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Wilks v. State7/3/2002
A jury convicted Ryan Wilks of second-degree murder for the shooting death of a Pizza Hut delivery woman. This case comes before us as a writ of review *fn2 of Mr. Wilks' judgment and sentence. He claims multiple evidentiary errors, prosecutorial misconduct, insufficient evidence, and an excessive sentence. Finding either no error or harmless error in connection with his trial and sentence, we affirm.
ISSUES
[ ] Mr. Wilks presents these issues for our review:
I. Did the trial court err in allowing victim impact testimony and victim impact argument from the prosecution?
II. Did the trial court err in permitting improper, irrelevant and prejudicial character evidence concerning [Mr. Wilks]?
III. Did the trial court err in permitting speculative evidence from a layperson that [Mr. Wilks] was not intoxicated shortly before the death of the victim?
IV. Did the prosecutor commit prosecutorial misconduct in closing argument?
V. Was there insufficient evidence to convict [Mr. Wilks] of murder in the second degree?
VI. Did the trial court abuse its discretion in sentencing [Mr. Wilks] to 70 years to life in the Wyoming State Penitentiary?
The State of Wyoming phrases the issues as:
I. Does the record in [Mr. Wilks'] case contain plain error relating to victim impact testimony or argument?
II. Was any error arising from the district court's evidentiary rulings harmless?
III. Did the district court properly admit lay testimony that [Mr. Wilks] was not intoxicated shortly before he killed his victim?
IV. Does the record in [Mr. Wilks'] case contain prosecutorial misconduct amounting to plain error?
V. Does the record in [Mr. Wilks'] case contain sufficient evidence to sustain [his] conviction?
VI. Did the district court abuse its discretion at sentencing, where [Mr. Wilks'] sentence was within the statutory limits?
FACTS
[ ] On January 5, 2000, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Mr. Wilks ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut. The victim delivered the pizza to his residence. Pizza Hut employees became concerned when the victim failed to return from the delivery. Two co-employees went to search for her, and, upon arrival at the delivery residence, they observed her car with its engine running. The victim was lying in a pool of blood next to her pizza delivery bag clutching $13 in her hand. A loaded .38 caliber gun was lying on the floor in Mr. Wilks' kitchen. A pathologist testified that the victim died from a single, very close-range gunshot wound in the right cheek. Mr. Wilks was apprehended at his father's home and arrested the following day.
[ ] Mr. Wilks did not testify at trial. However, even though the trial court suppressed his statement given to the police, he voluntarily introduced the statement into evidence. *fn3 In his statement, Mr. Wilks related how he endured a succession of employment failures and began to spiral downward into depression. He seldom left his apartment and admitted he drank heavily. He had a distant relationship with his family and had no friends. He reached his breaking point and on January 5, 2000, decided to end his life. He claimed he drank alcohol throughout the entire day and attempted to buy a gun but was unwilling to withstand the required waiting period. He took his father's gun from the family home and called a local hotel to inquire about a room rate. He wanted to avoid committing suicide in his apartment out of respect for his landlord. However, he could not afford a room and instead chose to order his last meal from Pizza Hut.
[ ] According to Mr. Wilks, when the victim arrived at his resi
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