Opinion ID: 2808903
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: He asked me why was he charged [with murder]

Text: because he was not the shooter. Q. What was your response? A. I said because you guys went up there to break into his house. Q. And at that point in time what did he respond with? A. He stated that he just walked around the residence, and that him and the victim were friends. Q. Okay. Did he state that he was there at the window at the time that this happened? A. No, he just said he walked around the residence.1 1 Sergeant Cox’s trial testimony concerning the conversation was not materially different from the account he gave at a pretrial hearing on October 31, 2013. During the hearing, it was revealed on cross-examination that Sergeant Cox: (1) informed Bouie that not all the evidence was set forth in the complaint; (2) asserted that he could prove Bouie was at the crime scene; and (3) ruminated that he had spent three years trying to get Bouie’s side of the story. Nonetheless, an examination of the hearing transcript and of the circuit court’s ruling leads to the ineluctable conclusion that any portion of the (continued . . .) 2 Shortly after his arrival at the North Central Regional Jail, Bouie was transferred to the Central Regional Jail in Braxton County. The grand jury subsequently returned a two-count indictment against Bouie and Payne on May 7, 2013, charging each with the felony murder of Poindexter and with conspiracy to commit burglary of Poindexter’s residence. Thereafter, the circuit court granted Bouie’s motion to sever his trial from that of Payne. Bouie’s jury trial commenced on March 17, 2014, and it continued for five days. Among the trial witnesses was Aaron Carey, an acquaintance of Payne, who testified that mere days after the murder, Payne confided to him that “he had shot somebody in a robbery” to procure money and drugs. The prosecution also produced evidence of Bouie’s phone calls from the Central Regional Jail, during which he volunteered: 10/31/2012 — “I know the only thing they got is that print man, that’s the [expletive] it. And that ain’t enough to convict nobody of no murder or nothing.” 11/02/2012 — “I already know what they got – they got that one [expletive] print and that’s the [expletive] it. E needs to get that discovery.” conversation that might have been considered provocative on Sergeant Cox’s part occurred only after Bouie had already made the statements ultimately admitted against him. 3 12/04/2012 — “If I would have [expletive] listened I wouldn’t even be in none of this shit, I should have then changed my [expletive] life around. I don’t think that [expletive] E.C. is saying nothing man.”2 No fingerprint evidence was discovered at the crime scene. Instead, the investigators found two sets of footprints in the snow beneath Poindexter’s bedroom window, one made by boots and the other by sneakers. The prosecution attempted to link the latter set of footprints to the shoes that Bouie appeared to be wearing in surveillance videos taken the night of the murder. The videos led Sergeant Cox to believe that the shoes were Nike Air Force One sneakers. Upon conducting an internet search, Sergeant Cox found sneakers of that brand for sale on eBay; the offered shoes were of a similar color to those in the video, that is, they were white with blue outsoles. Sergeant Cox purchased the shoes and sent them to the FBI at Quantico, Virginia, together with casts and photos of footwear impressions taken from the snow-covered ground outside Poindexter’s apartment, as well as screen captures of the videos in which the shoes were shown. An FBI expert testified at trial that the comparison revealed “areas of similarity” between the exemplar shoes and the crime scene impressions, but that he could not conclude that the impressions had been made by the exemplar brand. 2 Bouie’s mentions of “E” and “E.C.” appear to have been intended to refer to Payne. 4 A second FBI expert testified that the video evidence was of insufficient quality to allow her to conclude that Bouie had been wearing the exemplar brand while on camera. The latter expert nonetheless noted, much as her colleague had, “several similarities” between the exemplar shoes and those worn by Bouie. Thereafter, Sergeant Cox testified in agreement with counsel’s questioning that, based on his lay observations, he discerned “similarities in coloration and design” between the exemplar and photographed shoes, and “similarities between the sole pattern of the [e]xemplar shoes and the sneaker foot impressions left outside the victim’s apartment.” The jury was charged and the parties presented their closing arguments on March 21, 2014. After deliberating for about two hours, the jury found Bouie guilty on both counts alleged in the indictment. In accordance with the jury’s recommendation, the circuit court sentenced Bouie to life with mercy on his conviction of felony murder, and to an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment from one to five years on the conviction of conspiracy to commit burglary. From the judgment of conviction entered May 19, 2014, Bouie appeals.