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Rupert v. State6/29/1999
A jury found Curly Rupert guilty of aggravated assault in the shooting of Randy Mote. Rupert appeals, contending that the trial court erred in allowing the introduction of character evidence and improper impeachment evidence. For reasons which follow, we affirm.
Zealpha Rupert, the defendant's wife, worked for the Georgia Building Authority. Randy Mote also worked for the Georgia Building Authority, but earned additional money doing odd jobs for co-workers and their family members. On several occasions, Mote worked for the Rupert family. The defendant knew Mote who, a few weeks before the shooting, had painted Rupert's bedroom. On April 6, 1996, Zealpha hired him to paint their kitchen.
After meeting at Home Depot, Zealpha and Mote returned to the Ruperts' house, and Mote began painting the kitchen. Shortly thereafter, Rupert returned home. According to his wife, he had been drinking and "was staggering, holding to the wall." Rupert went into a bedroom and came out approximately one hour later. There was conflicting testimony regarding what transpired next.
According to Mote , Rupert shot him in the leg, then accused him of being a burglar. Mote then grabbed a hammer from the dining room table and began hitting Rupert.
Zealpha, on the other hand, testified that her husband told Mote to leave and that when he did not comply, Rupert shot him in the leg. According to Zealpha, Rupert then turned and shot her in the leg. Zealpha claims that she tried to take the gun away from Rupert and that she asked Mote for help, at which time Mote began hitting Rupert with a hammer.
Rupert, testifying on his own behalf, claimed Zealpha and Mote were involved in an illicit relationship. According to Rupert, several weeks before the shooting, he had caught the two naked in his bedroom in flagrante delicto. Thus, when he saw Mote at his house on April 6, he asked him to leave. Rupert testified that Mote then came towards him with a hammer, and he shot Mote. Rupert further testified that he and his wife began fighting over the gun, at which point both Rupert and Zealpha were shot in the leg. Rupert stated that he had not been drinking the day of the shooting.
Zealpha, Mote and Rupert were taken to Grady Hospital, where Detective Wright of the DeKalb County Police Department attempted to interview them. Although Wright was able to take statements from Zealpha and Mote, he did not attempt to interview Rupert because of the "very strong odor of alcohol" about him and because of his injuries.
1. In his first enumeration of error, Rupert contends the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce evidence of his use of alcohol. According to Rupert, the testimony of his wife and children regarding his chronic drunkenness placed his character in evidence. This claim of error lacks merit.
(a) First, Rupert complains that the trial court erred in admitting his wife's testimony. Zealpha's testimony regarding her husband's drinking was as follows:
Q: "How would you describe your husband's health?" A: "Bad. Go to the doctor regular, for alcoholic. Rupert did not object to this testimony." Q: "What does [Rupert] do while he is at home, do you know?" A: "Sit around, drink all day."
Rupert objected to this testimony on the grounds that Zealpha was out of the house during the day and, thus, had no basis for knowing what Rupert did.
Q: "When you come home, back when you and [Rupert] were living together, when you would come home and [Rupert] was staying at home, what condition would you find in?"
Rupert objected to this question on the grounds that it was too broad. The trial court
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