Opinion ID: 1166413
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts concerning the issue of intoxication

Text: In addition to the fact that defendant's alleged intoxication was mentioned on voir dire and, according to the briefs of the parties, also in closing argument, relevant facts and evidence which bear upon defendant's ingestion of alcohol and his actions before, during and after the shooting of Donna Poole are these: In his statement given to the police two hours after the shooting, which occurred at about 3 p.m., the defendant testified concerning his intake of alcoholic beverage since 10 a.m.: Q. Okay, let's go back to today  after you got through drinking at the Townsend. How much did you have to drink? A. I drank a lot. Q. How much? A. Ten-twelve drinks of Millers, plus eight or nine drinks of Walkers and Coke. I drink that all the time. He had at least two more drinks after the shooting and before he was arrested immediately after which he gave his statement to the police. The defendant's own appraisal of his state of intoxication varied. At one point he said, when referring to how much alcohol he had consumed and whether or not he was aware of his actions on the day in question: A. Well that's mellow. Q. Mellow? You mean slobbering drunk? A. No. Q. Do you know what you're doing? A. At times. Q. Now, what do you mean by that? A. Well, I mean if I set there long enough, I'd be drunk. Q. But you didn't drink enough to get drunk today did you? A. Well here wait a minute. I'm drunker now than  than I was this morning. I knew what I was doing. An argument started. She grabs the gun, and it goes off. I don't know how, but it goes off. Solo. [Emphasis supplied] At about this point in the interrogation, the defendant said: Look, I'm not drunk and I'm tryin' to be honest. I wasn't doing a thing to her, I do know that. I do know cause the girl just tiptoes through the door. When asked about his quarrels with Donna, he responded: I leave and I come back to town and I drink. I can drink a lot. In fact, I've drank a lot today. I can see nothing wrong with drinking as long as I control myself. And I do, most usually. And I did today. I thought I done good. It's just like when he walked in, I knew who he was. I didn't try to offer no resistance. I don't wanna cause no trouble. When asked about the circumstances surrounding the shooting, the defendant testified with apparent clear recollection in response to some questions  gave various conflicting interpretations concerning other facts about which he was asked  and testified that after he and the victim started arguing he did not know what happened until she was lying on the floor. He said: She come in, we started arguing. I stood up and I cain't [sic] remember if I got my cup of coffee when I got there or anything. I know I got a cup of coffee. We started arguing back and forth when she got there. I don't know, things just got out of hand. I don't  after that I really don't know what happened 'til she was laying on the floor. When the interrogation became more intense, the defendant allowed that he did not know what was going on. He said: I'm trying to tell you. Now, I haven't tried to hide nothing from you. Now, we can sit here for a week, and we can still be going over the same thing. I don't know why. I don't know what's going on. Now, I admitted to you what happened. I'm not trying to get out of anything, so now if a witness wants to come in and say, heah, he shot her, I'm gonna say I shot her. I'm not gonna lie on that. [Emphasis supplied] At another juncture, the defendant testified: I grabbed the rifle and swung like this and it went off cause that's all I know. That's all I know. She ah, had, she grabbed at the rifle. It was setting in the corner. There's a tv setting right there too. She grabbed the rifle, and I grabbed it. And I swung it around and it went off. I don't know  I don't know what happened. It's always loaded cause the Saints got ahold of me two or three weeks back, and they, they beat me up pretty bad and they threatened her. So I always loaded it... . [Emphasis supplied] Defendant confessed to having problems with his memory, which he guessed might be corrected the next day. He testified: We just got to mouthing off. I can't really remember things. Maybe tomorrow I can, but right now I can't. I'm not trying to hide nothing from you. I'm just trying to tell you. I'm trying to be honest with you. [Emphasis supplied] Between the shooting and the arrest  a two-hour time span  the defendant had been to the bank to cash a check and make a savings-account withdrawal and, even though other evidence showed that the defendant could read and write, he asked the bank teller to make out his check and withdrawal slip, and the bank teller testified: A. When he came to the window he was kind of quiet, he was pretty passive and like I said I think he had been drinking some because I could get it when he talked, would lean real close to the window and kind of on it and when he talked I could smell it coming down through our tray where we put our deposits, just the alcohol smell. He was kind of quiet, didn't say much, except when I filled it out and when I gave him the money. There was some variation in the evidence with respect to the amount the defendant had to drink on the day in question  but it appears minor. Officer Johnson of the Casper Police Department testified: Q. And then you got to the point of asking him how much did you have to drink? And he said, I drank a lot, and then you said, `How much'? And then he gave you a guess, 10 to 12 drinks of Miller's plus 8 or 9 drinks of Walker's and Coke. I drink that all the time. Did you check that out? A. Yes, sir. Q. Were you able to determine how much he had to drink? A. Yes, sir, wasn't quite that much. Q. Didn't have that much to drink? A. No, sir, he did not. Q. So his guess was incorrect? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know he had a couple drinks out at the Beacon? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you take that into account? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you take into account the drinks he may have had at home before he left? A. No, sir, I did not. Q. So if you didn't take that into account might have to agree with him there. Is that correct? MR. BURKE: Well, the evidence is he wasn't home. MR. LAIRD: Well, the Lord Manor Motel. A. I would have no way of knowing or substantiating whether he drank it or not. The officer testified that in his opinion the defendant was not drunk when he observed him on the date in question.