Opinion ID: 170999
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mr. DeLozier's Case

Text: Two witnesses testified for the defense: Paradise Wooten and Mr. DeLozier himself.
Wooten testified that she had been with Mr. DeLozier, the Madisons, and her brother, Bubba Oliver, at the Tate bus the night of the murders. They all sat around the campfire talking about stealing stuff from the Morgan camp and killing Morgan and Bullard. They smoked one marijuana joint that evening, but because they had no papers or cans to smoke the little marijuana that was left, they threw the remainder in the fire. She and Bubba were asleep when Mr. DeLozier and the Madisons returned from the Morgan camp. They woke her, but she stayed in bed and did not see the truck or what they had taken. The three men left again; and she and Bubba stayed up to await their return. This time, however, Mr. DeLozier returned to the campsite by himself. He said, Let's go, the game rangers are down there. Id. at 854. She and Bubba dressed and the three of them quickly left. Up to that point she had not heard any gunshots. After they had traveled about 50 yards from the campsite, she saw a light coming from near the river (by the Morgan camp). The light looked like [l]ights on a football field but it was yellow. Id. at 856. Once they finally got up the hill, about 30 to 45 minutes after leaving the campsite, she heard three or four gun shots; five minutes later she heard a blast. Wooten, Bubba, and Mr. DeLozier wandered through the mountains for three days before they were arrested. Mr. DeLozier was with her the entire time. She did not recall seeing any blood on his clothes or any evidence that he had been near a fire. And he had not acted as if he had killed somebody. On cross-examination Wooten admitted that part of the reason that she and Bubba had refused to go to the Morgan camp with the others was the earlier talk of killing Morgan and Bullard.
Mr. DeLozier began his testimony by stating his age (19), providing some background information, and admitting that he had previously pleaded guilty to felony charges of killing one police dog and injuring another. He then gave his account of the murders. He had gone to the Tate bus campsite to avoid appearing for court proceedings regarding the felony charges, which were pending at the time. On Saturday September 26 he, Nathaniel, Bo, and Bubba were riding four wheelers when they came across Morgan, Bullard, and a third man at the Morgan camp. After talking with the three men for 15 to 20 minutes, they left. Mr. DeLozier suggested to the others that they steal the generator from the Morgan camp. Bo and Nathaniel again mentioned stealing property from the Morgan camp later that evening as they were sitting around the campfire with Mr. DeLozier, Wooten, and Bubba. This time, however, Bo suggested that they kill Morgan and Bullard and take everything. Mr. DeLozier did not respond because he did not think Bo was serious. They were all high on marijuana, and he had used some methamphetamine that weekend. During the night the three left for the Morgan camp. He carried a shotgun and Bo carried a .22, but they did so only for protection. About halfway to the campsite they stopped to smoke a cigarette and he handed the shotgun to Nathaniel, who carried the gun the rest of the way. When they arrived at the campsite, the pickup, which was backed up to the camper, was packed with camping equipment and other personal property; everything but the generator was loaded on the truck. The keys were in the truck. They quickly threw the generator in the back of the truck and left. As they were unloading the pickup at the Tate bus, Michelle Tate, Damon Tate, and Shawn Smith arrived in their vehicle. Damon said that a game warden had stopped them as they drove to the Tate bus. After Damon, Michelle, and Shawn left, the Madisons wanted to go back to the Morgan camp for another load. Mr. DeLozier joined them. On their way back to the Morgan camp in the stolen truck, they saw headlights approaching, so they stopped the truck and fled. Mr. DeLozier went back to the Tate bus and the Madisons went in a different direction. When Mr. DeLozier reached the Tate bus about ten minutes later, he woke up Paradise and Bubba and told them that they had to leave. He explained that he thought he had seen a game warden and assumed that they did not want to be at the bus with stolen goods stacked in front of it when the game warden arrived. As they were leaving in the opposite direction from the Morgan camp, they heard an explosion and saw an orange glow along the river. They also heard several pops like gunshots. R. Vol. 10 at 920. On cross-examination Mr. DeLozier testified that he had never threatened to kill fellow inmate Broades and that Mussett was lying.