Smith v. State

1

Nicholas Noelani D. Smith v. State of Alabama

No. CR-2022-0504

Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

June 28, 2024

Appeal from Calhoun Circuit Court (CC-11-494.80)

COLE JUDGE

Nicholas Noelani D. Smith appeals the death sentence imposed on him after his second penalty-phase proceeding.

Facts and Procedural History

The facts presented in support of Smith's conviction have been summarized by this Court, in part, as follows:

"On the night of April 20, 2011, Kevin Thompson was speaking on the telephone to Chris Wilkerson, his friend when he heard someone at his front door. Thompson opened the door. Wilkerson heard Thompson say, '"I didn't know you was bringing all these people with you."' (R. 1157.) Then, the telephone call was disconnected. Wilkerson dialed Thompson's telephone number and Thompson answered. The telephone call was brief, with Thompson telling Wilkerson that he would call him right back. A few hours passed without Thompson returning the telephone call. Worried, Wilkerson telephoned Thompson repeatedly around midnight, but Thompson did not answer.

"Thompson's absence from his position as a teacher at Wellborn Elementary School was noticed early the following morning.... Multiple individuals attempted to contact Thompson by telephone to no avail. Deputy Brendan Harris of the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office, the school's resource officer, was dispatched to an address to conduct a welfare check. The address, though, led Deputy Harris to the residence of Thompson's mother and sister, Frances and Rena Curry. Deputy Harris was able to make contact with Rena Curry and expressed to her the concern the staff at the elementary school had regarding Thompson's absence.

"Rena Curry telephoned her mother and then drove to Thompson's apartment. Two things stood out to Rena Curry upon her arrival. First, Thompson's vehicle, a silver Honda Civic, was not in the parking lot. Second, and more peculiar, was a single shoe, which she believed belonged to Thompson, lying in the parking lot. The front door to Thompson's apartment was unlocked, and Rena Curry did not notice anything amiss inside.

"Frances Curry telephoned the Jacksonville Police Department and asked that an officer meet her at Thompson's apartment. An officer responded to Thompson's apartment and briefly investigated before leaving. In Frances Curry's opinion, law enforcement seemed unconcerned about Thompson's whereabouts.

"Undeterred, Frances Curry continued her search for her son. Frances Curry telephoned Thompson's bank and learned that several withdrawals had been made from Thompson's account the previous night at various financial institutions. Frances Curry again contacted the Jacksonville Police Department to inform them of the account activity.

"Officers obtained surveillance footage from the area credit unions and banks where withdrawals had been made that corresponded with the times of activity on Thompson's account. Video from the Jacksonville branch of the Farmers &Merchants Bank depicted a silver vehicle arriving at 10:19 p.m. A man wearing a baseball cap bearing a script 'A' made multiple withdrawals from the bank's automatic-teller machine ('ATM'). In an apparent attempt to obscure his identity, the man held his left arm across his face; the attempt, though, made visible a distinct tattoo on the man's left hand. The video also appeared to depict a passenger in the front seat of the vehicle aiming a rifle toward the backseat of the vehicle. Photographs from the Jacksonville branch of the Ft. McClellan Credit Union depicted what appeared to be the same man make a withdrawal from the ATM at 10:26 p.m. Photographs from the Anniston branch of the Ft. McClellan Credit Union depicted a silver vehicle and a dark-colored sport-utility vehicle arrive at 12:13 a.m. on April 21. There, a man walked up to the ATM and made a withdrawal. Officers presented photographs generated from the surveillance footage to Frances Curry and Rena Curry to see if an identification could be made. Rena Curry was able to identify Tyrone Thompson. Rena Curry explained that Tyrone Thompson was a family acquaintance whom Thompson had known since the two were children. Thompson had recently made contact with Tyrone Thompson after Tyrone Thompson's latest release from incarceration....

"Investigator Clint Parris of the Anniston Police Department located Tyrone Thompson, and he agreed to be interviewed. During an interview with Investigator Parris and Investigator Joseph Martin of the Jacksonville Police Department, Tyrone Thompson identified Smith as being involved with Thompson's disappearance.

"Meanwhile, Cynthia Warf, who had been visiting her husband, Andrew Jones, at the hospital, returned to her residence to find multiple individuals in her husband's garage. Warf saw Jessica Foster, her daughter; Whitney Ledlow; Smith; and two other males, who were later identified as Blake Hamilton and Teddy Lee Smith, in the garage with a silver vehicle.... Smith had telephoned Ledlow at 3:00 a.m that morning to ask Foster if he could park his friend's vehicle at Warf's house and Foster had agreed. When Smith met with Ledlow and Foster later that morning, Smith told them he needed someone to 'chop' the vehicle. At Ledlow's request, Hamilton and Teddy Lee Smith agreed to take the vehicle apart for scrap.

"Warf, assuming that the vehicle had been stolen, told the individuals to remove the vehicle from the garage and threatened to telephone law enforcement. As she walked back to her residence, the individuals fled; Ledlow, Foster, and Smith went in search of a trailer to remove the vehicle which by this point was not operable. Warf telephoned her husband about the silver vehicle in his garage and he telephoned law enforcement. When officers arrived at the garage, it was apparent that the silver vehicle was in the process of being dismantled. Assistant Chief Bill Wineman of the Jacksonville Police Department testified that the silver vehicle was registered to Thompson.

"Ledlow, Foster, and Smith planned to return to Warf's house, tow the vehicle away, and burn it. That plan was abandoned, though, because they saw a number of police vehicles as they neared Warf's house. Smith told Ledlow and Foster that they 'were deeper in it than [they] thought,' so they drove away. (R. 849.) Ledlow and Foster decided to travel to Carrollton, Georgia, to give themselves time to consider their next step. Ledlow stated that she did not know what Smith had done to Thompson and described Smith's behavior during the trip to Carrollton as 'perfectly fine.' (R. 853.) In Carrollton, Ledlow rented a motel room for the night. There, Smith admitted to Ledlow and Foster that he had been involved in a murder with Tyrone Thompson and Jovon Dwayne Gaston. Smith detailed for them the crime and generally described the location of Thompson's body. Ledlow testified that she was initially incredulous because Smith was so calm. The three then went to a Walmart retail store to purchase clothes and toiletries. Ledlow playfully struck Smith in the arm while at the store and Smith responded, '[D]on't you know you don't punch a killer.' (R. 857.)

"The following day, Warf contacted Investigator Parris and informed him that Smith's black Ford Explorer sportutility vehicle was parked in a parking lot near her house. She also told Investigator Parris that Foster, Ledlow, and Smith were likely traveling in a GMC Yukon sport-utility vehicle that belonged to her son. Meanwhile, Smith was making arrangements to enter a drug-rehabilitation program in Florida. Ledlow, Foster, and Smith left the motel in Carrollton and traveled to the airport in Atlanta. On the way, Ledlow saw a number of police vehicles following them. When she parked near the taxi terminal at the airport, officers swarmed their vehicle and took the three into custody.

"A search of the Yukon yielded a camera, which Foster admitted was taken from Thompson's vehicle. Officers also found a black baseball cap with a script 'A,' which appeared to match the hat that was captured by the ATM surveillance footage. Ledlow also admitted to taking a ring from Thompson's vehicle, which she pawned for $200. Ledlow and Foster provided lengthy statements to officers following their arrest, and Ledlow consented to a search of her property. Officers recovered several items of evidentiary value on Ledlow's property. From an exterior trash can, officers recovered: a pair of Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes, which had dried mud and vegetation stuck on the soles and several reddish-brown stains on the uppers; cardboard packaging for duct tape; a nearly expended roll of gray duct tape; and a t-shirt wrapped around a serrated steak knife, which appeared to bear a mixture of dried blood and mud on the blade and handle. Inside Ledlow's house, officers recovered: a pair of COOGI brand denim jeans, which bore dried mud; and a pair of boxer shorts, which bore red stains. Subsequent DNA testing established that the bloodstains found on the jeans, knife, and basketball shoes were consistent with Thompson's DNA. Smith was listed as a potential contributor for DNA found inside the basketball shoes, and DNA on the inside of the jeans was consistent with Smith's DNA.

"Officers obtained information that Thompson's body had been disposed of down an embankment near a set of guardrails on U.S. Highway 278. Based on that description, Investigator Seth Rochester of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office was able to locate Thompson's body in the early morning hours of April 23. Thompson's wrists were bound with duct tape, and a subsequent analysis of the tape revealed that the tape was consistent with the tape found in Ledlow's trash can.

"The injuries suffered by Thompson were substantial. Dr. Emily Ward, a state

...