The State v. Steven
| Decision Date | 16 August 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 26871.,26871. |
| Citation | 388 S.C. 528,698 S.E.2d 572 |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent,v.Steven V. BIXBY, Appellant. |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Chief Appellate Defender Robert M. Dudek and Appellate Defender LaNelle C. DuRant, both of Columbia; Ernest Charles Grose, Jr., of Greenwood, for Appellant.
Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, and Assistant Attorney General Melody J. Brown, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Jerry Peace, of Greenwood, for Respondent.
Steven V. Bixby was charged with the murder of Abbeville County Deputy Sheriff Danny Wilson and Abbeville County Magistrate's Constable Donnie Ouzts. Bixby was tried by a jury on two counts of murder and related charges. The jury found him guilty of all charges and recommended that he be sentenced to death. The trial judge imposed the death penalty. This appeal followed. We affirm.
In December 2003, while working on a construction project in Abbeville County, officials from the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) encountered the Bixby family. In order to expand SC-72, the SCDOT planned to take advantage of a right of way it held across the Bixbys' property. The Bixbys did not believe that the SCDOT held a right of way across their property and, beginning on December 4, 2003, threatened violence to prevent any construction on their land. These threats culminated in the murders of Deputy Wilson and Constable Donnie Ouzts on Monday, December 8, 2003.
The following is a chronological description of the events which resulted in the murders:
Thursday, December 4, 2003
On the morning of December 4, 2003, SCDOT officials first met the Bixby family after discovering someone had tampered with the surveyor's stakes on the family's property. SCDOT Construction Superintendent Glen McCaffrey approached the Bixby home to discuss the road widening project. McCaffrey was accompanied by fellow SCDOT employees Dale Williams and Mike Hannah.
Superintendent McCaffrey showed the construction plans to Appellant, his mother, Rita Bixby, and father, Arthur Bixby, and attempted to persuade them that the SCDOT held a right of way across their property. The Bixbys responded with threats of violence and claimed they would fight to the death if anyone tried to do any construction work on the property.1 Right of Way Agent Williams told them that SCDOT officials would have to get the Sheriff involved, to which the Bixbys responded that they would kill law enforcement officials if anyone “trespassed” on their property.
SCDOT officials McCaffrey, Williams, and Hannah went to the Sheriff's department, reported the encounter, and conveyed that there was a “serious situation” at the Bixby home. Because these men feared the Bixbys' threats, they requested that an officer be assigned to mediate the situation.
Around noon on Friday, December 5, 2003, Appellant discussed the road construction project with Dr. Mark Horton, a dentist whose office was near the Bixby home. Steven Bixby and Dr. Horton talked about dealings with the SCDOT. Horton told Steven Bixby that he had hired an attorney and that Dr. Horton, his lawyer, and the SCDOT had set a time to discuss the construction's impact on Horton's property. Describing his conversation with Appellant, Horton testified as follows:
... first he told me that he was from New Hampshire and he said that, you know, their motto was something like, you know, if I can't-I'd rather be dead if I can't be free, something like that. And at one point he said that, I've got something that's going to blow this whole project out of the water, and I took that to mean that he had some information or something. But he was becoming somewhat agitated and I kept telling him that, well, I thought it best if he'd get an attorney and look over his situation and see if they could resolve it. So basically I wished him well and told him that you need to get an attorney, that I had to get one, and I hoped that things would get resolved. But you know, he did seem agitated and he said at one point I think that, they'll take my land over my cold, dead body.
At approximately 3:30 p.m., SCDOT Superintendent McCaffrey contacted Rita Bixby, informing her that he had documents concerning the right of way. Also on the phone with McCaffrey were Williams, Hannah, and Joe McCurry, a fellow SCDOT employee. McCaffrey requested that the Bixbys and SCDOT officials meet the following Monday (December 8, 2003) to discuss the right of way. Rita responded by saying, “Anything you got is lies.” Although eventually agreeing to the December 8, 2003 meeting, Rita said that if the men wanted to show her the documents they could meet her at the family's home in five minutes. Three of the SCDOT officials left to meet with Rita. Williams, however, refused to go because he feared the situation might become violent.
When the SCDOT officials arrived at the Bixby home, Rita told them that the documents were forgeries and threatened that her family “would fight till the last breath and there would be hell to pay.” She demanded that no construction take place. McCaffrey said they would have to come back with a deputy. Rita replied that the Sheriff's department had no authority over them on private property.
On the evening of December 7, 2003, Appellant, Steven Bixby went to a social gathering at the home of Alane Taylor, his former girlfriend. Appellant told Alane, “Tomorrow is the day.” Alane asked Steven to explain and he said, “We have all the guns loaded in my dad's house and if anybody comes in the yard we will shoot and if the shooting starts I won't come out alive.” Steven also said that this had been planned for some time and that his mother Rita planned to take his brother to Steven's apartment while Steven and Arthur stayed at the house. Alane attempted to talk Steven out of his planned violence.
Additionally, while at Alane's house, Appellant told Alane's daughter, Dana Newton, he intended to shoot law enforcement if they came on his parents' property. Newton testified that Appellant said,
Alane and Dana called Abbeville Deputy Barry New, a relative, and told him about Steven Bixby's comments. They said they were concerned that harm would come to anyone that went to the Bixby home. Deputy New called his supervisor and left a message conveying the warnings.
At 8:30 a.m. on Monday, December 8, 2003, Deputy Wilson met with SCDOT officials McCaffrey, Williams, and Hannah to discuss SCDOT's prior confrontation with the Bixbys and plan for that morning's meeting with the family. After discussing the matter, Deputy Wilson headed straight to the Bixby home. SCDOT officials Williams and Hannah left shortly thereafter.
As Williams and Hannah approached the Bixby home in their vehicle, they noticed that Deputy Wilson's car was in the driveway.2 However, Deputy Wilson was nowhere to be seen. Williams and Hannah drove past the Bixby home for fear that it was not safe. They drove past again and noticed that the blinds were closed but peep holes were cut into them. The third time they drove past the house they saw Appellant standing in the doorway holding a pistol in one hand and a rifle in the other.
At around 9:30 a.m., Appellant placed a phone call to his mother, Rita, who was at Appellant's apartment with his brother. Appellant informed Rita that the shooting had begun. Rita placed phone calls to the Governor's office, the Attorney General's office, and Dr. Craig Gagnon, a family friend and local chiropractor. Dr. Gagnon went to the Bixby residence.
Arriving at the Bixby home at approximately 9:40 a.m., Dr. Gagnon saw two law enforcement officers standing in the front yard of the Bixby home. He heard a shot come from the home and saw Constable Ouzts fall to the ground, mortally wounded. As news of the confrontation spread, several officers arrived and were able to retrieve Constable Ouzts's body. Additionally, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) dispatched approximately fifty agents and tactical support.
After determining Rita's whereabouts, David Alford, an investigator with the Abbeville County Sheriff's Department, apprehended her at Appellant's apartment and transported her to a temporary command center near the Bixby home. While at the command center, Rita refused to help Alford and the SLED agents diffuse the situation stating, “Why would I want to help you, I wanted to be inside with them today but they made me stay outside to tell the world why they died.” All other attempts to contact Appellant and his father inside the home were unsuccessful.
At approximately 7:30 p.m., SLED sent robots equipped with cameras toward the house where they were able to peer through a window. The cameras captured footage of Deputy Wilson, who was face down on the floor of the Bixbys' living room with his hands cuffed behind him. He was dead. A team of officers entered the home and retrieved Deputy Wilson's body, which was already stiff from rigor mortis.
At approximately 8:55 p.m., SLED sent another robot into the Bixby home. Arthur fired a shot at the robot, and he and Appellant began firing at the officers outside the house. The officers returned fire and shot tear gas into the home.
The gun fight continued until at approximately 9:25 p.m. when Appellant surrendered and notified police that Arthur was wounded. Again, a robot was sent into the house. Video transmitted by the robot confirmed that Arthur had been shot and was sitting on the bathroom floor surrounded by weapons. At approximately 11:00 p.m., Arthur crawled...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Hausner
...wiretap, we conclude that such circumstances exist if the statutory requirements for an emergency wiretap exist. Cf. State v. Bixby, 388 S.C. 528, 698 S.E.2d 572, 582 (2010) (upholding South Carolina emergency wiretap provision as application of exigent circumstances exception), cert. denie......
-
State v. Barnes
...voir dire and the manner in which it is conducted are generally left to the sound discretion of the trial court.” State v. Bixby, 388 S.C. 528, 542, 698 S.E.2d 572, 579 (2010) (citing State v. Stanko, 376 S.C. 571, 575, 658 S.E.2d 94, 96 (2008)). Furthermore, “[i]t is well established that ......
-
State v. Blackwell
...retardation at the time of the crime. S.C. Code Ann. § 16-3-20(C)(b)(1), (2), (6), (7), (10) (2015).31 See State v. Bixby, 388 S.C. 528, 553-54, 698 S.E.2d 572, 585-86 (2010) (recognizing that self-defense consists of four elements, and when a defendant raises that defense, the State bears ......
-
State v. Rose
...assembly of mourners, and a recording of a fictional 911 call in which the deputy is given permission to “return home.” 388 S.C. 528, 698 S.E.2d 572, 586–87 (2010). The court reasoned that the “videotape was relevant to show the uniqueness of the victim, the harm committed by [the defendant......