IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT NASHVILLE

February 11, 2003 Session

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. LOUIS G. TURNER

Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court for Davidson County

No. 2000-D-2235 Seth Norman, Judge

No. M2002-01000-CCA-R3-CD - Filed March 7, 2003

The defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence after being convicted by a Davidson

County jury of premeditated first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. We affirm the

judgment of the trial court.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court Affirmed

JOE G. RILEY, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JOSEPH M. TIPTON and THOMAS T.

WOODALL, JJ., joined.

Cynthia M. Fort (on appeal) and G. Wayne Davis (at trial), Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant,

Louis G. Turner. 

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Helena Walton Yarbrough, Assistant Attorney

General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Jason W. Lawless and Lisa Naylor,

Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

FACTS

It is undisputed that on September 4, 2000, the defendant killed the victim, Troy Bender,

after shooting him ten times with a pistol. The defendant knew the victim prior to the homicide.

They had several confrontations prior to this date and were not on friendly terms.

The state’s proof indicated that Jenika Woodruff, her brother, and Clifford Jackson were at

the Texaco station on Gallatin Pike in Davidson County at approximately 6:00 p.m. on September

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th

. They were awaiting the arrival of Woodruff’s boyfriend, Jason Wilson. The defendant, who

knew Woodruff and Jackson, arrived at the station in a vehicle along with his passenger, Troy

Stanton. Jackson then got into the defendant’s vehicle.

Thomeka Howard, victim Troy Bender’s girlfriend, was driving her black Camaro in which

Bender was a passenger. The black Camaro was similar to a black Camaro customarily driven by
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Jason Wilson. Howard parked her vehicle in front of the Texaco station and entered the station to

purchase bread. Upon her returning to the vehicle, Bender, still in the passenger seat, requested that

she go back into the station and purchase cigarettes. Howard testified that while she was bending

down on the driver’s side getting money from Bender, she heard numerous shots. Bender, who

never got out of the passenger seat, was struck by ten bullets in the back and side and died as the

result of his wounds. Bender did not have a weapon. Subsequently, two one dollar bills were found

by an officer in the floorboard of the vehicle.

Woodruff testified that just prior to the shooting, she observed the defendant “creep” around

the back of Howard’s vehicle “in a slow walk” and approach the passenger side. Woodruff, Texaco

customer Jaquelyn Mullin, and defendant’s passenger Troy Stanton testified the defendant then

pulled his shirt up over his face prior to firing numerous shots into the vehicle. These shots

shattered the glass of the passenger window. The witnesses stated the defendant then ran to his own

vehicle, which at that time was being driven by Clifford Jackson. The vehicle fled the scene.

According to the testimony of Troy Stanton, the defendant and Stanton were to purchase

marijuana from Clifford Jackson at the Texaco station. Stanton said that when Howard’s vehicle

pulled onto the lot, the defendant told Stanton, “there go dude right there.” The defendant then

instructed Stanton to get into the back seat; the defendant secured a pistol from the front seat; and

Jackson sat in the driver’s seat. The defendant then proceeded to Howard’s vehicle and fired

numerous shots. Upon returning to his vehicle, the defendant told Stanton he gave the victim a

“dome shot,” meaning a shot to the head. When Stanton asked the defendant why he shot Bender,

the defendant stated Bender had previously tried to rob him. The defendant made a similar

statement to Woodruff when she saw him later that evening.

The defendant testified, contrary to Stanton’s testimony, he and Stanton were to meet Jason

Wilson at the Texaco station to buy marijuana. The defendant testified that when he observed the

black Camaro at the Texaco station, he mistakenly thought it was the black Camaro driven by

Wilson. He stated he tapped on the window, was startled to see Bender, thought Bender had a

weapon in his hand, and, therefore, shot Bender in self-defense. The defendant stated he threw the

pistol out of the car after leaving the Texaco station. 

The defendant denied securing the pistol from his front seat and stated he always carried the

pistol in his waistband. He testified he feared Bender because of a prior robbery attempt

approximately one year earlier in which Bender pistol-whipped the defendant. The defendant

further testified that he had other confrontations with Bender and Bender had previously assaulted

the defendant’s grandfather. Other defense witnesses testified as to prior violent incidents in which

Bender assaulted and/or threatened the defendant as well as his grandfather.

The jury rejected the defendant’s claim of self-defense and convicted the defendant of

premeditated first degree murder.
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STANDARD OF REVIEW

The defendant contends the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for

premeditated first degree murder. Specifically, he contends the evidence was insufficient to

establish the element of premeditation. The state, on the other hand, contends the jury properly

found premeditation. We agree with the state.

In Tennessee, great weight is given to the result reached by the jury in a criminal trial. A

jury verdict accredits the state’s witnesses and resolves all conflicts in favor of the state. State v.

Bigbee, 885 S.W.2d 797, 803 (Tenn. 1994). On appeal, the state is entitled to the strongest

legitimate view of the evidence and all reasonable inferences which may be drawn therefrom. Id.;

State v. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d 832, 835 (Tenn. 1978). Moreover, a guilty verdict removes the

presumption of innocence which the appellant enjoyed at trial and raises a presumption of guilt on

appeal. State v. Grace, 493 S.W.2d 474, 476 (Tenn. 1973). The appellant has the burden of

overcoming this presumption of guilt. Id.

ANALYSIS

The applicable definition of first degree murder is “[a] premeditated and intentional killing

of another.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202(a)(1). Premeditation necessitates “a previously formed

design or intent to kill,” State v. West, 844 S.W.2d 144, 147 (Tenn. 1992) (citations omitted), and

“an act done after the exercise of reflection and judgment . . . [meaning] that the intent to kill must

have been formed prior to the act itself.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202(d). It also requires that the

accused be “sufficiently free from excitement and passion as to be capable of premeditation.” Id.

The element of premeditation is a question of fact to be determined by the jury. State v.

Suttles, 30 S.W.3d 252, 261 (Tenn. 2000). Although the jury may not engage in speculation, it may

infer premeditation from the manner and circumstances of the killing. State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d

651, 660 (Tenn. 1997); State v. Bordis, 905 S.W.2d 214, 222 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1995). Our

supreme court delineated several circumstances that may be indicative of premeditation, including

declarations of the intent to kill, procurement of a weapon, the use of a deadly weapon upon an

unarmed victim, the fact that the killing was particularly cruel, infliction of multiple wounds, the

making of preparations before the killing for the purpose of concealing the crime, destruction or

secretion of evidence, and calmness immediately after the killing. State v. Nichols, 24 S.W.3d 297,

302 (Tenn. 2000).

We must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the state. The defendant harbored

animosity toward Bender as the result of prior confrontations. Upon observing Howard’s car in

which Bender was a passenger, the defendant immediately secured a weapon, arranged for Jackson

to drive the defendant’s vehicle, crept up to Howard’s car, pulled his shirt over his face, and shot

the victim ten times in the back and side while the victim was turned away from him attempting to

hand money to Howard. The victim was unarmed and, viewing the evidence in the light most

favorable to the state, never saw the defendant prior to the defendant’s shooting him. The defendant

fled and later discarded the pistol. It was the jury’s prerogative to reject the defendant’s claim of

self-defense. See State v. Goode, 956 S.W.2d 521, 527 (Tenn. Crim App. 1997). Furthermore, the
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degree of homicide is generally a question for the jury’s determination. State v. Shelton, 854

S.W.2d 116, 119 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1992). There was ample evidence to support the conviction for

premeditated first degree murder.

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

 

JOE G. RILEY, JUDGE