Ware v. State
| Decision Date | 11 April 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. CR 01-910.,CR 01-910. |
| Citation | 348 Ark. 181,75 S.W.3d 165 |
| Parties | Alex WARE v. STATE of Arkansas. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Durrett & Coleman, by Gerald A. Coleman, West Memphis, and Raymond Abramson, Clarendon, for appellant.
Mark Pryor, Att'y Gen., by Clayton K. Hodges, Ass't Att'y Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
Appellant Alex Ware appeals the judgment of the St. Francis County Circuit Court convicting him of two counts of capital murder and sentencing him to a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. On appeal, Ware argues that the trial court erred in: (1) denying his motion to quash the information and in failing to grant his motion for a directed verdict; (2) denying his motion for severance; (3) finding him competent to stand trial and denying his motion for a continuance; and (4) refusing to impose sanctions for a violation of the court's order limiting pretrial publicity. Our jurisdiction is pursuant to Ark. Sup.Ct. R. 1-2(a)(2). We find no error and affirm.
On June 18, 1999, Chantilly Harrell took her two sons, four-year-old K-Von and one-year-old Alexander, to visit Ware, their father, for the Father's Day weekend. Both Harrell and Ware lived in Memphis, Tennessee, at that time. Harrell had recently left Ware after a five-year relationship, because he had been abusive to her. On June 19, Ware phoned Harrell and stated, Thereafter, Harrell contacted Memphis police and reported her conversation with Ware to Officer Christopher Wages. After being paged by Wages, Ware contacted police and told them that he would bring the children to the police department within a couple of hours, but he never appeared with the children.
On June 28, 1999, Memphis Police Officer Troy Shields received another call from Harrell regarding the whereabouts of her sons. Shields went to Ware's residence and discovered that it had been abandoned. Shields then contacted Ware expressing concern about the children's safety. Ware was evasive during this conversation and told Shields that he had not seen the boys since he returned them to their mother. Shields contacted Ware again the next day requesting assurances that the children were safe, but Ware was uncooperative, stating that he would not bring the children in until he cleared his name.
Harrell spoke with Ware on several different occasions between the time the boys disappeared in June and late August 1999. During one conversation, Ware told Harrell that he had thrown K-Von into a pond and that he had abandoned Alexander in some weeds. By the end of August, however, Ware's story changed, and he told Harrell that if she wanted to see her children alive again, she would have to go with him to pick them up. Harrell notified her mother that she was going with Ware and asked her to contact police if a day passed without hearing from her. According to Harrell, Ware picked her up in Memphis at Court Square and initially drove her to a park located near the Mall of Memphis. Ware then pulled a gun on Harrell and told her that the children were alive, but that he had been trying "to break her spirit."
After leaving the park, Ware drove Harrell to Chicago, Illinois. During the drive, Ware repeatedly told Harrell that the children were fine and with nice people. Once in Chicago, Ware took Harrell to a cousin's house where two of Ware's children from a previous relationship, Shenna and Perez, were located. Harrell attempted to question Ware's children about the whereabouts of her own sons, but Ware retrieved his gun and a struggle ensued between him and Harrell. Ware then told Harrell that their children were dead and that she was never going to see them again. Immediately thereafter, Ware recanted and told Harrell that he would take her to the children the following day.
The next day, Ware drove Harrell and his two children to Detroit, Michigan, to the home of a great-aunt, but the two missing boys were not there. Ware again drove back to Chicago and dropped off his children. He and Harrell then went back to Detroit, before returning to Memphis. Ware told Harrell that he had some business to take care of in Memphis before he took her to Florida to get the children. Once in Memphis, Ware and Harrell checked into a room at the Bellevue Inn. Harrell then called her mother who in turn contacted the police and informed them that her daughter was being held against her will at the motel.
Memphis Police Officers Max Howard and Billy Smallwood went to the Bellevue Inn and made contact with Ware at approximately 2:00 a.m. on September 2, 1999. Initially, Ware gave officers a false name. Harrell informed the officers that Ware had taken her children somewhere, and she was trying to get them back. Ware then claimed that he had custody of the children. According to Smallwood, he initially believed that he was dealing with a situation involving parental kidnapping, but grew suspicious after Ware made repeated comments about death and parents who kill their children. After discovering that he was wanted for questioning regarding the whereabouts of two of his children, Howard and Smallwood took Ware into custody. While en route to the Shelby County Jail, the officers were discussing different situations involving murders and kidnappings when Ware interrupted them. According to Smallwood, Ware asked, "[I]f they can't find the bodies, can they still charge me with murder?" Smallwood stated that he did not initiate any conversation with Ware. Howard also testified that neither he nor Smallwood attempted to initiate a conversation with Ware, and that Ware interrupted their conversation. The only other statement made by Ware while in the patrol car was, "I might as well just kill myself, `cause I'm not gonna go to prison like that."
Once at the police station, Ware was questioned by Sergeants Marcus Worthy and Donald Ray Dickerson. The officers advised Ware of his Miranda rights and asked if he would mind answering some questions. Worthy told Ware that the officers' primary concern was the whereabouts of the children. Initially, Ware told the officers that the kids were safe and happy. After Worthy made comments that the children deserved a proper burial by an ordained minister, Ware changed his story to state that Harrell had killed the children and that he had witnessed it. Ware then signed a typed copy of his statement and told the officers that he would show them where the children's bodies were located.
Thereafter, Ware took the officers to Arkansas, where they were met by officers from the St. Francis County Sheriff's Office. Ware first directed the officers to an area known as Blackfish Lake. Upon arriving at the scene, Ware attempted to remove his clothes and shoes and stated that he wanted to go into the lake to retrieve K-Von's body. Ware then took police to a wooded area next to a levee north of Widner Junction where Alexander was abandoned. After searching the lake, investigators were unable to locate the remains of K-Von, but did discover several bone fragments at the wooded site. A later search of this area also uncovered a child's sock and a t-shirt for a twelve- to eighteen-month-old child.
Initially, both Ware and Harrell were charged with two counts of capital murder and were transported from Memphis to St. Francis County on September 7, 1999. The pair were questioned separately by Officers Glenn Ramsey and Herbert Neighbors, beginning with Harrell. After giving an oral statement, Ware agreed to allow Ramsey to reduce the statement to writing. After reading it and verifying that it was accurate, Ware signed the statement. In that statement, Ware claimed that a couple of days after Harrell moved out with the children, she contacted him stating that she felt tied down at a young age by the two children and was stressed out. Ware then stated that Harrell came to his house on the morning of June 16 wanting to go for a ride over to Arkansas. During the drive, Harrell told Ware that she no longer wanted the children. Ware then described exiting Interstate 40 near Albert's Junkyard and turning down a gravel road where he stopped the car. According to Ware, Harrell got out of the car with Alexander, took off the child's shoes, kissed him on the head, and then threw him into some weeds. Ware stated that he and Harrell then returned to Memphis, first stopping to buy a sundae, and he dropped Harrell off at her mother's house and took K-Von home with him.
According to Ware, three days later, on June 19, he and Harrell went back to Arkansas with K-Von. After traveling through West Memphis, Ware stated that they first turned onto a road with a big S-curve, and then turned down a second road near a generator. Ware then stated that Harrell got out of the car with K-Von and walked around a curve. After a minute or two, Ware followed Harrell and saw K-Von's head bobbing up and down in the water. Four or five days after this initial statement, Ware asked to speak with Officer Ramsey. Ware asked if K-Von's body had been discovered. When told that it had not been found, Ware stated,
As the investigation proceeded, the State dropped the charges against Harrell, but proceeded with its case against Ware. The State's position during the trial was that Ware committed the murders as an act of revenge against Harrell. Prior to trial, Ware underwent a mental evaluation and was found to be competent to stand trial. The record reflects that from the beginning of this case Ware refused to cooperate with his court-appointed counsel. The trial court granted a motion by Ware to hire his own investigator, as well as a motion to hire his own psychiatrist to make a determination regarding his competency. Although Ware's expert, Dr. Rebecca...
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