 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Golphin8/25/2000
ed back toward them. The other officer came toward him, pushed him up against the Camry, and patted him down. The officer then walked with him back toward the trooper's car where Kevin and the trooper were on the ground struggling. Tilmon said he heard Kevin say that he could not breathe. The trooper then told the other officer to spray Kevin with pepper spray. The officer sprayed Kevin and then turned to spray Tilmon. Tilmon knocked the canister from the officer's hand and ran back toward the Camry. He got the rifle from the backseat of the car. Tilmon said he pointed the rifle directly at the other officer who was about nine to twelve feet away; looked him right in the eyes; and shot him. Tilmon said the other officer appeared to be dead. He then walked over to where the trooper was on top of Kevin, aimed at the trooper's side, and shot him. Tilmon said he aimed at the trooper's side because he did not want to kill him. Tilmon then ran over to the other officer, took the handgun from his holster, and went to the driver's side of the Camry. He and Kevin drove north on I-95 for a few miles, then exited and switched places. Tilmon stated he shot at the tires of a vehicle that had been following them. He and Kevin then continued driving north on I-95 and were captured a short while later after they were chased by other police cars.
Tilmon originally stated that he had not fired a gun that day but later admitted that he "probably had" shot a gun but could not remember doing so. Subsequently, Tilmon was able to recount how the rifle "jumped" as he shot the trooper. Tilmon also made no mention of the use of pepper spray by either officer but later remembered that the trooper told the other officer to spray Kevin. Additionally, Tilmon said nothing about his encounter with Waters during the first portion of his interview, but later described shooting at the tires of the Jeep in detail.
Autopsies were performed on the bodies of Trooper Lowry and Deputy Hathcock. Three .40-caliber bullets that were fired from Trooper Lowry's handgun were recovered from his body along with a 7.62-millimeter bullet fired from the SKS rifle. An additional 7.62-millimeter bullet was found inside the body bag used to transport Trooper Lowry's body. Trooper Lowry was shot at least seven and possibly eight times, with several gunshots coming from close range. Trooper Lowry suffered potentially fatal wounds from both weapons. One .40-caliber bullet fired from Trooper Lowry's handgun and two 7.62-millimeter bullets fired from the SKS rifle were recovered from Deputy Hathcock's body. Deputy Hathcock suffered four gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen and one gunshot wound to his wrist. Any of the four wounds to his chest and abdomen would have been fatal. Those wounds were made by both .40-caliber and 7.62-millimeter bullets.
PRETRIAL ISSUES
By assignments of error, both Kevin and Tilmon argue the trial court violated their federal and state constitutional rights to be present at every stage of their capital trial when it ruled the jury would be drawn from a special venire from Johnston County. Specifically, defendants claim they should have been present during out-of-court meetings relating to change of venue or a special venire. Defendants argue the right to be present includes the right to be present during the meetings concerning venue because the discussions were substantially related to the fullness of their rights to defend against the charges. See United States v. Gagnon, 470 U.S. 522, 526, 84 L. Ed. 2d 486, 490 (1985). Defendants further argue that because the meetings involved venue for jury selection and trial, they were particularly critical to defendants, and not merely administrative as in S
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 North Carolina DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|