Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama; July 13, 2018; Alabama; State Appellate Court
William Lane Bosner was convicted of two counts of capital murder: one for killing Gary 'Sambo' Hazelrig during a first-degree robbery and another for killing Breann Sherrer during a first-degree burglary, both in violation of Ala. Code 1975, § 13A-5-40(a)(2) and (4). The circuit court sentenced Bosner to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for each count, to be served concurrently, and imposed additional financial penalties including a $2,000 fine, $7,030 to the crime victims compensation fund, $924 in restitution, along with attorney fees and court costs.
The case details include that Hazelrig, a drug supplier, lived with Sherrer in Locust Fork. Michael Dooley testified about the events on September 14, 2015, stating he drove Bosner and Paul Trull to Hazelrig's residence with the intention to steal. All three were masked and armed: Bosner with a .22-caliber rifle, Dooley with a .22-caliber rifle, and Trull with a .20 gauge shotgun. Upon arrival, Dooley parked nearby and witnessed Bosner enter the house and fire his weapon after a gunshot was heard. Hazelrig and Sherrer, who appeared injured, were held at gunpoint by Trull while Dooley attempted to repair a stolen all-terrain vehicle (ATV). Following a confrontation inside the house, where Bosner shot Sherrer and engaged in a struggle with Hazelrig, Bosner and Trull fled with stolen items.
Dooley, Bosner, and Trull stole items from Hazelrig’s property and placed them in Dooley's car trunk. They returned to Hazelrig’s house to retrieve a tire checker but could not find any shell casings. Dooley testified that they pushed an ATV down the driveway and hid it after loading it into his car. During the drive back, Bosner revealed several stolen cell phones, which Dooley decided to dispose of by having Bosner throw them from the car at a bridge. Upon arriving at Dooley's house around 3:00 a.m., they divided the stolen items, which included various electronics, a black-powder pistol, and methamphetamine. Later, Dooley and Bosner returned to retrieve the ATV and brought it back to Dooley's residence. Dooley interacted with his girlfriend, then drove Bosner to his girlfriend's house, where Bosner carried a backpack and a shotgun. A week later, Dooley stored evidence related to the crimes, including rifles and a safe, in a locked box hidden in the woods. He disposed of Hazelrig’s DVR and Trull's gloves in a nearby lake. Trull testified that he visited Dooley’s house on September 13, 2015, after Bosner suggested a trip to Hazelrig’s house to look at guitars. After arriving, Trull witnessed Bosner enter Hazelrig’s home, followed by a loud bang. Bosner then handed Trull a shotgun and ordered him to hold Hazelrig and Sherrer at gunpoint while he searched the house. Trull observed that both victims were injured during this time.
Trull provided testimony that Bosner shot Sherrer in the head, resulting in Sherrer's immediate death. Trull also recounted an altercation where Hazelrig charged at Bosner, who fired at Hazelrig multiple times. During the struggle, Bosner inadvertently knocked Trull down, causing Trull's shotgun to discharge and hit Hazelrig. After the fight, Trull ran outside, and Bosner helped Dooley push an ATV to the end of Hazelrig's driveway. Dooley went inside to retrieve Hazelrig's DVR before leaving with Bosner. Trull later returned to Dooley's house, where he learned that Busby was already aware of the events. Trull assisted in loading evidence into Dooley's black box.
Charles Ennis testified he visited Hazelrig's house on September 15, 2015, bringing food and checking Hazelrig's blood sugar. Upon seeing Sherrer on the floor, he called the police. Deputy Eakes responded and secured the scene, while Charles Underwood from the Crime Scene Department collected evidence, noting significant blood presence and multiple .22 shell casings but found no blood or fingerprints on the firearms.
On September 26 or 27, Busby's daughter implicated Dooley in the murders. Following police interviews, Dooley initially denied involvement but later confessed, implicating Bosner and providing details about evidence, including stolen items and the location of a black box. Dooley led investigators to the black box and the site where he disposed of Hazelrig's DVR, which was later recovered by a dive team. Additionally, the ATV was found on Dooley’s property. Bosner's girlfriend, Christina Sturgeon, testified about their relationship and Bosner's eviction from her home in early September, followed by his return around September 21, 2015.
Sturgeon testified that Bosner was arrested shortly after moving back in with her and brought a backpack, the contents of which she never knew as she never opened it. During the days leading up to his arrest, Bosner exhibited emotional and confrontational behavior, culminating in a physical altercation where he twisted Sturgeon's arm and provoked her to call the authorities. Sturgeon clarified that Bosner had never before shown violence toward her and had not mentioned the Hazelrig-Sherrer murders, leading her to believe he was not involved.
On September 28, 2015, Bosner was located and detained at Chapman's residence, where police entered with weapons drawn but stated they only wanted Bosner. Chapman consented to a search of his house, although he could not recall signing the consent form at the time it was executed. During the search, police found Bosner's backpack in Sturgeon's bedroom. Deputy Hughes confirmed he asked for consent without his weapon drawn, and identified the backpack's contents, which included a sawed-off shotgun and several knives.
Witnesses linked the knives to the victim, Hazelrig, with one knife having been given to him a year prior and others identified as belonging to him. Forensic evidence presented included shell casings from Hazelrig's house matching bullets from a .22-caliber rifle alleged to have been used by Bosner during the murders. Additionally, a forensic pathologist testified that Hazelrig suffered multiple gunshot wounds and blunt-force trauma, indicating the violent nature of the incident. The backpack and its contents were admitted into evidence, along with specific knives linked to Hazelrig.
Dr. Enstice established that Hazelrig's death was due to a combination of gunshot wounds and blunt-force head trauma. Sherrer also died from a contact gunshot wound to the back of her head, sustaining three gunshot wounds in total. Teresa Bray, Bosner's mother, provided evidence through an e-mail from Bosner while he was incarcerated, requesting assistance for his birthday and mentioning various Alabama prisons. Timothy Calhoun testified about a conversation he overheard between Bosner and Christina Chapman shortly before Bosner's detention, noting an argument and Bosner's attempt to trade a pistol for a sawed-off shotgun. Calhoun later identified the shotgun found in Bosner's backpack. Captain Mack Kent testified about Bosner's escape from Blount County Correctional Facility and his subsequent apprehension by police, who found him on Tawbush Road, where he did not resist arrest. Bosner was convicted of two counts of capital murder and subsequently filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied. He appealed, arguing the admission of the backpack and its contents violated the Fourth Amendment, claiming Chapman's consent for the search was neither voluntary nor valid for Sturgeon's bedroom or his backpack. The document notes that warrantless searches are typically unreasonable unless they meet certain exceptions, including consent, which Bosner disputes based on the circumstances.
Determining the voluntariness of consent to a search involves assessing the totality of circumstances without attributing undue weight to any single factor. A defendant's lack of awareness of their right to refuse consent does not inherently negate voluntariness, nor does being in police custody or the presence of drawn weapons. In this case, Chapman testified that he willingly consented to the search of his home and signed a consent form, asserting that police indicated they did not intend to arrest him. Although officers had weapons drawn during the entry, Deputy Hughes did not have his weapon drawn when requesting consent, leading the court to affirm Chapman's consent as voluntary.
Bosner contends that Chapman lacked authority to consent to searches of Sturgeon's bedroom and his backpack. The court clarified that third-party consent is valid if the person has common authority over the area or items being searched, based on mutual use and joint access. During a suppression hearing, Sturgeon testified she was unaware of the backpack's location and had installed a curtain in her bedroom for privacy due to theft concerns. The State proffered that Chapman had handed the backpack to police on the night of Bosner's detention.
The circuit court deferred its ruling on Bosner's suppression motion, eventually admitting evidence of the backpack and its contents during Deputy Hughes's testimony, despite Bosner's objections. Following the jury's recess, Bosner renewed the motion to suppress, arguing the testimony didn't align with the State's proffer. The State indicated they did not require Officer Chambless's testimony, as relevant evidence had already been admitted. The court denied the motion to suppress, concluding that the police obtained the backpack through a valid search authorized by Chapman.
Evidence indicates that police discovered a backpack in Sturgeon's bedroom. Although Chapman had authority to consent to a search of the bedroom, he lacked common authority over the backpack, as there was no indication he knew of it or had joint control over it. The absence of evidence showing the backpack was unzipped precluded a plain-view analysis. Sturgeon demonstrated intent to keep her bedroom private, which meant it could not be classified as a common area. Therefore, the search of the backpack violated the Fourth Amendment.
Despite this violation, the admission of the backpack and its contents was deemed a harmless error. The Supreme Court allows for certain errors to be classified as harmless if they likely did not affect the trial's outcome. In this case, the appellate court must assess whether the error compromised the defendant's right to a fair trial. The evidence strongly suggested Bosner's involvement in the crimes, as both codefendants identified him as the shooter, corroborating their testimonies with medical evidence and ballistics. Additionally, nonaccomplice testimony further implicated Bosner, including an incident where he physically assaulted Sturgeon shortly before his detention. Overall, the jury would likely have convicted Bosner regardless of the backpack's admission at trial.
Calhoun overheard Bosner make a statement implying knowledge of a homicide and mentioning Blount County, where the crimes occurred, despite Bosner residing in Jefferson County. Calhoun reported this to police on September 28, 2015. Bosner later inquired about trading a shotgun, which was linked to the murders of Gary Hazelrig and Breann Sherrer, as testified by Dooley, who stated that Trull carried a shotgun that night and Bosner brought the same shotgun to Chapman's house afterward. An email from Bosner to his mother, requesting information about inmates and expressing a desire to be incarcerated in a nearby facility, demonstrated his consciousness of guilt, further evidenced by his escape from Blount County Correctional Facility in October 2016.
Bosner challenged the sufficiency of the accomplice testimonies of Dooley and Trull, arguing that without the contents of a backpack admitted at trial, there was insufficient corroboration. Alabama law requires that accomplice testimony must be corroborated by other evidence linking the defendant to the crime, and courts use a process of elimination to assess this. The evidence against Bosner included the overheard argument referencing homicide, corroborating testimony from Sturgeon, the incriminating email, and evidence of his escape. The court found that this corroborative evidence was sufficient to connect Bosner to the murders, affirming the circuit court's judgment. The dissenting opinion by Welch was noted, and the case was remanded to clarify the status of a referenced Motion to Suppress, which the circuit court reported did not exist.
