West v. State

• Decision Date: 01 October 1974
• Docket Number: No. 29015,29015
• Parties: Willie C. WEST, Jr. v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 195

209 S.E.2d 195

232 Ga. 861

Willie C. WEST, Jr. v. The STATE.

No. 29015.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Oct. 1, 1974.

Willie C. West, Jr., pro se, Percy J. Blount, Augusta, for appellant.

Richard Allen, Dist. Atty., Augusta, Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., John W. Dunsmore, Jr., Deputy Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, for appellee.

Syllabus Opinion by the Court

JORDAN, Justice.

The appellant was convicted of murder and armed robbery and sentenced to consecutive terms of life imprisonment. Appellant contends that the verdict was not supported by the evidence and that the court erred in admitting certain evidence.

The essential facts are as follows: Allen DeLoach was killed on January 20, 1973. The foundation of the state's case is the testimony of an accomplice, John Junior Willims. Williams testified that on the day of the murder he borrowed a gun, identified as a 'Clerk First' .32 caliber pistol, from John White. About 7:15 that evening he had a conversation with appellant and one Jackson at which appellant and Jackson agreed to 'get' DeLoach, and Williams agreed to pick them up afterwards. Appellant and Jackson left, and Williams waited ten or fifteen minutes and drove past the Red and White Supermarket, which was operated by DeLoach. He parked his car and walked toward the store. At that time he saw DeLoach lock the door to his store, walk to his truck, open the door to the truck, and place something inside. DeLoach then turned and began to urinate. Jackson approached DeLoach and Williams heard a shot, saw Jackson run, and heard two more shots. DeLoach ran toward Jackson after the shots were fired. Williams testified that he saw the appellant in the parking lot during this period of time.

Williams returned to his car, drove a couple of blocks, and picked up Jackson and appellant. They asked to go to the 'Stag Club,' but changed their minds and were left at the 'Wash House.' Williams went home; fifteen or twenty minutes later, he was driving in the vicinity and was stopped by appellant who gave him $20 'for your trouble.' Such was the testimony of John Junior Williams.

Appellant denied this and stated that on the night in question he had been playing pool and 'messing around' until about 9:00 p.m., that he had seen and been with many people, that he went home to change clothes, and went to the Stag Club arriving there alone at approximately 9:20 p.m.

The circumstances relied upon by the state to place the appellant at the scene of the crime, independent of Williams' testimony, are the following: DeLoach was killed with a .32 caliber 'Clerk First' pistol on the day of the murder. Sheriff Edward Shelley found a .32 caliber 'Clerk First' pistol under the headrest of an automobile in which appellant was seated. At the time, appellant was sitting in the right rear of the automobile directly behind the headrest within arm's reach of the pistol. Hinton Moore, self-employed at the 'Stag Club,' did not see appellant until 10:30 p.m. on the night in question. At that time, he saw appellant and Jackson enter the club together. He stated: 'They came through the door and went to the bathroom.' Harry Coursey, a special investigator, identified a certain armband as one found near the victim. John White testified that he had seen appellant wearing a similar armband.

Other evidence was introduced for the purpose of showing a robbery was committed, and showing that John Williams testimony was credible. Hilton Quick testified that he sold gas to DeLoach on the night of the murder. DeLoach paid for the gas with a twenty dollar bill and but the change in his pocket. DeLoach left the service station at 9:00 p.m. and drove next door to a laundromat, which is located six or seven blocks from the Red and White Grocery Store. DeLoach's truck was at the laundromat when Quick left the service station at 9:15 p.m. Ann Thomason testified that she drove by the Red and White at about 9:40 p.m. and noticed that the night lights were on and that DeLoach's truck was parked in front of the store with the door open. Investigator Coursey testified that he found blood on the ground 30 feet from the victim's body. The victim's pockets were turned inside out, and the pants were unzipped. This tended to substantiate Williams' testimony, as to the open door of the truck, the time of the crime and the fact that DeLoach was urinating when Jackson appeared; the pool of blood 30 feet from the victim tended to show that he was shot in one place, and ran toward Jackson until he fell to the ground in a different place. Held:

1. Appellant contends that the pistol should not have been admitted into evidence. The pistol was found in an automobile in which appellant was a passenger, directly in front of the seat that he occupied.

White admitted giving Williams a 'Clerk First' .32 caliber pistol the day of the shooting. White testified that the pistol in evidence was the same make and model as the pistol which he gave Williams; however he could not make positive identification because a certain screw was larger than he remembered.

Williams testified that he could not identify the pistol because 'the gun I got from . . . White, it didn't have the screw,' but added that he did not pay too much attention to the gun.

Dr. Larry B. Howard, Director of the Crime Laboratory of the State of Georgia, testified that the ballistics tests which he conducted were not conclusive, as to matching the bullet extracted from DeLoach's body with the pistol in evidence but did testify that the bullet was fired from a 'Clerk First' pistol. We are of the opinion that under these circumstances the pistol was relevant evidence; it was for the jury to determine its weight and effect.

2. Three enumerations of error are on the general grounds that the evidence does not support...