State v. Davenport

871 S.E.2d 581 (Table)

STATE of North Carolina

v.Travis Lamont DAVENPORT, Defendant.

No. COA20-628

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

Filed May 3, 2022

Attorney General Joshua H. Stein, by Deputy Chief of Staff David L. Elliott, for the State-appellee.

Appellate Defender Glenn Gerding, by Assistant Appellate Defender Amanda S. Zimmer, for defendant-appellant.

GORE, Judge.

¶ 1 On 29 April 2019, Travis Davenport ("defendant") was tried on indictments alleging first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and attaining habitual felon status. On 3 May 2019, a jury returned guilty verdicts against defendant for first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon. The State dismissed the habitual felon indictments. The trial court sentenced defendant to imprisonment for life without possibility of parole for murder and a consecutive 97-129 months’ imprisonment for robbery. Defendant entered oral notice of appeal in open court. Upon review, this Court reverses the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to dismiss the charge of robbery with a dangerous weapon and concludes that defendant is entitled to a new trial for the charge of first-degree murder.

I. Background

A. Missed Medical Appointment

¶ 2 On the morning of 19 January 2016, Mike Griffin¹ had a medical appointment at a DaVita dialysis center in Williamston, North Carolina. Mike was a diabetic and dialysis patient, and had never missed a dialysis appointment. Craig Daniels drove a van part-time for Martin County public transportation and arrived at Mike's home at around 5:20 a.m. to pick him up. When Daniels arrived, a black man wearing dark clothing came out and said, "didn't need a ride."

¶ 3 When Mike missed his appointment, a concerned DaVita employee called the police to conduct a well-being check. A police officer arrived at Mike's home at approximately 9:30 a.m., checked around the house, spoke with neighbors, and then conducted a forced entry by kicking in the front door. Officers found Mike dead on the front room floor covered in blood. Mike's home was mostly neat and orderly, with few signs of a struggle beyond the area where his body was. Mike's wallet and cellphone were not found at the scene.

¶ 4 As people gathered outside, Mike's niece, Mooncey Griffin, approached officers and identified defendant as a suspect. She believed that defendant killed her uncle Mike because defendant and Mike were in a volatile romantic relationship, and there had been recent domestic issues between the two men.

B. The Day Before and Early Morning

¶ 5 William Thomas Edwards ("Tommy"), occasionally drove people around town for extra money. The day before Mike's death on 18 January 2016, Tommy picked up Mike between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to run errands. At about 7:30 p.m., Tommy brought Mike to Mooncey's house so Mike could give her money to buy lottery tickets. Mike gave Mooncey ten dollars, and she observed he had a lot of money in his wallet. Mike later called Mooncey between 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and said, "Dianne to the house," then quickly ended the conversation. At trial, Mooncey said "Dianne" was a codename for defendant, because "[defendant] was on probation and didn't like for people to know he was in town."

¶ 6 Officers later learned that Mike allegedly conducted a drug deal between 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. that night. Mike was a known drug dealer in Williamston, and officers found what appeared to be cocaine in Mike's dialysis bag, sock, and the bread box in Mike's kitchen.

¶ 7 At about 9:40 p.m., Mike received a call from defendant's telephone number. At 10:00 p.m., Mike called Tommy and asked him to pick up a man from Mike's house. Tommy later told the State Bureau of Investigation ("SBI") that when he arrived at Mike's house, it appeared that Mike and the man were arguing. Tommy observed the man was a black male a little larger than himself, with tattoos all over his face, and he was wearing a "nice jogging suit, white, trimmed in red, with a hood on it." Tommy took the man to a trailer park off U.S. 64.

¶ 8 Around midnight, Tommy received multiple calls from Mike and a telephone number unfamiliar to him. Between 12:09 a.m. and 12:39 a.m. on 19 January 2016, records showed multiple calls between Mike and defendant's telephone number. Tommy spoke to the man calling from defendant's telephone number and agreed to take him to Mike's house. Tommy arrived at 1:15 a.m., and the man was still wearing a white jogging suit. The man told Tommy that he had been incarcerated for thirteen years. Tommy testified he saw Mike and the man arguing after he dropped him off but could not hear what they were saying. Tommy did not identify the man in a lineup and did not identify defendant in court as the person he picked up or dropped off at Mike's house.

¶ 9 Defendant told police that he was at his mother's house the night Mike was killed, and that it had been a month since he had contact with Mike. Defendant's mother and sister told police that they saw defendant in his bedroom at around midnight, and he was there when they woke up at about 6:00 a.m. on the morning Mike was killed.

C. Gang Involvement, Prior Incarceration, and Tattoos

¶ 10 At trial, Mike's other niece, Marion Knight, testified that defendant told her he had been in prison in Virginia. The trial court overruled defense counsel's objection to this testimony on grounds that it was "offered simply for the purposes of identification to be established later" and that the jury was "not to hold the fact against [defendant] that he may or may not have been in prison." Marion testified that defendant had tattoos on his face, but she did not describe them. Photos of defendant's tattoos, including enlarged photos, were admitted into evidence. Using a projector, the State displayed a photo of one tattoo located on defendant's nose that read, "fuck you." The State presented additional photos of tattoos located on defendant's arms, legs, back, neck, and chest.

¶ 11 Mooncey testified that at one point, defendant and Mike had "got into a little fuss and a little fight." The two men were arguing and got into a physical altercation, and Mike pulled a knife on defendant. Mooncey later called defendant at the behest of her uncle Mike. She recalled that defendant said, "That mother fucker pulled a blade on me, and I am Blood. I'm not the same Travis I used to be, and that's against my gang religion, someone pulling a weapon on me[.]" Defendant further remarked, "If I had my banger I would've did that mother fucker dirty." Mooncey stated that the word "banger" is the slang term for "gun." Defendant said, "If that mother fucker pull out a blade on me again I will do that mother fucker dirty." Mooncey understood the term, to "do him dirty," meant to "kill him." However, Mooncey never witnessed any violence between Mike and defendant.

D. Other Evidence at Trial

¶ 12 Mike's autopsy revealed "multiple sharp force injuries of the neck, and he had approximately eight stab wounds in the face and neck," along with additional superficial incised wounds on his face, hands, chest, and abdomen. Mike died from a stab wound that went through his cheek and severed the left common carotid artery. The medical examiner was unable to determine the precise time of death but estimated it was 2-4 hours before Mike's body was found. Investigators found a knife soaking in the kitchen sink but were unable to determine whether it was the murder weapon. A bloody fingerprint was found in the kitchen, but it lacked sufficient detail for comparison. Defendant's DNA was not found in Mike's house, and no one witnessed the murder.

E. Jailhouse Snitch

¶ 13 Jeffery Harrison was serving a prison sentence at Central Prison where he met defendant. Harrison was a habitual felon with multiple infractions including "possession of stolen goods, forgery and uttering, obtaining property with false pretense, and assault on a government official." Harrison testified that he asked defendant, "You the one that killed my friend, Mike Griffin?" Harrison had previously bought cocaine from Mike, informed on him, and they spent time together in prison.

¶ 14 Harrison wrote to the prosecutor in a letter dated 30 October 2016, "I am writing you with information. I am roommates with the man that killed Michael Griffin. This man gave me detailed information concerning this murder. Set up a visit with me, and I will provide you this information." In another letter dated 28 November 2016, Harrison wrote again stating, "I am willing to testify against [defendant]." Harrison wanted to facilitate a transfer to another prison closer to where his mother could visit him, but he testified that the prosecutor did not assist him with a transfer in exchange for testifying against defendant.

¶ 15 Harrison did not provide specific details about Mike's death. He testified that defendant was having sex with Mike to steal $10,000 and buy a kilo of cocaine. Defendant allegedly returned from purchasing the drugs and discovered that Mike was cheating on him with another man. However, the timing of the drug purchase was unclear, as Harrison later testified that defendant went to Virginia to buy a kilo of cocaine after Mike was found dead, not before.

¶ 16 An SBI agent testified that during an interview, Harrison said that defendant said, "I killed the faggot, but I'm going to beat it due to Martin County not liking Mike because he's a faggot and a drug dealer." While Harrison testified that defendant never told him how Mike was killed, he knew that defendant killed Mike with his bare hands. Harrison further testified that defendant was both "glad that he did it," but also remorseful in that "[h]e stated that he wished he hadn't killed Mike." Harrison stated that he could hear defendant screaming in his cell every night.

II. Motions to Dismiss

¶ 17 Defendant first argues the trial court erred in denying his motions to dismiss the charges for robbery and first-degree murder. We address these arguments in turn.

A. ...