Darryl Turner was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the sexual assault and robbery of a woman. According to court documents Darryl Turner would sexually assault, murder and then rob the victim before fleeing. Darryl Turner would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Darryl Turner 2021 Information
Inmate:
TURNER, DARRYL D
AIS:
0000Z667
Institution:
HOLMAN PRISON
Darryl Turner More News
The State’s evidence tended to show that on February 21, 1996, Angela Anderson discovered the nude body of her mother, Barbara Wilson, in Wilson’s home in Limestone County. The coroner testified that Wilson had been smothered to death. There was evidence that intercourse had occurred before the victim’s death. Wilson’s 1993 Cadillac automobile and a 19-inch Orion brand television were missing from her residence.
Anderson testified that on February 21, 1996, she took her two-year-old daughter, Rosalyn, to stay with her mother while she accompanied a sick friend to a local hospital. Later that same day Anderson attempted to locate her mother but was unsuccessful. She testified that she was not worried because she thought that her mother might have gone to Nashville to visit Wilson’s brother, who was sick. Anderson testified that the next morning when she was working she realized that her mother may have left her a note at her home. She left work and went back to her mother’s house; as she approached the driveway Rosalyn ran out of the house saying that her grandmother was sleeping. Rosalyn led Anderson to her mother’s dead body-Wilson was lying on a bed in one of the bedrooms in the house. Anderson telephoned emergency number 911.
At the time of Wilson’s death she had been living with L.T. Southard. Greg Coleman, Turner’s uncle and his roommate, was a coworker of Southard’s at Stinnett Construction. Southard testified that on the day of Wilson’s murder he had been called to a job in Birmingham and Coleman had accompanied him. The two were gone overnight. He identified the television and the Cadillac as belonging to Wilson.
Gail Reasonover, an employee of a pawnshop in Athens, Alabama, identified Turner as the individual who pawned a 19-inch Orion brand television on February 21, 1996. Reasonover testified that Turner said that he was pawning the television because he needed money for gasoline.
Police were able to locate Darryl Turner with the help of his mother. Turner was found in Louisville, Kentucky, hiding in a house, in a closet under a pile of clothes and blankets. Turner confessed to police that he was involved in Wilson’s murder. He said that Trent Rainey and Chris Harris were his accomplices.1 Darryl Turner confessed that the three men walked to Wilson’s house and asked if they could use her telephone. He said that as he was walking to the telephone he heard a noise, looked around, and saw Harris standing over Wilson and Rainey “tying Wilson up.” Darryl Turner said that he did not have sex with Wilson but that he saw Rainey and Harris on top of her. Darryl Turner told police that Harris held a pillow over Wilson’s head because she was kicking and fighting.
Tavares McCurley, Chris Harris’s cousin, testified that on February 21, 1996, Turner came by his house and asked him to go with him to “get a lick”-meaning, he said, to go rob someone. He declined. McCurley said that Turner then walked to the back of the house to talk with Chris Harris. He said that the two talked for about 20 minutes and that they left together. McCurley said that sometime later that same day Turner came back to his house and told him to look out the window. McCurley said when he looked out he saw Wilson’s Cadillac parked in front of the house. McCurley testified that Turner told him that he had “killed the bitch.” He told McCurley that he killed her because he did not want her to tell police what they had done.
Rodger Morrison of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences testified that he had conducted DNA testing on the vaginal swabs collected from the victim. He testified that in his opinion, he could exclude Harris, Rainey, or Southard as the source of the sperm, but that he could not exclude Turner.
The jury convicted Turner of two counts of capital murder and of robbery, theft, burglary, and rape. After the jury returned its verdicts, Turner became highly emotional and began yelling obscenities in front of the jury. Turner met with his attorney and his family and waived his sentencing hearing before the jury.
Charles Clark was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a double murder committed during a robbery. According to court documents Charles Clark would rob a gas station and in the process would stab two people to death. Charles Clark would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.
Charles Clark 2021 Information
Inmate:
CLARK, GREGORY CHARLES
AIS:
0000Z669
Institution:
HOLMAN PRISON
Charles Clark More News
The evidence adduced at trial indicated the following. On the evening of February 13, 1998, Clark went to the apartment of his girlfriend, Rhonda Kenny, in Pensacola, Florida. Kenny testified that Clark had driven to her apartment that evening at approximately 8:00 p.m. in his stepfather’s pickup truck. When Clark arrived, Kenny said, he was “high” on crack cocaine. Kenny testified that, at that time, she and Clark had known each other for approximately a year and that they had often smoked crack cocaine together. According to Kenny, both she and Clark were employed and they both used their income to purchase crack cocaine. In addition, Kenny said, Clark often pawned his property and property belonging to his parents to obtain money to purchase crack cocaine. Approximately one week before February 13, 1998, Kenny said, Clark received an income-tax refund of $2,800; Kenny stated that Clark used the entire amount to purchase crack cocaine. At some point during the evening of February 13, 1998, Kenny said, Clark left her apartment and then later returned. Kenny testified that when Clark returned he was walking and he told her that the truck had run out of gas and that he had walked back to her apartment. Kenny stated that she and Clark stayed up all night smoking crack cocaine and that Clark was “high” when he left her apartment at approximately 5:00 a.m. on February 14, 1998, driving her Toyota Celica automobile. Kenny testified that she did not think that Clark was able to drive safely, but that she gave him the keys to her car anyway. Just before Clark left her apartment, Kenny said, he borrowed $40 from her brother-in-law, which, she said, Clark promised to pay back the next day. Despite having borrowed $40, Clark told Kenny that he was going to drive to Seminole to borrow more money. Kenny testified that she did not see Clark carrying a knife that morning and that she had never known Clark to carry a knife.
James E. Iles testified that on February 14, 1998, at approximately 7:20 a.m., he was driving on Fort Morgan Road in Baldwin County on his way to go fishing when he passed a gasoline station/convenience store owned and operated by William Fuller Ewing. Iles stated that he noticed two people outside the store; he said that one person was on his hands and knees in the parking lot and the other was walking toward a car parked at the gasoline pumps. As he passed the store, Iles said, he saw one of the men get into the car near the pumps and drive away in the same direction Iles was traveling. Iles testified that he decided to turn around and go back to the store to see what was happening. When he turned around and started back toward the store, Iles passed the car that had been parked near the gas pumps. At that point, Iles said, he changed his mind about going back to the store, and, instead decided to follow the car that had been at the store in order to identify it. Iles turned around again and followed the car. Iles got the license tag number of the car and then pulled into another gas station/convenience store and telephoned emergency 911.
At approximately 7:45 a.m., Huey Mack, Jr., chief investigator for the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department, received a dispatch to go to Ewing’s store on Fort Morgan Road. When he arrived at the scene, Investigator Mack said, he saw Ewing’s body on the ground in the doorway to the store; he stated that Ewing was positioned so that his feet were toward the gas pumps in front of the store and his head and chest were on the threshold of the door. Ewing had been stabbed numerous times. Over $600 in cash was found in Ewing’s billfold in his pants pocket. Investigator Mack testified that Ewing’s body was covered in blood and that blood on the ground extended approximately six feet outside the store and six feet inside the store. In addition, several droplets of blood were found on the check-out counter and on the floor behind the check-out counter. Investigator Mack also discovered a pack of cigarettes with a clump of what appeared to be bloody hair around it and a baseball-style cap on the floor in the entrance to the attendant’s area behind the check-out counter. A stick was also found standing on end against the wall in the corner behind the counter. The cash register was on the floor in front of the check-out counter and there were loose coins on the floor and on the counter. The cash-register tape indicated that the last transaction rung up on the register was the previous evening, February 13, 1998, at 8:52 p.m. One of the gasoline pumps in front of the store was on and the hose and nozzle of the pump were lying on the ground; that same pump indicated that approximately $14 in gas had been pumped from it. In addition, a shoe print was discovered near the gas pumps.
Dr. Leroy Riddick, a medical examiner with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences who was accepted by the trial court as an expert in forensic pathology, performed the autopsy on Ewing. Dr. Riddick testified that Ewing suffered 15 stab wounds, 17 superficial cuts, and several scrapes on his body, including on his back, his chest, his face, his arms, and his hands. Dr. Riddick stated that the wounds were most likely caused by a knife and that, because of the presence and amount of blood in each wound, in Dr. Riddick’s opinion, Ewing was alive when each wound had been inflicted; however, Dr. Riddick said that he could not determine the order in which the wounds had been inflicted. According to Dr. Riddick, the two stab wounds in the back were relatively deep wounds-they, in fact, struck bone-and “would take some degree of force.” (R. 800.) In addition, Dr. Riddick stated that one of the stab wounds to the chest punctured Ewing’s heart. Dr. Riddick testified that the wound to the heart would have been fatal within a few minutes. Dr. Riddick also stated that there were a few wounds on Ewing’s hands and arms which he described as defensive wounds; however, Dr. Riddick stated that the lack of a significant number of defensive wounds on Ewing’s hands and arms indicated that Ewing and the perpetrator were in very close proximity-i.e., closer than two feet-struggling at the time of the stabbing.
William Bentley Cowan, a corporal with the Gulf Shores Police Department, testified that on the morning of February 14, 1998, he was informed by the police-department dispatcher about a possible assault or homicide at a gas station on Fort Morgan Road. Cpl. Cowan then drove to Fort Morgan Road in an attempt to find the gas station. He stopped at the first gas station he saw-Mo’s Landing, which is approximately 8 to 10 miles away from Ewing’s store. At Mo’s Landing, Cpl. Cowan was informed that a silver Toyota Celica automobile that had just driven past Mo’s Landing was involved in the incident at Ewing’s store. Cpl. Cowan reported the automobile and then drove east on Fort Morgan Road in an attempt to find it. Cpl. Cowan testified that, as he was looking for the car, he heard over the radio that another officer with the Gulf Shores Police Department, Justin Clopton, had stopped a vehicle matching the description. Cpl. Cowan then went to assist Officer Clopton.
Both Cpl. Cowan and Officer Clopton identified Clark as the driver of the silver Toyota Celica automobile that Officer Clopton had stopped. Cpl. Cowan testified that Clark had a “fairly large amount” of blood on his hands, his neck, and his clothes, particularly his jeans, but that he did not see any cuts or wounds on Clark. (R. 777.) In addition, Clark had a bald spot near the crown of his head where it appeared that his hair had been pulled out. Officer Clopton stated that when he asked Clark where the blood on his clothes had come from, Clark said that he had gotten “in a scuffle ․ with a guy down the road” and that he had gotten a “scratch on his neck.” (R. 896-97.) Cpl. Cowan stated that he saw a ski mask and a copy of the Mobile Register newspaper on the front passenger’s side floorboard of the car and a “large wad of cash” stuck between the two front seats. (R. 781.) The ski mask was on top of the newspaper. No drugs or drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle. Cpl. Cowan and Officer Clopton decided to detain Clark and they placed him in handcuffs and seated him in the back of Officer Clopton’s patrol car. Both Cpl. Cowan and Officer Clopton testified that Clark responded to their directions and that he did not appear intoxicated. Officer Clopton also testified that, when he initially stopped Clark, Clark appeared nervous.
Michael Cook, who was an investigator with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department in 1998, testified that on the morning of February 14, 1998, he was dispatched to Ewing’s store on Fort Morgan Road. On his way to the store, Investigator Cook was told that a vehicle had been stopped in connection with the crime at the store, and he was instructed to go to where the vehicle was stopped rather than to the store. Investigator Cook said that when he arrived at the scene Clark was in the back of Officer Clopton’s patrol car. When he spoke with Clark, Investigator Cook said, Clark appeared “a little nervous,” but he did not seem intoxicated. (R. 910.) Investigator Cook asked Clark if he could look in the vehicle and Clark told him that he could. Investigator Cook collected from the vehicle the money that was stuck between the two front seats, which totaled $397, and the newspaper and mask that were on the floorboard of the front passenger’s side. The date on the newspaper was February 14, 1998. In addition, Investigator Cook took numerous photographs of the vehicle. One photograph, depicting the gas gauge in the dashboard of the car, showed that the Toyota had a full tank of gas. Another photograph showed that the door to the gas tank was open.
Clark was arrested and transported to the Gulf Shores Police Department. At the department, Clark was interviewed by Investigator Cook and Sergeant John Stewart, also with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department. Sgt. Stewart read Clark his Miranda2 rights; Clark indicated that he understood those rights and then signed a waiver-of-rights form. Sgt. Stewart and Investigator Cook both testified that Clark was never threatened and that he was never promised any reward for making a statement. In addition, both Sgt. Stewart and Investigator Cook testified that Clark did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or narcotics at the time of the interview. Sgt. Stewart and Investigator Cook initially spoke with Clark for approximately 20 minutes; during that interview, Clark explained his version of what had happened at Ewing’s store. In that initial statement, Clark indicated that he had wiped the blade of the knife he had used to stab Ewing on his pants. After the initial statement, Sgt. Stewart turned on a tape recorder, reread Clark his Miranda rights, and asked Clark to again explain his version of events. Clark then gave a tape-recorded statement.
In the tape-recorded statement, Clark admitted to stabbing Ewing, but he maintained that he did so only because Ewing had attacked him. He also admitted to taking a money bag from Ewing, but he claimed that he had no intent to rob Ewing until after he had stabbed him. Clark stated that the day before the crime, February 13, 1998, he had spent the entire day in Pensacola, Florida, smoking crack cocaine. According to Clark, he had pawned items belonging to his stepfather and had also borrowed money to pay for the crack cocaine he had purchased and smoked that day. Sometime during the evening of February 13, 1998, Clark said, his stepfather’s truck had run out of gas and he had walked to Rhonda Kenny’s apartment. Early the next morning, February 14, 1998, he had asked Kenny if he could borrow her car to drive to Seminole and she had agreed. Clark said that he left Kenny’s apartment about 4:45 a.m. and went to a house he owned in Seminole to pick up his mail. After he got his mail, Clark said, he began driving back to Pensacola. However, Clark stated that on the way, he decided to stop by a beach house owned by his mother and stepfather on Fort Morgan Road. When he got ready to leave the beach house, Clark said, he noticed that the car was low on gas, so he stopped at the nearest gas station-Ewing’s store. Clark said that he had known Ewing for about 10 years.
Clark stated that when he first arrived, Ewing was not yet at the store. Ewing arrived approximately 15 minutes later, Clark said, and he asked Ewing to turn on the gas pumps. According to Clark, after the pumps were turned on, he put the nozzle in his car and set it on automatic; he then went inside the store and spoke with Ewing. Clark said that he asked Ewing for a pack of cigarettes and that, as soon as Ewing got them and laid them on the counter, the gas pump stopped. Ewing told Clark that he owed approximately $14 for the gas. Clark stated that he paid for the gas and cigarettes and received change. It was at that point, Clark said, that he saw Ewing’s money bag lying on the open drawer of the cash register. Clark said that he stayed and chatted with Ewing for approximately five minutes. When he turned to leave the store, Clark said, Ewing asked him if he was going to pay for his gas. According to Clark, he told Ewing that he had already paid for the gas, but Ewing said that he was going to call the sheriff’s department and came around from behind the counter and approached him.
Clark said that he and Ewing then “tussled, back and forth a little bit, just pushing and shoving.” At that point, Clark said, Ewing walked back behind the counter, got a stick, and came to the front of the counter. According to Clark, he had a hunting-type knife in the pocket of the jacket he was wearing 3 and, when Ewing drew the stick back as if to hit him (but before he actually did hit him), he pulled out the knife and “started sticking him and cutting.” They then fell to the floor struggling, and Clark continued to stab Ewing. When this initial struggle stopped, Clark said, Ewing went behind the counter and leaned over. Clark stated that he thought Ewing was getting a gun, so he jumped on Ewing and began stabbing him again. He and Ewing continued to struggle and they again ended up in front of the counter. Eventually, Clark said, he was able to get away from Ewing and leave the store; however, Ewing followed him outside and another struggle ensued. Clark stated that this struggle lasted for “just a minute” because he stabbed Ewing one or two more times and Ewing then fell to the ground and quit fighting him. Clark said that he then walked to his car to leave, but that, when he was almost to his car, he remembered the money bag he had seen lying on the drawer of the cash register and he decided he wanted the money so he could buy more crack cocaine; he then went back into the store and got the money bag. According to Clark, when he went back into the store to get the money bag, Ewing was on the ground about halfway between the gas pumps and the front door to the store. When he came out of the store with the money bag, Clark said, Ewing was still in the same area, but he was attempting to get up and make it to the door of the store. Clark walked past Ewing on his way to the car, took the gas nozzle out of the car, laid it on the ground, and got in the car to leave. At that point, Clark said, he saw that Ewing was near the front door of the store on one knee struggling to get off the ground to open the door.
Clark stated that he then left the scene. As he was driving away, Clark said, he threw the knife he had used to stab Ewing out of the car window. Shortly after disposing of the knife, he saw a garbage can on the side of the road, and he stopped and threw away the money bag. A short time after he got rid of the money bag, Clark said, he was stopped by a Gulf Shores police officer.
Throughout his statement, Clark maintained that he had had no intent to rob Ewing, that he merely remembered the money bag after the stabbing, and that he had decided he could use the money to buy more crack cocaine. He also maintained that the only reason he had stabbed Ewing the first time was because he thought Ewing was going to hit him with the stick and that he had jumped on Ewing and had stabbed him again when Ewing was behind the counter only because he thought Ewing was getting a gun. Clark stated that during the struggle with Ewing, Ewing had hit him several times and had also pulled his hair.
Alan Miller was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for shooting dead three coworkers. According to court documents Alan Miller thought his coworkers were spreading rumors about him so he walked into two different businesses and shot three people dead. Alan Miller would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Alan Miller 2021 Information
Inmate:
MILLER, ALAN EUGENE
AIS:
0000Z672
Institution:
HOLMAN PRISON
Alan Miller More News
The evidence presented at trial tended to establish the following. Around 7:00 a.m. on August 5, 1999, Johnny Cobb arrived at his place of employment, Ferguson Enterprises in Pelham. Cobb, the vice president of operations, recognized several other vehicles in the company’s parking lot as belonging to sales manager Scott Yancy and delivery truck drivers Lee Holdbrooks and Alan Miller. As Cobb prepared to enter the building, he heard some loud noises and what sounded like someone screaming. Cobb opened the front door and saw Alan Miller walking toward him. Miller, who was armed with a pistol, pointed the pistol in the general direction of Cobb and stated, “I’m tired of people starting rumors on me.” Cobb tried to get Miller to put the pistol down, but Miller told him to get out of his way. Cobb ran out the front door and around the side of the building. Miller then left the building, walked over to his personal truck, and drove away.
After Cobb heard Alan Miller drive away, he went back inside the building. He saw Christopher Yancy on the floor in the sales office and Lee Holdbrooks on the floor in the hallway. Both men were covered in blood and showed no signs of life. They appeared to have been shot multiple times. Cobb used his cellular telephone to summon the police, who were dispatched at 7:04 a.m. Minutes later, officers from the Pelham Police Department arrived to investigate the shooting.
After Cobb told the police officers what he had seen, the officers entered the building. There, they found the body of Christopher Yancy slumped to the floor, underneath a desk in the sales office. Lee Holdbrooks was lying face down in the hallway at the end of a bloody “crawl trail,” indicating that he had crawled 20-25 feet down the hall in an attempt to escape his assailant. The officers secured the scene and waited for evidence technicians to arrive. Cobb provided a description of Miller’s clothing and the truck he was driving. This description was transmitted to police headquarters and sent out over the police radio by the police dispatcher. Evidence technicians recovered nine .40-caliber shell casings from the scene.
While officers began investigating the crime scene at Ferguson Enterprises, Andy Adderhold was arriving for work at Post Airgas in Pelham. Adderhold, the manager of the Pelham store, arrived shortly after 7:00 a.m. Adderhold entered the office and talked with Terry Jarvis, another employee, for a few minutes before continuing to another office. At this point, Adderhold noticed Miller-a former employee of Post Airgas-enter the building. Alan Miller walked toward the sales counter and called out to Jarvis: “Hey, I hear you’ve been spreading rumors about me.” As Jarvis walked out of his office and walked into the area behind the sales counter, he replied, “I have not.” Miller fired several shots at Jarvis. As Jarvis fell to the floor, Adderhold crouched behind the counter. Miller then walked behind the counter and pointed the pistol at Adderhold’s face. Adderhold begged for his life. Alan Miller paused, then pointed to a door, and told him to get out. Adderhold stood up and, as he began to move toward the door, heard a sound from Jarvis. When Adderhold paused and looked back at Jarvis, Miller repeated his order to “get out-right now.” At this Adderhold left the sales area. As Adderhold was leaving the building, he heard another gunshot. Adderhold proceeded out of the back of the building, climbed over a fence to a neighboring building, where he used someone’s cellular telephone to summon the police.
The second emergency call came in to the Pelham Police Department at approximately 7:18 a.m. Upon arrival, officers entered the building housing Post Airgas and found Jarvis’s body on the floor behind the sales counter. Jarvis had sustained several gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen. After securing the scene, officers recovered six .40-caliber spent shell casings from the floor of the sales area. Adderhold was interviewed, and he recounted the events surrounding Jarvis’s murder.
After a description of Alan Miller and the vehicle he was driving was transmitted over the police radio, law-enforcement officers combed the area in search of Miller. Pelham police sergeant Stuart Davidson and his partner were patrolling Interstate 65 near Alabaster when word of the second shooting was broadcast. Upon hearing that Miller was still in the vicinity of Pelham, Davidson exited I-65 to head back to Pelham. As Davidson turned back toward Pelham, he spotted a truck matching the description of Miller’s entering I-65 from Highway 31 in Alabaster. Davidson radioed for backup and followed the truck south on I-65 into Chilton County. Once additional officers were in place as backup, law-enforcement officers initiated a traffic stop of the truck. Following the traffic stop, officers were able to positively identify the driver as Miller. Miller was ordered to get out of the truck, and he was forcibly subdued and handcuffed after resisting efforts to place him in custody. After placing Miller in the back of a patrol car, officers secured his truck. Inside the truck, they found a Glock brand pistol lying on the driver’s seat. The pistol contained 1 round in the chamber and 11 rounds in the magazine. An empty Glock ammunition magazine was found on the passenger seat. Miller was transported to the Pelham Police Department where he was charged with murder.
At trial, the State called various witnesses who testified concerning the events of August 5, 1999. Evidence was also introduced regarding ballistics testing of the spent shell casings found at both murder sites; the testing matched all of the shell casings to the .40-caliber Glock pistol found on Miller. Dr. Stephen Pustilnik, a state medical examiner with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, testified that the cause of death for all three victims was multiple gunshot wounds. Lee Holdbrooks-whose body was found in the hallway-was shot six times in the head and chest; although several of the wounds were nonfatal, one of the head wounds was fired at very close range and would have been immediately incapacitating and fatal. Based on “blood splatter” analysis and the positioning of the body, Dr. Pustilnik concluded that Holdbrooks was turning his head and looking up when the fatal shot was fired.
Scott Yancy was shot three times; one of the shots struck the aorta, which would have caused Yancy to “bleed out” within 15-20 minutes, while another wound would have caused paralysis. At the time he was shot, Yancy was underneath a metal desk; there was no indication that he ever moved from this position.
Terry Jarvis was shot five times; one of the shots struck Jarvis’s liver and another his heart. Jarvis had already fallen to the floor when he was shot in the heart. Based on “blood splatter” analysis, Dr. Pustilnik concluded that Alan Miller was standing over Jarvis as he shot him in the heart. Despite the nature of this wound, Jarvis could have lived anywhere from several minutes to 15 minutes after being shot.
Miller’s defense counsel rested without putting on any evidence. After both sides had rested and the trial court instructed the jury on the law applicable to Miller’s case, the jury determined that the murders of Holdbrooks, Yancy, and Jarvis were committed pursuant to a common scheme or plan, and it convicted Miller of capital murder.
Jeffrey Lee was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a double murder that was committed during a robbery. According to court documents Jeffrey Lee would enter a pawn shop and in the process of a robbery would shoot three people killing two. Jeffrey Lee would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Jeffrey Lee 2021 Information
Inmate: LEE, JEFFREY
AIS: 0000Z674
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON
Jeffrey Lee More News
t trial the State’s evidence tended to show that on December 12, 1998, Lee entered Jimmy’s Pawn Shop in Orrville armed with a sawed-off shotgun. Lee shot Jimmy Ellis, the owner, and two employees, Elaine Thompson and Helen King. The coroner testified that Ellis died of a gunshot wound to his chest and that Thompson died of a gunshot wound to her face. King recovered from her gunshot wound and testified at Lee’s trial.
King testified that on December 12, 1998, Lee entered the pawnshop and asked to see wedding rings. He told King that he did not have any money and that he would come back after he got money from his grandmother; he then left. She said that a short time later Lee entered the store and yelled: “What’s up mother f—-?” He pulled out a shotgun, King said, and shot Ellis, Thompson, and her. She fell to the floor and pretended to be dead. Lee left the store. King said that she got up, telephoned emergency 911, and locked the doors to the store. Lee tried to enter again, she said, but he left after discovering that the doors were locked.
Evidence also showed that Lee left his shotgun on the counter in the pawnshop. A surveillance camera videotaped the events. The videotape showed Lee shooting the victims, and it corroborated King’s testimony. Lee confessed that he shot and killed the occupants of the pawnshop, but, he said, the first shot was fired accidentally.
James Yeomans was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murders of his ex wife and her parents. According to court documents James Yeomans would enter his ex wives home and would shoot and beat the three victims causing their deaths. James Yeomans would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
James Yeomans 2021 Information
Inmate:
YEOMANS, JAMES DONALD
AIS:
0000Z678
Institution:
HOLMAN PRISON
James Yeomans More News
ody Simmons, the 21-year-old son of victims Jake and Sylvia Simmons and the sister of victim Julie Yeomans,3 testified that in November 1999, when the murders occurred, he was 20 years old and was living at home with his parents. He left the house at 6:30 a.m. on the day of the murders, a Monday, leaving his parents, Julie, and her three children in the kitchen. Julie and the children had spent the previous night with their parents, he said. He returned home at 11:30 a.m. to have lunch, and he noticed that a window on his mother’s automobile had been broken. When he entered through the back door of the house he immediately noticed that a shotgun, which was usually kept in a bedroom closet, was lying across a chair in the den near the back door. As Jody walked into the house, he saw his mother’s purse on the table, so he walked toward the living room to see whether anyone else was home. He then saw his mother just inside the living room doorway, covered in blood. His father was on the living room floor, also covered in blood. Jody left the house and drove to the police station; he had not seen the body of his sister, Julie. He did not return to the house that day.
On cross-examination, Jody stated that Julie had been married to another man before she married Yeomans. She and her first husband had two children, Casey and Brandon. She and Yeomans had a daughter, Lee Ann, who was two years old at the time of the murders.
Baxter Etheridge testified that on the morning of the murders he traveled past the Simmons house between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. As he passed by the house, he saw a young woman jump off a small porch and push a tall, slender man so hard that he was almost knocked down. Etheridge stated that after he drove for approximately one mile, he turned his vehicle around to drive past the house again to be sure that everything was all right. When he passed the house again, he saw the young woman standing beside a car; it appeared to him that she might have been crying. He did not see the tall, slender man or anyone else at that time. Etheridge testified that he turned his vehicle around again in order to continue in the direction he had originally been traveling that morning. When he passed by the Simmons house the third time, a few minutes after his second pass by the house, he did not see the woman standing by the car, but he saw someone in the doorway of the house. It appeared that the person was backing into the house and was pulling something into the house with him. Officer Keith Galloway of the Geneva Police Department testified that at 1:22 a.m., several hours before the murders, he saw Yeomans and his teenaged son walking on a rural road. Galloway stopped Yeomans to ask what he was doing out there at that time of night, and Yeomans told him he was going to see his brother-in-law to get a ride to work. Galloway thought his answer was odd, because he knew that Yeomans worked at Outdoor Aluminum, and Yeomans had already walked past that business by the time Galloway stopped him.
Marion Spivey testified that at approximately 7:00 a.m. on the day of the murders, he was driving a tractor on the road behind the Simmons house. He saw Jake and Sylvia Simmons and Julie and James Yeomans talking in the front yard. He saw a small child standing behind the adults. He did not see anyone pushing anyone else, and he did not hear anyone shouting.
Casey Rogers testified that he was nine years old and that his mother was Julie Yeomans. He was eight years old when his mother was killed, and he had been living with his mother, his younger brother and sister, and James Yeomans. Yeomans’s two sons, Alan and Donald, were also living with them. Casey said that Yeomans and his mother argued and fought on Saturday night before the murders. He did not know whether his mother hit Yeomans, but he thought “a couple of licks was passed.” (R. 491.) Casey testified that his mother pulled a knife on Yeomans and told him that he had better stay away from her. Casey said that he thought that his mother was injured that night.
On Sunday morning, Casey’s grandparents, Jake and Sylvia Simmons, came to the Yeomanses’ residence. Casey said that he was playing with a triangle-shaped “football” made from a piece of notebook paper. Before Casey and his four-year-old brother, Brandon, left with their grandparents, Julie took Casey’s paper football and told him that she wanted to write his name in it. When Casey got into his grandparents’ car, he unfolded the paper football because his mother often drew pictures for him on such occasions. This time, Julie had written him a note, Casey said. The note instructed Casey to say nothing to his grandparents about what had happened between her and Yeomans until they had left the yard. Sylvia Simmons took the note from Casey and put it in her purse.
After the Simmonses left the Yeomanses’ residence with Casey and Brandon, they drove to the police station. After the grandparents spoke to the police, they went to the Simmonses’ residence. Sometime later, on Sunday evening, Julie arrived at her parents’ home and she brought Lee Ann, Casey’s younger half-sister, with her. Julie and the three children spent the night with the Simmonses.
Casey testified that all of the family members were awake and in the kitchen on Monday morning when his Uncle Jody went to work. Casey said that the rest of the family intended to enroll him in the local school that morning. Casey, Brandon, and Lee Ann were in the backseat of their grandparents’ automobile, he said, and his mother and grandparents were coming outside to get into the car. Yeomans and his son, Alan, appeared from behind the carport. Yeomans told Julie that he wanted her and Lee Ann to come home with him. Casey said that his mother refused and she told Yeomans that “she was tired of being beaten on․” (R. 502.) Yeomans then told Julie to get Lee Ann and her belongings and he would take her home. Casey said that Julie refused Yeomans’s request, and the two argued and yelled.
Casey testified that his grandfather said he was going to get his shotgun and walked toward the house. Yeomans told Alan to block the door, and he did. Casey said that Alan and Jake “tied up and wrestled and fell down the stairs and stuff.” (R. 503.) Casey said that, somehow, Yeomans got his mother and grandmother into the house. The three children had remained in the car during this time.
Casey and Brandon then got out of the car. At Casey’s direction, the car doors were locked with Lee Ann inside. Casey explained, “I just wanted to keep her as safe as I could because I didn’t think she wanted to see what was going to happen.” (R. 504.) Casey and Brandon then ran toward the house. Jake and Alan were still wrestling in the yard.
When Casey entered the house, he saw his grandmother on the floor. He knew she had been hurt because her glasses were broken and had fallen off and blood was “coming out of her face.” (R. 505.) Casey asked where his mother was, and his grandmother pointed toward the hallway. Casey went to his mother, who was on the floor “with blood coming out of her head.” (R. 506.) Casey hugged her and got blood on his shirt, he said. Yeomans told Casey and Brandon to sit on the couch, and they did. Casey said that he and Brandon were crying and that Brandon was screaming, so Yeomans told them, while brandishing a metal pipe, to shut up or they would be next. Casey had previously seen the metal pipe in his grandparents’ front yard. Yeomans went outside, and Casey went to check on his mother. He asked Julie what had happened and she told Casey that Yeomans had hit her. Casey asked what Yeomans had hit her with, because he knew Yeomans could not have hit her that hard with his hand and because he had not seen Yeomans hit his mother. Julie did not answer Casey’s questions, so he returned to the couch.
Casey testified that he saw Yeomans drag Jake Simmons by the hand up the porch stairs and into the house. He then saw Yeomans hit his grandfather on the head with the pipe. Casey said that he and Brandon remained on the couch while his mother and grandparents were on the floor, beaten. His mother and grandparents were moaning and groaning, Casey said. Yeomans went to Casey’s grandmother, said something like, “Shut up, you bitch,” and pushed her with his foot.
Yeomans told Alan to go outside to get Lee Ann out of the car, which he did. Casey testified that Yeomans then checked Jake’s shotgun and found that it was not loaded. Yeomans then went to Jody’s room and retrieved the .22-caliber rifle Jody kept there. Yeomans told Alan to take Lee Ann and the boys to another room and to keep them there. Casey saw Yeomans go into the living room and he heard at least three gunshots. Yeomans then told the children to get into their mother’s car. Casey identified his mother’s purse and said that Yeomans took it with them when they left the crime scene.
Yeomans drove with the four children to his sister’s house in Florida. When a police officer arrived at the sister’s house, Casey told him that two black men had broken in and killed his mother and his grandparents and that Yeomans had knocked the men out and saved the children. Casey testified that Yeomans told him to tell the police that story. Casey said he did as Yeomans instructed because Yeomans also said that if Casey and Brandon told the truth instead, he would kill them. On cross-examination, defense counsel asked Casey if, during the drive to Florida, he, not Yeomans, had concocted the story about the two black men killing his mother and grandparents. Casey denied that he had done so and stated, “I didn’t say a whole word the whole time we were riding up there. I was too scared to speak. I was afraid I would say the wrong thing and I would get killed. That’s what I was afraid of.” (R. 523.) Tommy Merritt, an agent with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, testified that he traveled to the Simmonses’ home at approximately 1:00 p.m. on the day of the murders. He identified photographs of the crime scene that were taken before the victims’ bodies were removed from the residence. He also identified a diagram of the crime scene that he drew that day.
Merritt testified that the window on the passenger side of the car in the Simmonses’ yard had been shattered. A large pipe wrench was on the floorboard of the driver’s side of the car, which suggested to Agent Merritt that the wrench had been thrown in to break the window. He said that several items were recovered close to the front door of the house, including a shotgun shell, a man’s shoe, and a baseball cap. Jake Simmons was wearing only one shoe when his body was recovered inside the home.
Merritt stated that a loaded shotgun was found on a chair near the back door of the house and that a .22-caliber rifle was found in a hallway between the living room and a bedroom. The rifle was near the body of Julie Yeomans. Agent Merritt also said that a metal pipe approximately 2 to 2 1/2 feet long was found on top of an old stove in the dining area. The pipe was stained with what appeared to be blood. Several spent shell casings and bullets from a .22-caliber rifle were found inside the home.
Agent Merritt testified that Jake and Sylvia Simmons and Julie Yeomans had obvious wounds to their heads and that they had bled profusely from the wounds. He testified that each victim appeared to have been shot. A dead dog was also discovered near the victims. Like the human victims, the dog was lying in a pool of blood. A videotape of the crime scene was played for the jury.
Dr. Alfredo Parades, a forensic pathologist, conducted autopsies on Jake and Sylvia Simmons and on Julie Yeomans. He testified that Jake Simmons suffered multiple blunt-force injuries to his face and to the top and back of his head. The left side of Jake’s face was “partially collapsed” as a result of the extensive fracturing of the bones of the face. Jake suffered defensive wounds to his right hand, and he was also shot through the face and the brain with at least one bullet. Dr. Parades testified that the bruising around the injuries indicated that Jake was alive when all of the injuries were inflicted. Dr. Parades stated that Sylvia Simmons suffered multiple cuts and fractures to her head and skull, and she suffered much bleeding and bruising inside her brain as a result of the injuries. Dr. Parades stated that Sylvia was struck at least 10 times on the head. Sylvia was alive when at least some of the head injuries were inflicted. She also sustained a gunshot wound that entered her right cheek, then traveled up and back, lodging in the left side of her brain. Sylvia was struck by “a massive blow” on the left wrist that caused a fracture and deformity of both bones of the wrist. Dr. Parades stated that the injuries to the wrist were defensive wounds and that they were consistent with the width of the metal pipe recovered from the scene. The back of Sylvia’s right hand and her right arm and wrist also sustained defensive wounds. The cause of Sylvia’s death was blunt-force injuries to the head and a gunshot wound to the face.
Julie Ann Yeomans was beaten on the head and she was shot repeatedly. Dr. Parades testified that one of the bullets entered the right side of her neck, then traveled downward and exited the back of Julie’s central chest area. Another of the bullets grazed her face and passed through her earlobe; another bullet entered through her right temple area; another bullet entered through her right cheek. Two of the bullets left fragments in Julie’s brain. Julie was also shot through her right eye and through her mouth. Dr. Parades opined that Julie was alive each time she was shot, because bruising was visible around the entrance wounds. Dr. Parades stated that Julie died as the result of the multiple gunshot wounds to the face and neck and as a result of the multiple blows to the top and side of her head.
Dr. Parades performed an autopsy on the dog that was found dead at the scene. The dog was shot in the chest; the bullet penetrated the lungs and the aorta, and the dog bled to death internally.
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