Kerry Spencer Castle, 59, of Travelers Rest, passed away on Tuesday, June 09, 2020, riding his favorite Ducati. But the night before, we really did a lot of cocaine. 733.) He stated that Curly was always harassing them. Calhoun v. State, 932 So.2d 923, 975 (Ala.Crim.App.2005), cert. Spencer next challenges the trial court's use of the State's requested jury instructions number eight and number nine. King v. State, 595 So.2d 539 (Ala.Cr.App.1991); Kennedy v. State, 472 So.2d 1092 (Ala.Cr.App.1984). . Haney v. State, 603 So.2d 368, 389 (Ala.Crim.App.1991), aff'd, 603 So.2d 412 (Ala.1992). However, as Spencer notes in his brief on return to remand, Dr. Simmons's testimony left open the possibility that Officer Bennett, even if only as merely an involuntary reaction, could have had random, irregular muscle contractions or twitches even after sustaining the gunshot wound to the torso. According to Williams, Spencer had a big gun that he had been carrying that day and the gun was near him while he slept. Thus, unlike the situation in McTerry, where the missing witness might have reasonably been located without causing any delay in trial, here, Cooper was to be Spencer's final witness, and the State indicated that it had no rebuttal witnesses based on the testimony previously presented; thus, any efforts in locating Cooper would have delayed the trial proceedings. If he is going to testify, I need to know. Here, the evidence Spencer contends required a limiting instruction was not evidence of prior convictions; further, the evidence was not offered to impeach Spencer's credibility. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. Sneed v. State, 1 So.3d 104, 123 (Ala.Crim.App.2007), quoting Williams v. State, 710 So.2d 1276, 1305 (Ala.Crim.App.1996), aff'd, 710 So.2d 1350 (Ala.1997). No. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. A number of officers canvassed the neighborhood after failing to locate the suspects in their initial search of the apartment. Giving to charity is a meaningful way to honor someone who has died. . McTerry requested a subpoena after the victim testified, contending that it had not previously subpoenaed Williams because Williams was already under subpoena by the State, and it did not anticipate any conflict between Williams's expected testimony and the victim's expected testimony. 897.) He is preceded in death by Father Jack Spencer, Mother Joyce Spencer, Sister Debra and Brother Brian. I think there has been testimony in court he was the drug supplier of this particular apartment complex of my client. Doyle Cox, age 84 of Boone and the Westhaven Community, passed away on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at the Westhaven Community. Carolyn Slaughter testified that she lived in the apartment complex at the time of the shootings. May God bless you with the strength to carry on. I don't have no warrant. Indeed, Williams had shown up for trial earlier that day, and there was no reason to believe he could not be found within a short time. What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative? His search showed Woods was wanted on a misdemeanor charge out of Fairfield, accused of beating up his girlfriend. May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow. We are sad to announce that on October 7, 2021, at the age of 65, Kerry Donald Spencer (Fort Myers, Florida) passed away. [Defense counsel]: New Hill. We didnt know for sure 100 percent that it was him, so we had to get the picture, Collins said in a 2005 interview. It was a good thing. When asked whether he had taken any narcotics on the morning of the shootings, Spencer stated: Yes, I did. On September 23, 2005, the trial court overrode the jury's recommendations and instead sentenced Spencer to death for the capital-murder convictions (CC-04-4129, CC-04-4130, CC-04-4131, and CC-04-4833); the trial court sentenced Spencer to life imprisonment for the attempted-murder conviction in case no. If he is avoiding the service or avoiding the pick up, then I don't know anything else the Court can do. Officer Cedric Clifton of the Birmingham Police Department testified that he located additional evidence in the residence where Spencer was taken into custody. Therefore, Spencer's claim is without merit. To offer your sympathy during this difficult time, you can now have memorial trees planted in a National Forest in memory of your loved one. [Assistant defense counsel]: He's got a lawyer in his attempted-murder case. (R. Write your message of sympathy today. Unless you are experienced as an estate executor, you probably should hire an attorney. Kerry referred to the Amazon rainforest as test of humanity, and said that without its protection it is impossible possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit . Woods and Kerry Spencer were convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in the slayings of the three Birmingham officers that rocked Alabama's largest city that year. 1672.) He told his colleagues at the Birmingham Police Department that Kerry Spencer and Nathaniel Woods, lifelong friends who had been dealing and using drugs at the pea green one-story house in the Ensley section of the city, were responsible for the killings. Brantley Funeral Home. Kerry was employed by Mayer Electric for 13 years. See Thomas v. State, 15 Ala.App. He was paying them a thousand dollars a week. 408, 409, 73 So. [Defense counsel]: They don't show either way on this one, Judge. Therefore, Spencer properly preserved those grounds for review even though he did not object to the trial court's instructing the jury on the State's requested instructions eight and nine at the conclusion of the court's oral charge. See also Harris v. State, 2 So.3d 880 (Ala.Crim.App.2007), and Eatmon v. State, 992 So.2d 64 (Ala.Crim.App.2007). You say he is crucial. Even assuming, without finding as true, Spencer's contentions that the officers made remarks during the earlier encounter that caused Spencer to fear that the officers would hurt or kill him, those comments were made hours before the final encounter where the officers were killed. He then went on to relate his version of the events that led to the shooting of these officers. June 17, 2004, started out as an unremarkable day for Birmingham Police Sgt. A person may use deadly physical force if the actor reasonably believes that such other person is: (1) Using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force; or, (2) Using or about to use physical force against an occupant of a dwelling while committing or attempting to commit a burglary of such dwelling; or, (3) Committing or about to commit a kidnapping in any degree, assault in the first or second degree, burglary in any degree, robbery in any degree 7. Fuck you. (R. Graveside Service. (R. In Ex parte Johnson, however, the Alabama Supreme Court, in distinguishing the facts in Johnson from the facts in Snyder and Minor, stated: It is contradictory and inconsistent to allow, on the one hand, evidence of Johnson's prior bigamy conviction and prior bad acts as substantive evidence of the offense with which she was charged, yet, on the other hand, to require a limiting instruction instructing the jury that it cannot consider the evidence as substantive evidence that Johnson committed the charged offense. At the time the subpoena was requested, two defense witnesses and two rebuttal witnesses for the state had yet to testify.. According to Spencer, he looked out the window and saw Curly. Allen was born on September 6, 1959 in Red Deer, Alberta, where he grew and thrived surrounded by a family that he . 913.) He attended Boone Public Schools. I cant say it as fast as I thought it, but I was like Hey dummy, youre standing in the open and somebodys shooting at you, he said. Although the supreme court also stated that a jury recommendation could be overridden based on information that was not known to the jury, it did not state that that was the only circumstance in which a jury recommendation could be overridden. Therefore, we conclude that the trial court did not commit reversible error in refusing to instruct the jury on self-defense. Eve Kelliher. Obituaries. The trial court's consideration of the jury's verdict as a mitigating circumstance and his decision to accord it moderate weight for the reasons stated was proper, as determined by this Court in the opinion issued on return to our original remand order. Alabama courts have, in fact, recognized three legal provocations sufficient to reduce murder to manslaughter: (1) when the accused witnesses his or her spouse in the act of adultery; (2) when the accused is assaulted or faced with an imminent assault on himself; and (3) when the accused witnesses an assault on a family member or close relative.. Moreover, the trial court attached little weight to Spencer's lack of significant history of prior criminal activity. It was a split second decision. Lawyers for Nathaniel Woods, 42, have maintained his innocence, pointing out that another defendant in the case, Kerry Spencer, confessed that he was the sole gunman in the 2004 slayings.. The trial court further found the existence of two statutory mitigating circumstances: Spencer's age, pursuant to 13A-5-51(7) Ala.Code 1975, which was 24 at the time of the events; and the lack of significant history of prior criminal activity, 13A-5-51(1), Ala.Code 1975. It is highly unlikely that the defendant walked up to the body as he lay dying on the ground knowing that there was another live officer somewhere behind him, that he had attempted to kill. Nathaniel Wood was executed in 2020. May happy Share His family is . More times than not they don't, but sometimes they do., This Court finds that the defendant's story that he shot Officer Bennett out of a mere reaction to his touching his leg defies logic and common sense. Thus, we find no error, plain or otherwise, in the trial court's giving of the State's requested instructions eight and nine. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic, Harvey-Engelhardt Funeral & Cremation Services. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. denied, 510 U.S. 905, 114 S.Ct. denied, 898 So.2d 874 (Ala.), cert. 266 (1910).. 884, 885 (1940). denied, 548 U.S. 926, 126 S.Ct. She said that she left for a few minutes after the officers left the first time, and that she was at the apartment and saw the officers arrive the second time. 1088-89.). 727.) 1959 - 2023. As this Court stated in Roberts v. State, 735 So.2d 1244 (Ala.Crim.App.1997), aff'd, 735 So.2d 1270 (Ala.1999): In capital cases, it is the duty of this court to independently determine whether the sentence of death is appropriate in a particular case. A little boy creeped out while sitting on Santa's lap used baby sign language to tell his parents he was not feeling safe with Old Saint Nick. Prayers from Mobile, Alabama have been sent to you'll for strength, during these difficult times. Michael Taylor. In Ervin, the missing witnesses were not subpoenaed because the circuit clerk's office failed to perform its affirmative duty; there is no such failure by the circuit clerk's office here. [Defense counsel]: Yes, he has. Here, however, defense counsel conceded that there was conflicting information as to whether Cooper would testify at trial, particularly in light of pending criminal charges against him and the fact that his expected testimony could implicate him in additional criminal activity. She stated that she heard Spencer say What y'all doing? and then she heard two gunshots. Both this Court and the Alabama Supreme Court have repeatedly denied the very claims now raised by Spencer on appeal. At catcher, Jake Rogers will have to fend off a challenge from Donny Sands and possibly. On cross-examination, the following exchange occurred: [Defense counsel]: If somebody received gunshot wound B to the chest, would there be a short period of time afterward when myoclonic jerk could have been a factor? (R. Spencer may indeed have had a fear of the officers, but based on the evidence presented, we cannot say that that fear was reasonable. Just look to God and he will see you through your time of sorrow. Thats when it hit me I should be dead, he said in 2005. chloe johnson peter buck wedding; le mal en elle fin du film 1659.) A trial court has broad discretion in formulating its jury instructions, provided those instructions accurately reflect the law and the facts of the case. He testified that he kept guns at the apartment, and that he had purchased the SKS assault rifle the night before the shootings and had test-fired it in the backyard. It is a basic tenet of Alabama law that a party is entitled to have his theory of the case, made by the pleadings and issues, presented to the jury by proper instruction, and the [trial] court's failure to give those instructions is reversible error. ' Ex parte McGriff, 908 So.2d 1024, 1035 (Ala.2004), quoting Winner Int'l Corp. v. Common Sense, Inc., 863 So.2d 1088, 1091 (Ala.2003), quoting in turn other cases. This Court did not consider this as mitigating evidence. Officer Collins testified that while on patrol that morning, he heard a radio transmission from Officer Owen indicating that Officer Owen was getting out of his police vehicle at the 1600 block of 18th Street in Ensley to investigate something suspicious or a miscellaneous complaint. Kerry took the time to COMPLETELY hear me out about the details of my case. A peace officer is justified in using that degree of physical force which he reasonably believes to be necessary, upon a person in order to: One, make an arrest for a misdemeanor, violation or violation of a criminal ordinance, or to prevent the escape from custody of a person arrested for a misdemeanor, violation or violation of a criminal ordinance, unless the peace officer knows the arrest is unauthorized. Collins said he felt a slap on his side and on his pistol which was holstered. When discussing the application of the plain-error standard of review, this Court has stated: The standard of review in reviewing a claim under the plain-error doctrine is stricter than the standard used in reviewing an issue that was properly raised in the trial court or on appeal. According to Spencer, Officer Collins arrived on the scene at that time and parked behind Curly's automobile, and Curly walked back to his car. In his amended sentencing order on return to second remand, the trial court now states as follows: There was evidence during the guilty phase of trial that [Spencer] had ingested cocaine the night before the shooting of these officers. The undisputed evidence further indicated that Spencer had been asleep at the time the officers arrived; that he awakened, hearing commotion in the other end of the apartment; that he looked outside and saw police vehicles; that he rushed toward the commotion; that when he encountered the officers he fatally shot Officers Owen and Chisolm in the kitchen area of the apartment; that he turned and fatally shot Officer Bennett, who was near the front door of the apartment; and that he shot Officer Collins outside the back door of the apartment and fired additional shots at Officer Collins as Collins took cover behind his police car. Tawuan Townes. Every memory left on the online obituary will be automatically included in this book. Southfield, MI, 48033-2584. As in Woods and the cases cited therein, the trial court here did not enter specific findings as to the existence or nonexistence of nonstatutory mitigating circumstances, and the principles espoused in Ex parte Taylor, Ex parte Tomlin, and Ex parte Carroll, and the cases cited therein, were not met as the trial court's sentencing order did not state that the jury's recommendation was treated as a mitigating circumstance and did not contain specific findings as to the weight assigned to the jury's recommendation of life imprisonment without parole or the reasons for the judicial override of that recommendation. Kerry Smith cause of death and manner of death was not disclosed to the public at the time of this publication. June 3, 2022 Spencer testified that he sold drugs from the apartment where the shootings occurred. THE COURT: What is it you are asking me to do? 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