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State v. Penland7/31/1996
WHICHARD, Justice.
Defendant was tried capitally for the first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense, and first-degree kidnapping of Vernice Alford. He was also charged with conspiracy to commit rape and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. The jury found defendant guilty on all but the conspiracy charges and recommended a sentence of death for the first-degree murder. The trial court sentenced defendant accordingly on the murder charge and sentenced defendant to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for the rape and sexual offense and to a forty-year term for the kidnapping. Defendant appeals from his convictions and sentences. We hold that defendant received a fair trial, free of prejudicial error, and that the sentence of death is not disproportionate.
The State's evidence tended to show that on 30 November 1992, defendant and his two nineteen-year-old twin nephews, Gary Sapp and Larry Sapp, Jr., left defendant's trailer to go deer hunting. They stopped at a convenience store, at a pool hall, at a Waffle House, and at the Darrell and Sherry Fultz residence. Defendant then drove to Winston-Salem and picked up the victim, Vernice Alford, a waitress and prostitute. He drove to a logging road in Stokes County where he engaged in sexual acts with her. After ordering the Sapp brothers to tie the victim to a tree, defendant assaulted her with a knife and left her there.
The victim died of internal and external bleeding caused by multiple stab wounds. Although vaginal swabs and smears showed the presence of sperm cells, State Bureau of Investigation crime laboratory serologist P.D. Deaver testified that there was not a sufficient quantity of sperm to perform DNA testing.
In the area surrounding the site where the body was found, investigators recovered a Magna brand cigarette butt and a no-name cigarette with a gold ring around the filter, a length of yellow and black cord wrapped loosely around a clump of small trees, an empty forty-ounce King Cobra beer bottle, an empty package of Monarch 100 cigarettes, and footprints from two different pairs of shoes. One print was made by a tennis shoe bearing the brand "Pony" on the sole, like the shoes the victim had worn. The other print was made either by a woman's shoe with a heel or by a cowboy boot. Chips of green paint and tire tracks were also found.
Based on statements made by the Sapp brothers, investigators arrested defendant and searched his residence area. They recovered a green pickup truck whose paint and tires were consistent with the paint chips and tire tracks found in the area of the logging road. They also recovered a pair of handcuffs hanging on a gun rack in the rear of the truck's cab. Fibers found on the handcuffs were consistent with fibers taken from the victim's blue jean jacket. Officers also seized a pair of cowboy boots that defendant put on as he was escorted from the residence.
Like defendant, the Sapp brothers were charged with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual assault, conspiracy to commit rape, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Larry Sapp, Jr., testified that on the night of the murder, defendant was wearing cowboy boots, Larry was wearing black shoes, and Gary was wearing tennis shoes. Larry and Gary both smoked Magna cigarettes, whereas defendant smoked Monarch 100s, which have a gold band.
Gary Sapp testified that on 30 November 1992, he and defendant traded their aluminum cans for money at the recycling center in Kernersville. On the way back to the Sapps' trailer, defendant's wife bought five forty-ounce bottles of Magnum beer. Defendant and Gary each drank two bottles, an
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