in the arm. He then ran towards the exit, but turned and paused, at which point Mrs. Faciane, afraid he was going to shoot her again, fired at him until she ran out of bullets. Mr. Faciane, who had since picked up Crawley's weapon, also fired at Crawley from his position on the floor. Defendant ran back in the direction of the Buttses, circled around some shelves, and left the store.

After defendant and Crawley left, Mr. Faciane told Mrs. Faciane to call 911 because he had been shot. Mrs. Faciane attempted to place Mr. Faciane flat on the floor in order to determine where he had been shot and report his condition to the 911 operator. By the time emergency personnel arrived, however, Mr. Faciane was unconscious and breathing abnormally. Mr. Faciane bled to death on the floor of his store.

The Buttses left the store immediately after the robbery because Mrs. Butts was hyperventilating, and they went to the Harnett County Sheriff's Office, where they each gave a statement. Too afraid to sleep in their own home, they spent the night with their adult daughter.

An autopsy revealed that Mr. Faciane was shot two times and died as a result of blood loss from the wounds. One bullet entered Mr. Faciane's chest, causing bleeding in his chest cavity, and exited through his back shoulder blade. Another bullet entered his abdomen, causing bleeding there, and exited through his buttock. This second bullet lodged in Mr. Faciane's underwear and was discovered by the medical examiner who performed the autopsy. Lab testing and forensic investigation revealed that this bullet came from defendant's gun.

Emergency personnel and law enforcement officers arrived at the scene within minutes following the shootings. They described the store as a chaotic "war zone." Bullet casings, spent projectiles, debris, and shattered glass from doors and windows were everywhere. Later investigation showed that approximately thirty shots had been fired during the incident, with at least seven of those bullets coming from defendant's gun.

When defendant left Mitch's Grocery, he drove Crawley to Cape Fear Valley Hospital in Fayetteville. Defendant told the hospital security guard that Crawley had been shot in Fayetteville. The security guard escorted defendant to a deputy's office. Meanwhile, officers from the Harnett County Sheriff's Department who were at Mitch's Grocery were alerted to the presence of a possible suspect at Cape Fear Valley Hospital, and they requested that the deputy keep an eye on defendant until they arrived.

Crawley died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Hospital personnel discovered an identification card, one hundred three dollars, and receipts from Mitch's Grocery on Crawley's person.

When law enforcement officers arrived at the hospital, they took defendant to a hospital examination room and administered Miranda warnings. Defendant agreed to give a statement, in which he related that he had remained in the car while Crawley and a third person, whom he described as "B," robbed Mitch's Grocery. The officers then placed defendant under arrest for robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Defendant subsequently left the hospital with the officers and directed them to an abandoned house near Mitch's Grocery, where he claimed his accomplices and he had parked earlier that evening. The officers searched a path from the abandoned house to Mitch's Grocery and discovered Mrs. Butts's billfold on the ground. The officers then took defendant to the sheriff's department.

At the sheriff's department, defendant gave a second statement in which he again said he had stayed in the car during the robbery of Mitch's Grocery. This interview was cut short, however, by an officer who had been viewing the surveillance tape from the store. The tape showed defendant coming up behind the Buttses and the Buttses raising their hands. It next showed defendant stepping away from the Buttses, pointing a gun towards the front of the store, lowering the gun, and raising it up again while bringing his left hand to it.

Defendant agreed to give a third statement. He was shown a photograph from the video surveillance tape at some point before or during this third interview. During the interview, defendant related that before the robbery, he and Crawley rode around smoking marijuana. Crawley had a gun in the back seat, which looked...