Thomas v. State

• Decision Date: 18 November 2004
• Docket Number: No. SC00-1092.,SC00-1092.
• Citation: Thomas v. State, 894 So.2d 126 (Fla. 2004)
• Parties: Demetris Omar THOMAS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

894 So.2d 126

Demetris Omar THOMAS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. SC00-1092.

Supreme Court of Florida.

November 18, 2004.

Rehearing Denied January 5, 2005.

Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and David A. Davis, Assistant Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, FL, for Appellant.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, Carol M. Dittmar, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, FL, and Stephen R. White, Gary Milligan and Cassandra K. Dolgin, Assistant Attorneys General, Tallahassee, FL, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

We have on appeal the judgment and sentence of the trial court imposing a death sentence upon Demetris Omar Thomas. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. We affirm the convictions of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual battery with the use of a deadly weapon or physical force. We treat Thomas's mental retardation claim as a motion pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.203 and relinquish jurisdiction to the circuit court for consideration in accord with rule 3.203(e) of whether Thomas is mentally retarded.

FACTS

At about 3 a.m. on Saturday, September 13, 1997, Brandy Howard was using a pay phone at the Tom Thumb Food Store (store) in Okaloosa County. A clerk at the store was blowing the parking lot with an electric leaf blower. The clerk saw Demetris Omar Thomas drive up next to Howard's vehicle and honk the horn of his vehicle. Howard raised her hand as if she were telling Thomas to wait a minute. Thomas drove away. A few minutes later, the clerk saw Thomas approach Howard on foot, at which point Thomas and Howard began tensely gesturing to one another. The clerk saw Thomas snatch Howard's keys from Howard and, over the noise of the blower, heard Howard say, "Hey." Howard then made what appeared to be a smile towards the clerk. At this point the clerk believed that the two were just having an argument.

The clerk then saw Thomas push Howard into the passenger side of the vehicle and close the door. Thomas started walking around the vehicle, and Howard opened the passenger door. Thomas came back around the vehicle and closed the passenger door. He again started walking around the vehicle, and the passenger door opened a second time. Thomas again returned and closed the door. At that point, the clerk saw Thomas lean into the passenger side of the vehicle, where he apparently "says or does something" to Howard. Thomas then moved quickly to the driver's side of the vehicle and drove the vehicle out of the parking lot.

At 5:15 a.m. that same morning, Howard's body was discovered on Louise Drive, a dead-end cul-de-sac road where several houses were under construction (Louise Drive scene). Her vehicle was found parked approximately 109 feet from her body. The medical examiner later determined that Howard had been beaten to death with a blunt object, receiving at least seventeen blows to the face. Several of her teeth had been knocked out of her mouth. She also had what appeared to be defensive wounds to her hands and fingers. Additionally, the medical examiner found that Howard might have been hit on each side of her head with a hand or fist. Semen was found in Howard's vagina that was later matched to Thomas's DNA. There was, however, no evidence of trauma to Howard's genitals.

On September 24, 1997, the police obtained and executed a search warrant for Thomas's home and person. Investigator Jerome Worley read Thomas his Miranda¹ rights while Thomas was in his bedroom changing his clothes. Thomas acknowledged that he understood his rights. As Worley and Officer Dennis Haley drove Thomas to the jail to have blood samples collected, Thomas made unelicited statements that he knew Howard and had sex with her on Thursday night. According to Worley and Haley, Thomas stated that after Howard gave him a ride to a McDonald's restaurant, he and Howard got into Thomas's grandfather's vehicle and drove behind a hospital, where he and Howard had sexual intercourse.

At the jail, Worley read Thomas his rights from a police department rights form. After being given the form to read, Thomas responded that he understood his rights. The form was signed by Thomas, Worley, and Haley. Thomas then indicated that he was willing to waive those rights and to speak with Worley and Haley. Thomas signed an additional line on the form which signified that he was willing to make a statement without an attorney being present.

After initially denying involvement with Howard's murder, Thomas confessed to murdering Howard. Thomas told Worley and Haley that about a month prior to the date of the questioning, Thomas had been driving his vehicle and saw Howard following him. When he pulled off the road and got out of his vehicle, two black males exited Howard's vehicle, physically beat Thomas, and stole his vehicle. Thomas reported the theft of his vehicle to the sheriff's department but did not mention that he had been beaten.²

Thomas stated that he kept the event bottled up inside until he saw Howard at the store pay phone. He accosted Howard and asked her why she had set him up to have his vehicle stolen. Thomas admitted snatching Howard's keys from her, grabbing her by the arm, and directing her to her vehicle. He then alleged that he drove her vehicle behind the North Okaloosa Medical Center (hospital scene), where he and Howard began talking on a romantic level. He told Worley and Haley that he and Howard had consensual sex in the front passenger seat of her vehicle. Thomas said that he was initially using a condom but that he took it off and threw it out the window. Worley questioned Thomas about blood that was found inside the vehicle and on the tops and bottoms of Howard's socks. Thomas stated that Howard's nose bled during intercourse and that she used the socks to wipe her nose. Upon completion of the intercourse, Thomas said that he and Howard left the hospital scene and drove to the Louise Drive scene.

Thomas stated that he then confronted Howard about her role in stealing his vehicle. Thomas admitted that he slapped Howard at some point while she was in or near the vehicle. He claimed that Howard became agitated, exited the vehicle, and began throwing bricks at Thomas. He then stated that when he tried to get her back into the vehicle, Howard picked up a pipe and struck him on the left side of his face. Thomas said that he "snapped," took the pipe from Howard, and beat her with it. He asked Worley and Haley to look at where Howard struck him with the pipe. Neither Worley nor Haley could see any injuries on Thomas. Thomas then agreed to a tape-recorded interview, where he restated his confession.

Thomas accompanied officers to the hospital scene and pointed out the location where he and Howard had parked and allegedly had sexual intercourse. A bloodied beach towel was recovered from the hospital scene.³ Thomas then directed officers to the Louise Drive scene. Thomas showed Investigator Steven Whatmough where he had thrown the long section of pipe used to kill Howard, but investigators could not locate it. The next morning, at a nearby construction site, investigators located an eight-foot scaffolding brace that was bent and had what appeared to be hair and blood on it.

Thomas's trial commenced on February 29, 2000. In addition to calling the store clerk, Worley, Haley, and Whatmough, the State called Janice Johnson as an expert in the field of crime scene analysis and blood stain pattern interpretation. Johnson testified regarding her analysis of the Louise Drive scene, including the locations of blood spatter. She also testified about evidence she collected when Dr. Michael Berkland conducted an autopsy and sexual assault assessment on Howard. During the autopsy, Howard's clothing was removed, and trace materials of seed and vegetation were recovered from Howard's right thigh and pubic hair region. It was Johnson's opinion that the seed and vegetation were deposited while Howard was undressed.

Johnson also noted that although Howard's body was found with her shoes on, Howard's socks were soiled and were bloodied on the tops and bottoms. The blood on the tops of the socks was consistent with blood being dropped, while the blood on the bottoms was consistent with Howard stepping in blood with her shoes off. Johnson further testified that the headlining above the passenger seat of the car had spots which presumptive tests indicated were blood, although lab technicians could not draw a DNA type from the headlining to conclusively determine that the headlining sample was blood. Johnson stated that the spatter pattern was indicative of a forceful injury occurring inside the vehicle. There was also blood on the upper leg areas of Howard's jeans that was consistent with Howard dripping large drops of blood on her jeans while in a seated position.

The State called Dr. Berkland, who testified that in addition to numerous lacerations and internal injuries to Howard's skull, Howard's body had internal injuries suggesting manual strangulation. There were, however, no ligature marks or external injuries to Howard's neck. Dr. Berkland also testified that the absence of trauma to Howard's genitals did not rule out the possibility that a forcible sexual battery occurred. Additionally, Dr. Berkland opined that the blood on the bottom of Howard's socks had been deposited when Howard was shoeless.

Jack Remus, an expert in DNA examination and comparison, testified that he DNA-typed several of the suspected blood samples. Blood samples taken from the exterior of Howard's vehicle, from Howard's socks, and from the towel found at the hospital scene were consistent with Howard's DNA. Several suspected blood samples taken from the driver's side of Howard's automobile were consistent with Thomas's DNA.

Lastly, the State played Thomas's taped confession. The State rested its case, and Thomas moved for judgment of acquittal for all charges. The...