Weeks v. State

• Decision Date: 29 November 1983
• Docket Number: 5 Div. 726
• Citation: 456 So.2d 395
• Parties: Varnall WEEKS v. STATE of Alabama.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 395

456 So.2d 395

Varnall WEEKS v. STATE of Alabama.

5 Div. 726.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Nov. 29, 1983.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 10, 1984.

Jock M. Smith, Tuskegee, for appellant.

Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and William D. Little, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

TYSON, Judge.

Varnall Weeks was indicted for the intentional killing of one Mark Batts, during the course of a robbery in the first degree, in violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975. The jury found him "guilty as charged" in the indictment. The appellant waived the participation of the jury in the sentence determination and demanded the trial judge sentence him to death. The trial judge held a sentencing hearing at which he found two aggravating circumstances and no mitigating circumstances. See Appendix A, hereto attached and made a part hereof.

The trial judge determined the aggravating circumstances clearly outweighed the mitigating circumstances and sentenced the appellant to death.

The first witness for the State was Tommy Batts of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the father of the deceased. He testified he had given his son a blue, two door, 1981 Honda automobile which bore the Tennessee license plate, 11XP67.

Christine Jenkins, a veterinary medicine student at Tuskegee Institute, testified the deceased was her boyfriend and she lived with him at 301 Neal Street in Tuskegee, Alabama.

On October 1, 1981, Jenkins left the house at 8:10 a.m. to attend class. The deceased was still at the house and was wearing his gold chain necklace, Seiko watch and Bata tennis shoes. His blue Honda was parked in front of the house. On this day, the deceased had an important class to attend from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. It was a mandatory class at which he was to prepare his animals for surgery the next day. At 4:30 that afternoon, Jenkins learned that the victim had not shown up for class and she called the police at 9:00 p.m. to find out how to report a missing person.

The next morning, October 2, 1981, Jenkins went to the Tuskegee Police Station to place a "missing person report" on Mark Batts.

Celia Davis stated she lives at 600 North Gay Street in Tuskegee. On the morning of October 1, 1981, as she and her husband were leaving for work, she saw the appellant walking down Gay Street toward Neal Street. The house where the deceased lived was across the street from her house but faced Neal rather than Gay Street. She also noticed the deceased's car parked in front of his house.

Mrs. Davis' husband, Major Cecil Davis, testified that he also observed the appellant that morning at the corner of Gay and Neal Streets. Davis noticed the appellant because he had never seen him before in the neighborhood.

John R. Meadows, the Assistant Police Chief for the City of Tuskegee, took the missing person report from Ms. Jenkins on October 2, 1981. She described the deceased and his car to him.

On October 5, 1981, Don Williams, a criminal investigator with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI), went to Tuskegee to assist in a missing person investigation. The next day, he received information from the East Cleveland, Ohio Police Department, relating to an automobile which had been recovered.

On October 7, 1981, he went to East Cleveland. There, he saw appellant and talked to a Jewel Martin from Tuskegee. She gave him a deposit slip bearing the name of Mark Batts and vehicle identification papers belonging to Tommy Batts.

Williams also observed a blue Honda automobile at the police station. A Tennessee license plate, 11XP67, was recovered from the dashboard of that car. Detective Hughey of the East Cleveland Police Department gave Williams a .38 revolver which he turned over to Lonnie Harden.

On October 6, 1981, David Deardon, a police officer with the East Cleveland Police Department, noticed a blue Honda Civic make an illegal left turn. When he stopped the automobile, he noticed the driver, whom he identified as the appellant, was wearing a brown leather type jacket and the passenger was a black female. Deardon also observed a Tennessee license plate in the window.

When Deardon asked the appellant for his driver's license, he gave him a license bearing the name of Mark Batts. Deardon then asked the appellant to get out of the car, which he did. As Deardon was making a pat down search of the appellant, the appellant pulled out a chrome-plated gun and shot Deardon in the chest.

As Larry Lester of the East Cleveland Police Department approached the scene of the routine traffic stop, he saw the appellant shoot Deardon and then point the gun at Deardon as if he were going to shoot again. Lester then shot at the appellant who fled into a nearby neighborhood.

As he and other officers searched the area, the appellant came out of a house and was placed under arrest. A .38 silver revolver and a brown imitation leather jacket were found under a porch approximately ten yards from where the appellant was apprehended. The jacket bore the name of the appellant's brother, Chenoy Weeks.

Lieutenant Richard Stinson gave the .38 gun to the Cleveland Police Department Scientific Investigation Unit so that it could be processed for fingerprints. Later, the gun was given to Don Williams.

Lieutenant James Hughey of the East Cleveland Police Department processed the blue Honda for fingerprints and gave the appellant's fingerprint card to Edward Walsh of the fingerprint section of the Cleveland Police Department Scientific Investigation Unit.

Walsh testified he lifted the appellant's right thumb print off of a bullet found inside the .38 gun found under the porch.

Detective James Copeland of the East Cleveland Police Department, received a driver's license belonging to Mark Batts from the ambulance driver at the scene where Deardon was shot. He also learned that the blue Honda belonged to Tommy Batts of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

At this time, a hearing was held outside the presence of the jury to determine the voluntariness of the appellant's statement. Copeland stated the appellant was advised of his Miranda rights and stated that he understood those rights and wished to make a statement. He refused to sign the transcribed statement. No threats, inducements, coercion or hope of reward were offered or used to obtain the statement.

The appellant stated that he was never advised of his rights and signed the waiver believing it to be a property slip. He denied making a statement. The appellant stated he requested a lawyer and the police continued asking questions after he made the request.

The trial judge ruled the appellant's statement was voluntarily made and allowed its admission into evidence. The statement reads as follows:

"After advising Varnell Weeks of his rights he was interviewed. He stated that he left Tuskegee, Alabama some time Thursday, October 1st, near noon. Later that afternoon the bus stopped in Atlanta, Georgia, a Greyhound bus. At one point he stated that he spent the night in Atlanta and left the next day. He later changed that story to he got off the bus as he gased up and went to the men's room. The bus pulled out a short time later, and he was on the bus. He doesn't remember any of the other towns the bus made stops in. But it took approximately five days for the trip. He stated that he made the trip alone. When he left Tuskegee, Alabama he took only the clothes he was arrested in, a pair of blue jeans, a short-sleeved white and yellow shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes. He also stated that the large amount of money that he had on his person was obtained from his relatives and friends but he could not give any names. He decided to come to Cleveland, Ohio to buy clothes. He then changed that story to he came to Cleveland for a job to buy clothes and to relocate. He stated that when he got in Cleveland he met a male at the bus station and that male, name unknown, drove him around Cleveland. While they were riding around Cleveland he and the male smoked marijuana, and he got very high. He stated that he got hungry, and when they saw McDonald's he was let out of the car, and the unknown male continued on. He described the vehicle he was in as a small blue car, make and plate number unknown. As he approached McDonald's a black male grabbed him and he fought with same breaking away and then running. He doesn't know why the male grabbed him, but he was--he suspected the male wanted to rob him. A short distance away he saw the police and he was arrested. Weeks could give no description of any building or business in the area of the McDonald's Restaurant and doesn't know if he was in the front or at the rear of McDonald's. When asked if he smoked while in the car he said no. He said that he does smoke and his brand is Kools. He further stated that he did eat while in the car. It was also noticed that there was an impression of a hat being around his head and hair. And he was asked if he wore a hat. And he stated that he had a hat, but he didn't know where it was at. He stated that he knew nothing about the shooting of a police officer and became very nervous when questioned in that area. He denied wearing the leather jacket found by police and also ever seeing the blue and white shower slippers. He stated that he injured his foot fighting with the unknown male that grabbed him near or in front of McDonald's. He stated that he had on tennis shoes at the time during the struggle and both shoes came off and he left them behind. When asked about lack of clothes and other personal items needed when relocating he stated that he travels light. When asked where he got the money he stated that he would meet females while enroute from Alabama and they would give him money. Again, names and addresses not known. During the interview Weeks stated that the jacket found by police with the name of Chevoy Weeks stamped on the lining was his brother's. He didn't know how it got here. And the black notebook with the photos in same was identified...