State v. Vazsquez, No. 25975.
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of South Carolina |
| Writing for the Court | Toal |
| Citation | 613 S.E.2d 359 |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent, v. Angle VAZQUEZ, Appellant. |
| Decision Date | 02 June 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 25975. |
Page 359
v.
Angle VAZQUEZ, Appellant.
Page 360
Acting Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III, of the South Carolina Office of Appellate Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant.
Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey A. Jacobs, all of Columbia; and John Gregory Hembree, of Conway, for Respondent.
Chief Justice TOAL:
Angle "Angel" Joe Perrie Vazquez (Appellant) was convicted of two counts of murder, one count of armed robbery, four counts of kidnapping, and one count of criminal conspiracy. Appellant was sentenced to death for the murders and thirty years for each count of kidnapping. Appellant appealed.
The events leading up to Appellant's arrest began at the Burger King restaurant (the restaurant) in Myrtle Beach where Appellant worked. One of the restaurant's patrons overheard Appellant using profanity in the restaurant. Appellant cursed at fellow employee Reginald Atkins for trying to feed a patron's dog french fries. The patron, who was with her children, was offended by Appellant's language and phoned the restaurant's district manager from her cell phone while outside the restaurant. The district manager returned the call immediately. Once the patron told the district manager what happened, the district manager asked to speak to the store manager, Joey Williams. As a result of the conversation with the district manager, Williams immediately fired Appellant and refunded the patron's money. Employee Robbie Robertson was called in to complete Appellant's shift. In addition, Kuma Walker was on duty at the restaurant at that time.
Appellant called Shanira Robinson (girlfriend), with whom he shared a house, to tell her that he had been fired. Around 5 p.m. Kevin Cochran drove Appellant home to Conway. At some point during the drive, Appellant phoned his cousin, Michael Keith Howard.1 Howard met Appellant at Appellant's home. While inside, Appellant removed a black case from a shelf in the closet. Appellant told his girlfriend that he was going to Lake City and would return later.
However, Appellant and Howard did not go to Lake City. After leaving the house, Appellant and Howard were seen at about 8 p.m. by the bartender at the Nuttin' Butt
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Horseplay strip club in Myrtle Beach, which is located near the Burger King restaurant where Appellant worked.
Later that evening, Appellant and Howard knocked on the back door of the Burger King restaurant. Atkins and Williams opened the door, but asked them to go around front. Appellant and Howard were seen by Nathan Danner, a patron of the restaurant, inside the restaurant. Appellant was seen arguing with Williams.
While Atkins and Robertson were preparing to close the restaurant,2 Appellant pulled out a gun and told Atkins and Robertson to get into the restaurant's freezer. Appellant then locked the two in the freezer. After about five minutes, Atkins and Robertson forced their way out of the freezer and fled through the back door.
Atkins and Robertson flagged down a former high school classmate, Ricky Galliard, and asked for a ride to Conway. Galliard took Atkins and Robertson to Atkins' home. Atkins then called his mother and told her about the armed gunman at the restaurant. At that point in time Atkins thought that his coworkers were just holding up the restaurant. Atkins and his mother went back to the restaurant to see if Williams and Walker were alright.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, Atkins discovered that Williams and Walker had been shot and killed. The police arrived, and Atkins told the police that a masked gunman robbed the restaurant. Atkins did not initially indicate he knew the robbers. Atkins was already on probation for gun charges and did not implicate Appellant that night because he did not want the police to suspect that he had any connection with the events that took place at the restaurant.
When investigating the scene, the police discovered that $837 had been stolen from the restaurant. The police also discovered nine-millimeter shell casings and live nine-millimeter ammunition. The crime scene investigator testified the shootings were done "execution" style.
Appellant and Howard were seen at the Nuttin' Butt Horseplay strip club again between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., after having left the club for about an hour. Appellant's girlfriend testified that Appellant returned home between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. to replace the case on the shelf in the closet. Appellant then left.
At approximately 2 a.m. the next morning, a police officer saw Howard and Appellant run a stop sign in Lake City. The officer attempted to pull them over. Howard, who was driving, would not stop. Howard jumped from the car while it was still moving. While attempting to drive the car from the passenger seat, Appellant ran the car into a mobile home. When Appellant was arrested, he had $322.65 in his possession. While in custody, Appellant called his girlfriend to ask her to get rid of his clothes and asked if she found the money he left in her purse.
The day after the killings, Atkins and Robertson admitted to the police they actually saw Appellant and Howard rob the restaurant. This prompted the police to search Appellant's home. At his home, the police discovered a nine-millimeter round on the shelf in the bedroom closet. Later another box of nine-millimeter ammunition was found.
Further, the investigation led police to Kevin Cochran, who owned the case that Appellant stored in his closet. At some point before the police searched the house, Cochran came back to Appellant's house and retrieved the case, which contained a nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol. Cochran gave the case to the police once he learned the weapon might have been used in the killings.
Ballistic analysis revealed that the bullets that killed Williams and Walker were fired from the nine-millimeter Cochran gave to the police. In addition, the ammunition in Appellant's closet was the same as the ammunition and shell casings at the crime scene.
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After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted on all counts in the indictment. Appellant was sentenced to death, thirty years for each count of kidnapping, thirty years for armed robbery, and five years for conspiracy. This appeal followed and Appellant now raises the following issues for review:
I. Did the trial judge err in refusing to grant a mistrial following the solicitor's closing argument?
II. Did the trial judge err in failing to charge the jury with the statutory mitigators related to intoxication?
Appellant argues...
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State v. Stanley, No. 4007.
...merit. The decision to grant or deny a mistrial is within the sound discretion of the trial judge. State v. Vazquez, 364 S.C. 293, 613 S.E.2d 359 (2005); State v. Adams, 354 S.C. 361, 580 S.E.2d 785 (Ct.App.2003); State v. Thompson, 352 S.C. 552, 575 S.E.2d 77 (Ct.App.2003). The court's dec......
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State v. Bowman, No. 26071.
...submit for the jury's consideration any statutory mitigating circumstances supported by the evidence. State v. Vazquez, 364 S.C. 293, 613 S.E.2d 359 (2005). The trial judge must make an initial determination of which statutory mitigating circumstances have evidentiary support and then allow......
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Vasquez v. State Of South Carolina, No. 26852.
...with regard to the murder victims, but affirmed Petitioner's convictions and remaining sentences. State v. Vazquez, 364 S.C. 293, 613 S.E.2d 359 (2005), abrogated in part by 698 S.E.2d 564 State v. Evans, 371 S.C. 27, 637 S.E.2d 313 (2006) (recognizing error preservation requirements after ......
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The State v. Starnes, No. 26868.
...death sentence in this case would be neither excessive nor disproportionate in light of the crime. See State v. Vazsquez, 364 S.C. 293, 613 S.E.2d 359 (2005) (involving a double murder committed in the course of a robbery); State v. Hughey, 339 S.C. 439, 529 S.E.2d 721 (2000) overruled on o......
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State v. Stanley, No. 4007.
...merit. The decision to grant or deny a mistrial is within the sound discretion of the trial judge. State v. Vazquez, 364 S.C. 293, 613 S.E.2d 359 (2005); State v. Adams, 354 S.C. 361, 580 S.E.2d 785 (Ct.App.2003); State v. Thompson, 352 S.C. 552, 575 S.E.2d 77 (Ct.App.2003). The court's dec......
-
State v. Bowman, No. 26071.
...submit for the jury's consideration any statutory mitigating circumstances supported by the evidence. State v. Vazquez, 364 S.C. 293, 613 S.E.2d 359 (2005). The trial judge must make an initial determination of which statutory mitigating circumstances have evidentiary support and then allow......
-
Vasquez v. State Of South Carolina, No. 26852.
...with regard to the murder victims, but affirmed Petitioner's convictions and remaining sentences. State v. Vazquez, 364 S.C. 293, 613 S.E.2d 359 (2005), abrogated in part by 698 S.E.2d 564 State v. Evans, 371 S.C. 27, 637 S.E.2d 313 (2006) (recognizing error preservation requirements after ......
-
The State v. Starnes, No. 26868.
...death sentence in this case would be neither excessive nor disproportionate in light of the crime. See State v. Vazsquez, 364 S.C. 293, 613 S.E.2d 359 (2005) (involving a double murder committed in the course of a robbery); State v. Hughey, 339 S.C. 439, 529 S.E.2d 721 (2000) overruled on o......