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State v. Henderson3/7/2001
On April 6, 1992, the Blount County Grand Jury indicted Appellants James Henderson Dellinger and Gary Wayne Sutton for one count each of first- degree murder in the death of Tommy Griffin. Following a jury trial, the Appellants were convicted of first degree murder. After a subsequent sentencing hearing the jury imposed the death penalty on both appellants. They raise thirty five alleged errors concerning both the guilt and sentencing phase of their trial. After a review of the entire record we have concluded there is no reversible error and we therefore AFFIRM the verdict.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court is Affirmed.
Jerry Smith, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which James Curwood Witt, Jr., J.concur, Paul G. Summers, J., not participating.
OPINION
I. FACTS
Stella Griffin Whitted testified that she was the sister of the victims in this case, Tommy Griffin and Connie Branam. She testified that her brother had been twenty-four years old at the time of his death and had walked with a pronounced limp due to an earlier amputation of one of his legs. She also testified that her sister was thirty-three years old at the time of her death.
Jamie Carr testified that she was working as a barmaid at Howie's Hideaway Lounge in Maryville, Tennessee on February 21, 1992. Carr stated that during her shift, Appellants and an individual whom she later learned was Tommy Griffin arrived in a dark blue Camaro or Trans Am. The three men sat in a booth and began drinking beer.
Terri Newman testified that when she arrived for work at Howie's Hideaway on February 21, 1992, a blue Camaro or Grand Prix was parked in her parking space. When Newman entered the establishment, she saw Appellants and Griffin drinking beer and shooting pool. Newman stated that the three men left Howie's Hideaway at approximately 7:00 p.m.
Cynthia Walker testified that on February 21, 1992, she and Kevin Walker were returning to Knoxville from Maryville when she saw a dark- colored Camaro parked in the emergency lane of the Alcoa Highway. Ms. Walker stated that she thought there might have been a fight because it appeared that someone was being pulled from the passenger side of the Camaro.
Kevin Walker testified that he had also seen the altercation that occurred in and around a dark-colored Camaro that had only one headlight. Mr. Walker stated that after he saw a person who was outside of the Camaro fighting with a person who was inside the Camaro, he used his radio to report the incident to Blount County authorities. Mr. Walker stated that the incident happened at approximately 7:00 p.m.
Sharon Davis testified that she and her family had also been driving along Alcoa Highway at approximately 7:00 p.m. on February 21, 1992, when she noticed a man on the side of the road who was not wearing a shirt or shoes and who appeared to be stumbling around. Davis stated that she and her family traveled approximately one mile down the road to eat at the Waffle House, and upon their return, she saw a dark-colored Camaro that was near the place where she had seen the man who was not wearing a shirt or shoes. Davis also saw two men by the Camaro who appeared to be searching for something or someone.
Sandra Hicks testified that while she was working as a dispatcher at 7:11 p.m. on February 21, 1992, she received a report about a fight involving some people in a black or dark-colored Camaro. Hicks then dispatched Officer Steven Brooks to investigate.
Officer Steven Brooks of the Alcoa, Tennessee Police Department testified that he received the dispatch about a possib
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