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Pass v. State

Defendant was not entitled to a new trial based on the fact that one juror saw a defense witness speaking to defendant's family.

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Newton Clarence Pass was convicted of the malice murder of Julius French and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.1 His motion for new trial was denied and he appeals, challenging the ruling by the trial court that no prejudicial evidence had been improperly injected into the jury’s deliberation. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

1. The jury was authorized to find that long-standing animosity existed between appellant and the victim. On July 4, 1988, the day of the murder, the victim appeared at appellant’s residence seeking drugs. Appellant walked the victim down the hallway of the house and killed him by shooting him once in the face and once in the chest. Appellant disposed of the body by stuffing it into a sleeping bag and dumping it in a cemetery. Appellant claimed that he shot and killed the victim in self-defense after the victim backed him down the hallway with a shotgun. Franklin Moore testified on behalf of the defense that the victim had informed him that he was going to appellant’s residence to kill appellant if appellant “didn’t have his money or jewelry.” On the other hand, prosecution witnesses testified that appellant admitted to shooting and killing the victim after the victim asked for more drugs before paying for drugs he had already procured from appellant. Appellant’s girlfriend testified that after the shooting she observed appellant covered in blood splatters, that she helped move the victim’s car and wipe the fingerprints from it and assisted in disposing of the murder weapon, and that appellant showed her how he had committed the crime.

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