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State v. Clark12/6/1967
The defendant, Richard Clark, appeals from a conviction of second degree murder rendered in the Superior Court of Maricopa County, and from the imposition of a sentence of not less than twelve nor more than twenty years in the Arizona State Prison for the murder of his wife, Evelyn Clark.
On October 8, 1965, at approximately 1:30 P.M., the defendant accompanied by his friend, Slim Lottridge, went out to the desert for some target practice. Defendant had been drinking a considerable amount of beer and vodka during the day. After completing target practice he returned to the home of Frank Bennett, one of his friends, and fell asleep there for about an hour. Thereafter, Mrs. Clark arrived and an argument ensued between the defendant and his wife, after which he left. After telling Bennett, "I should kill that bitch," the defendant left for his home at about 9:00 P.M. When he arrived home he had another argument with his wife over some financial problems, and then went to sleep. Defendant claims that he was awakened by a noise and found his wife dead in the kitchen. He also testified that he could not remember anything from the time he found his wife's body until the following morning. Mrs. Clark died from gunshot wounds to the head.
At this point there is some conflict in the evidence. However, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the conviction. State v. George, 95 Ariz. 366, 390 P.2d 899 (1964). With this in mind the following facts are revealed by the record. Defendant returned to the home of Bennett around 11:00 P.M., carrying a partially consumed bottle of vodka, and admitted to Bennett that he had shot and killed his wife. He asked Bennett to help him get out of town, but Bennett refused. The defendant then threatened Bennett, and was thrown out of the house. Shortly thereafter, Dana Lottridge, Bennett's next door neighbor, arrived
home and found defendant sprawled on her front porch. She told him to get up and he replied, "Evy is that you?" When Mrs. Lottridge answered in the negative the defendant said, "That is right, it couldn't be Evy, I shot her and killed her." The defendant was then helped into his car and drove away.
Around 11:30 P. M. Officers Stephens and Raughan of the Phoenix Police Department observed the defendant's vehicle being driven without lights and weaving all over the road. They stopped the car and asked defendant to step out, and when he did it was apparent that he was intoxicated. The officers placed the defendant in their patrol car, and advised him that he had the right to remain silent and that he could call an attorney. They then proceeded to administer a "Visual Test" to determine whether he was driving under the influence of intoxicants. After concluding that the defendant was operating his vehicle while under the influence of liquor the officers took him to the police station, and there administered a "Breathalyzer Test", the result of which showed that defendant had 0.38 per cent alcoholic content in his blood.
Before the "Breathalyzer Test" was administered, however, Officer Stephens asked the defendant a question. Stephens had noticed some bloodstains on the defendant's shirt when he was first picked up, and now asked the defendant where they came from. Defendant stated that his wife had her teeth pulled and had been crying on his shoulder. After the "Breathalyzer Test" was completed Officer Stephens asked the defendant if he wished to call an attorney or his wife, to which the defendant answered, "She is dead, she had been dead for a long, long time."<
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