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Roberts v. Commonwealth2/6/2001
, 1996, Willie Burns was driving a Ford Escort in which Hartley was shot and killed while a front seat passenger. Chansey Fasano was a rear seat passenger in the car.
Burns testified that he started dating Hartley about a month before her death. Prior thereto, she dated and lived with appellant. About two weeks before the murder, Burns was present when Hartley told appellant she no longer wanted to be with him, she wanted to be with Burns. Burns explained how, on September 12, 1996, appellant recognized him driving Hartley and Fasano through town and followed them in his white Mitsubishi 3000GT. Burns tried to elude appellant, but was unable to do so. Appellant followed Burns onto an entrance ramp to Interstate 81. When appellant's car approached Burns' car from the right side, Hartley yelled out that appellant had a gun. Seconds later, Burns heard a gunshot, and Hartley fell over beside him.
Fasano corroborated Burns' account of how appellant followed and chased them. Fasano heard the fatal gunshot and saw Hartley slump over onto Burns' shoulder.
Carey Davis met and spoke with appellant in the afternoon on the day of the murder. Davis and Hartley conversed for a short time. When Davis indicated she had to go, appellant said, "'I have got to find that crazy-ass Kathy.'" Appellant also told Davis, "'One of the these days I am going to kill that girl.'"
A few days before the murder, appellant visited Susan French, a special prosecutor for the City of Winchester. French testified that appellant was concerned that Hartley had become associated with persons dealing in illegal drugs and had again become addicted to crack cocaine. Appellant offered to work undercover. French wrote down the information and said she would contact local authorities. French testified that appellant told her that " omebody had better get it under control" and that, "if somebody didn't get it under control," and if "Kathy didn't get off the drugs," appellant "was going to have to kill Kathy."
Two days before the murder, James Jackson visited Hartley, a former co-worker. Appellant was present. Jackson testified that appellant "had a gun." When Hartley walked Jackson to the door so he could leave, appellant " urned the gun" at Hartley.
Douglas Delagaetano, a forensic scientist, tested evidence collected from appellant's car by police. He found gunshot residue from samples taken from the steering wheel and on the driver's side doorpost.
Sometime before 10:00 p.m. on the day of the murder, appellant left a note for his son at Melissa Thomas' house. The note read, in pertinent part,
I leave you all my worldly belongings. Please be good and always remember not to be bad like me.
The day after the murder, Robert Moore recognized a newspaper photograph of the Escort driven by Burns, so he contacted authorities to report an incident he witnessed the previous day while driving. He testified that, around 6:40 p.m. on September 12, 1996, a sports car resembling appellant's passed him on the right shoulder of an interstate entrance ramp. Moore described the driver as a fair-skinned African-American man. Once on the highway, the car pulled behind a car resembling the one driven by Burns. Moore looked down at his dashboard, then "heard a pop." Moore then saw the Escort swerve from the travel lane to the shoulder and back while the car resembling appellant's car sped away.
Appellant has failed to prove there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence of the criminal charges against Moore been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. See Bagley, 473 U.S. at 682. Moore's testimony w
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