Opinion ID: 2262863
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Examination of the Record

Text: Under the rules set forth in Section III, supra, we need only consider two possibilities: (1) whether, as the court of appeals concluded, the record cannot but support the conclusion that Brown shot Gabaldon in a deliberate and premeditated fashion; or (2) whether the record could rationally support a conclusion that Brown acted in a less culpable manner.
Defense counsel argues that sufficient evidence exists that Brown's actions were neither deliberate nor premeditated. To wit: Brown deliberately fired the first shot past Gabaldon's ear and, although he did strike her body with subsequent shots, never aimed a bullet directly at her head. We cannot accept an explanation that strains credulity to this degree. It is undisputed that Brown and Gabaldon quarreled on two occasions the night before the shooting, resulting in Gabaldon's decision to end their romantic relationship and kick Brown out of her apartment. Several hours later, Brown broke into Gabaldon's apartment, smashed her cell phone, and collected the possessions he left thereincluding a hand gun. A ballistics report showed that Brown's gun was fired once next to Gabaldon's head and three times into her body at close range. Afterward, Gabaldon was critically wounded and bleeding profusely. Brown did not attempt to call for help or even to exit through the front door. Rather, he left the apartment the way he came, climbing down from the third-story balcony. Because there is insufficient evidence in the record to provide a rational basis for acquitting Brown of attempted first degree murder and convicting him of attempted second degree murder, we hold that the trial court did not err by refusing to issue a lesser included offense jury instruction.
We find the record equally devoid of credible evidence supporting a voluntary intoxication instruction. It is undisputed that, the evening before the shooting, Brown took one pill of ecstasy and later consumed several drinks at the pool hall. Brown further testified that he consumed an entire bottle of vodka the night before the shooting, causing him to become so intoxicated that he became sick and passed out. In support of this testimony, Brown stated that his brother, who Brown allegedly telephoned from the motel, and the employee who checked him into the motel were aware that he was extremely intoxicated. However, neither his brother nor any motel employee who was physically present that night testified. Because there was ample time for Brown to recover from the ecstasy and pool hall drinks he consumed earlier in the evening and because the only evidence demonstrating that he continued to drink from the bottle of vodka is Brown's own uncorroborated testimony, we hold that there is insufficient evidence for a voluntary intoxication instruction to issue.