State v. Williams

• Decision Date: 28 July 1995
• Docket Number: No. 138A94,138A94
• Citation: 341 N.C. 1,459 S.E.2d 208
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Marlow Tyrone WILLIAMS.

Page 208

459 S.E.2d 208

341 N.C. 1

STATE of North Carolina v. Marlow Tyrone WILLIAMS.

No. 138A94.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

July 28, 1995.

Michael F. Easley, Atty. Gen. by Francis W. Crawley, Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., for State.

Malcolm Ray Hunter, Jr., Appellate Defender by Benjamin Sendor, Asst. Appellate Defender, for defendant-appellant.

ORR, Justice.

This case arises out of the January 1992 murder of Steven Michael Brewer and the October 1992 robbery of TJ's Deli in Winston-Salem "Salem, North Carolina. Defendant was indicted for these crimes on 3 May 1993 and capitally tried at the 12 July 1993 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Forsyth County. Following the trial, a jury returned a verdict finding defendant guilty of one count of first-degree murder and one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous sentencing recommendation regarding the murder conviction, and on 23 July 1993, the trial court entered judgments imposing a sentence of life imprisonment for the first-degree murder conviction and a consecutive forty-year term of imprisonment for the robbery with a dangerous weapon conviction.

On appeal, defendant brings forward five assignments of error. After a thorough review of the transcript of the proceedings, the record on appeal, the briefs, and oral argument, we conclude that defendant received a fair trial free from prejudicial error, and, for the reasons stated below, we affirm his convictions and sentences.

The State presented the following evidence concerning the first-degree murder conviction: In January 1992, Michael Brewer lived with his father and mother in Clemmons, North Carolina. At the time, Michael was thirty-six years old and worked as an assistant manager at TJ's Deli in Sherwood Plaza on Robinhood Road. On 25 January 1992, Michael was in charge of opening the deli for business and closing the deli at the end of the business day.

The owner of TJ's Deli, Andrew Jones, testified that on the morning of 26 January 1992, he received a call from his employees telling him that although Michael's car was parked outside of the deli, there seemed to be no one on the premises to let them inside the deli for work. In response to this call, Mr. Jones drove over to the deli. Mr. Jones testified that after he arrived at the deli, he entered the building through the front door. Because the alarm did not sound when he entered the front door, Mr. Jones proceeded to the back of the deli to check on the system. At this time, he found Brewer's body lying on the floor in the men's bathroom. Mr. Jones testified that when he saw Brewer's body, he immediately turned around and ran to his office to call 911. Noticing that the door to his office was open, he became frightened and left the deli to call 911 from the Revco next door.

Officer Bonnie Hancock of the Winston-Salem Police Department testified that she arrived at TJ's Deli at approximately 10:45 the morning of 26 January 1992 and spoke with the EMS personnel on the scene. Officer Hancock testified that she and the EMS personnel proceeded to the back of the deli where they observed Michael Brewer's body lying face down in a pool of blood. The EMS personnel informed Officer Hancock that the body did not have a pulse, and Officer Hancock secured the scene. Officer Hancock testified that there was a wallet located to the right of the victim's shoulder and a 9 millimeter shell casing lying on the victim's back.

Dr. Patrick Eugene Lantz, a Forsyth County medical examiner and regional forensic pathologist, testified that he examined the crime scene and subsequently performed an autopsy on Michael Brewer. Dr. Lantz testified that during the autopsy, he observed two medium-caliber gunshot wounds to the head, one wound entering on the right side of the head involving the right ear, and the other wound entering in the back of the head at the base of the skull. Dr. Lantz testified that in his opinion, the gunshot wound to the back of the head occurred first. Dr. Lantz further testified that in his opinion, based on his examination of the scene and the physical evidence, the victim's head was slightly off the floor, at or slightly below the level of the urinal, when he received the first bullet wound and that the left side of the victim's head was in contact with the floor when he received the second bullet wound. Dr. Lantz testified that the victim died as a result of the two gunshot wounds.

Mr. Jones testified that in January 1992, he kept money in a locked file cabinet in his office at the deli. On 26 January 1992, there was no money found in the file cabinet. Mr. Jones determined that $1,250 of daily cash and approximately $900 to $950 from the previous day's receipts were missing. Mr. Jones testified that other than himself, only his managers had a key to the file cabinet and that he had not given anyone permission to take the money.

Mr. Jones further testified that defendant had been an employee of his at TJ's Deli in Sherwood Plaza and at a second location on Stratford Road. Defendant began working for Mr. Jones in 1988 at the Sherwood Plaza location, left his employment, and was rehired a couple of times. Mr. Jones testified that the last time defendant worked for him was in January 1993.

Defendant's girlfriend, Tonya Dalton, testified that on 6 January 1992, she took a handgun from under her mother's bed and gave it to defendant before she left for New York to live with her aunt. Dalton identified the handgun she had given to defendant as State's Exhibit 18, a 9 millimeter Taurus handgun. Special Agent Eugene Bishop of the SBI testified that he examined the 9 millimeter Taurus handgun, bullets recovered from under the victim's head, and shell casings recovered from the crime scene and determined that the casings and at least one of the bullets were fired from the handgun in question.

Tonya Dalton also testified that after she returned from New York on 24 March 1992, she saw the gun one more time in defendant's possession before defendant told her that the police confiscated it from him while he was sitting in a car at Wessex Apartments. Dalton testified that defendant also told her about the incident that occurred at TJ's Deli the night of 25 January 1992. Although Dalton testified at trial that defendant told her that Eugene Wilson killed Michael Brewer, she admitted that she had told police officers a week before trial that defendant told her that he killed Michael Brewer.

Eugene Wilson testified that a week before 25 January 1992, he and defendant planned to rob TJ's Deli. At this time, Wilson was an employee of the deli. Wilson further testified that defendant told him he was thinking about "popping and capping" Michael Brewer. Wilson testified that "popping and capping" meant to shoot somebody and that he told defendant he would not be a part of the plan if Michael Brewer had to die.

Wilson further testified that he worked at TJ's Deli the night of 25 January 1992. When he finished work that night, between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m., Wilson left the deli through the back door and met defendant in the alley. Wilson testified that defendant had a gun with him. Wilson further testified that he and defendant waited in the alley for about an hour to an hour and a half until Michael came out of the deli. At this time, defendant pointed the gun at Michael and told him to open the door and turn off the alarm. Michael opened the door, and defendant entered the deli with Michael. Wilson testified that thirty seconds later, defendant opened the back door and waved him inside. Wilson entered the deli and saw the men's bathroom door halfway open. Defendant stuck his arm out of the bathroom door and dropped keys on the floor for Wilson. Wilson took the keys, went through the kitchen door, and opened the office.

Wilson testified that while he was in the kitchen area and office, he heard Michael begging defendant not to hurt him and that it sounded as if Michael were crying. Wilson testified that he took the money out of the file cabinet, left the office, went through the kitchen and out the back door. Wilson testified that as he was going through the kitchen, he again heard Michael in the bathroom crying and asking defendant not to hurt him. Wilson further testified that after he had left the building and taken about three or four steps outside, he heard "two shots go off." Wilson ran to his car, and thirty seconds later defendant appeared at the passenger side. Wilson testified that he asked defendant about the shots and that defendant first stated, "Don't worry about it. Just drive." Defendant then stated, "It ain't no witnesses. Just forget about it." Wilson testified that the next day he told Anthony Williamson that he and defendant had robbed TJ's Deli and that defendant had shot Michael Brewer.

Anthony Williamson testified that the day after the January 1992 robbery and murder, Eugene Wilson told him that he and defendant had waited outside the deli until Michael came outside; that defendant took Michael and put him in the bathroom; that at that time, Wilson took the keys to the office and took the money; and that he heard two shots after he left the deli.

The State presented the following evidence concerning the October 1992 robbery at TJ's Deli: Williamson testified that in October 1992, he was an employee of TJ's Deli on Robinhood Road and that two weeks before 2 October 1992, he discussed robbing TJ's Deli with Wilson, defendant, and Williamson's cousin, Carl Gaither. Williamson testified that the plan was to have him and Wilson working on the inside so that one of them could open the door and let Gaither and defendant in to rob the deli.

Rita Nash testified that on 2 October 1992, she was working at TJ's Deli with Williamson and Wilson. Nash testified that while she was cleaning the dining area after the deli had closed, Williamson approached her and asked that the front door be...