State v. Winters

• Decision Date: 07 November 2003
• Docket Number: No. E2002-00160-CCA-R3-CD.,E2002-00160-CCA-R3-CD.
• Citation: 137 S.W.3d 641
• Parties: STATE of Tennessee v. Robert Michael WINTERS.
• Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals

137 S.W.3d 641

STATE of Tennessee v. Robert Michael WINTERS.

No. E2002-00160-CCA-R3-CD.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, at Knoxville.

February 25, 2003 Session.

November 7, 2003.

Application for Permission to Appeal Denied by Supreme Court March 22, 2004.

Philip L. Duval and Melanie Snipes, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Robert Michael Winters.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Peter M. Coughlin, Assistant Attorney General; William H. Cox, III, District Attorney General; and Lila Statom and Dean Ferraro, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.

JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JOHN EVERETT WILLIAMS and ROBERT W. WEDEMEYER, JJ., joined.

OPINION

Robert Michael Winters appeals his Hamilton County convictions of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery relative to events which culminated in the death of Vernise Sheffield, for which the defendant is serving concurrent sentences of life with the possibility of parole and 12 years, respectively. In this direct appeal, Winters alleges that his convictions are unsupported by sufficient evidence, that the trial court erroneously instructed the jury on criminal responsibility, that the trial court erroneously admitted a letter from the defendant to his wife which was properly subject to the marital communications privilege, and that the trial court erroneously admitted a prior consistent statement to rehabilitate a state's witness. Because we are unconvinced that harmful error occurred, we affirm the defendant's first-degree felony murder and aggravated robbery convictions. However, instructional error with respect to the first-degree premeditated murder conviction requires that we reverse that count and remand for a new trial.

On the evening of April 28, 1997, Vernise Sheffield was killed in his home by a single gunshot wound to the head. The victim was known to have weekly held large amounts of cash on his person from the collection of rent at the apartment complex he owned. The question whether the defendant killed the victim, either himself or via facilitation of his confederates was resolved by jury verdict against the defendant.

The trial evidence in the light most favorable to the state demonstrated that at the time of the crimes, the defendant and his wife, Trudy Winters, were living a hand-to-mouth existence marked by drug abuse and the quest for money to purchase drugs. The Winters lived in an efficiency apartment which they rented weekly from the victim, who owned and resided in the complex where the crimes occurred. Both the defendant and his wife worked at least sporadically in the construction industry. In addition to revenues obtained through construction-related employment, the defendant on occasion pawned various items of personalty for cash. Furthermore, according to Mrs. Winters, the couple stole items from department stores which they then sold for cash.

The Winters did not own an operational vehicle in late April 1997, and they relied upon acquaintances to transport them, among whom was Bo Campbell. Mr. Campbell periodically transported the Winters for the purpose of obtaining drugs, and his payment for providing this service typically consisted of a share of the drugs.

According to Mrs. Winters and Bo Campbell, both of whom testified for the state as part of an agreed disposition of pending charges, the Winters and Campbell had agreed to carry out a plan whereby the defendant was to meet a drug dealer on the evening of April 28, 1997 under the pretext of selling a quantity of drugs to the dealer for $3,000, although in actuality the defendant would have no drugs and was to flee out the window of his apartment with the money. By all accounts, no such transaction ever actually took place.

Trudy Winters provided what was perhaps the most damaging testimony against the defendant. She recounted that on April 28, the defendant told her to pack up their belongings, as they would be leaving Chattanooga after robbing a drug dealer of $3,000. After loading the Winters' belongings into Bo Campbell's van and injecting cocaine, the Winters and Campbell drove around that evening and eventually parked behind Northside Inn, the apartment complex where they had been living. At approximately 8:15 p.m., the defendant left the van and went down the hill to the complex. About 8:35 p.m., Mrs. Winters heard a gunshot. She went down the hill to see about the defendant, and when she returned to the van, the defendant was already inside. The trio drove to a nearby bar, where the defendant used a pay telephone. From her vantage point in the van, Mrs. Winters saw the defendant talking on the phone. However, she noticed that he retrieved change from the phone after the apparent phone call. The defendant returned to the van and told Mrs. Winters and Campbell that the drug dealer was to meet him in approximately 30 minutes. Campbell gave the defendant a small handgun. The defendant set out on foot in the direction of Northside Inn.

Half an hour to 45 minutes later, the defendant returned. He was pale and appeared to be scared. He gave the handgun to Campbell, who wiped it with a rag. The defendant had cash, whereas he had not had any cash earlier in the evening. The trio went to a store and purchased gas and cigarettes. They then went to another part of the city and purchased cocaine. The Winters discussed where they would spend the night. Mrs. Winters wanted to return to their room at Northside Inn, but the defendant was adamant that he did not want to go there. Instead, they checked into the Cherokee Motel. Campbell came inside the motel long enough to use the drugs that had been purchased, and then he left. Before the Winters went to sleep that evening, the defendant told Mrs. Winters, "No matter what happens, just remember I always love you."

The next morning, Campbell returned to the Cherokee Motel at 6:30 or 7:00. A woman who Mrs. Winters did not know accompanied him. The Winters again disagreed over whether they would return to Northside Inn. Campbell took Mrs. Winters back to that location, and the foursome unloaded the Winters' belongings back into their room. The defendant, who had not wanted to return to Northside Inn, retrieved some leather jackets and leather boots and left, saying that he was going to pawn the items. Later that day, Mrs. Winters paged the defendant, and when she spoke with him, she related that their landlord had been shot. The defendant returned to Northside Inn at 4:00 or 5:00 that afternoon.

Although her extent of actual involvement was not clear, Mrs. Winters acknowledged that she and the defendant had resorted to forging checks that had been stolen from Glenn Lee. She testified about one in particular that the defendant had written to Mrs. Winters with Mr. Lee's forged signature, which the defendant then had the victim "cash." The check was not honored after the victim presented it. The defendant told Mrs. Winters that the victim had "hollered" at him about the check bouncing. This took place in the week preceding the victim's homicide.

Mrs. Winters testified that Bo Campbell is about 6′2″ or 6′3″, has dark skin, and has salt-and-pepper hair.

Mrs. Winters' testimony was riddled with internal inconsistencies and conflicted in many respects with prior statements she had given to law enforcement officers. The defense successfully highlighted many of these variances and mounted a vigorous attack on the witness's credibility. Mrs. Winters admitted that she had four prior theft convictions. Mrs. Winters also admitted that she was testifying as part of an immunity agreement with the state.

As was the testimony of Trudy Winters, Bo Campbell's testimony was also very damaging to the defense. He admitted that he exchanged transportation services with the Winters for drugs and gasoline. He likewise admitted that he had been party with the Winters to a plan conceived by the defendant whereby they would stage a phony drug transaction in order to steal $3,000 from the drug dealer. The trio would then take the money to Florida, purchase drugs, and return to Chattanooga to sell the drugs. The plan called for Campbell and Mrs. Winters to sit behind Northside Inn while the defendant consummated the purported transaction, then run into his apartment and out the back window to the getaway vehicle in which Mrs. Winters and Campbell were waiting. After the defendant expressed a desire for a gun, Campbell provided him with one which he was keeping for his sister-in-law.

According to Campbell, he went to Northside Inn about 6:00 on the evening of April 28. He and the Winters loaded the Winters' belongings into his van. The defendant stayed at the apartment to call the drug dealer and await his arrival, while Campbell and Mrs. Winters drove behind Northside Inn in Campbell's van, parked in a driveway, and sat and waited. After a while, Campbell became concerned that someone would become suspicious of them and call the authorities, so he drove down the road and back. Between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m., Campbell and Mrs. Winters heard a gunshot. Mrs. Winters was alarmed and feared that the defendant had been shot. She jumped out of the van and ran in the direction of Northside Inn. Shortly, as Campbell began moving the van, the defendant and then Mrs. Winters came up the hill from Northside Inn. The defendant told Campbell that he was doing a trial run for the theft from the drug dealer and dropped the gun while practicing climbing out his window, which caused the gun to fire.

Campbell testified that the trio drove to a nearby tavern, where the defendant used the phone while Mrs. Winters and Campbell waited in the van. After making a couple of phone calls, the defendant said that "the guy was already there" and departed on foot for Northside Inn around 9:00 p.m. The defendant had the gun with him when he left. Within ten minutes, the defendant...