State v. Benton

865 S.E.2d 919 (2021)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Smith owned a mobile home park, rental properties, and commercial properties. Many tenants paid in cash, and Smith paid his employees in cash. Smith distrusted banks, so he carried large sums of cash and only deposited enough money in his accounts to pay bills. Garland Rose and his mother, Lorraine Rose, worked for Smith. Smith was also Lorraine's landlord. Garland informed D and Mitchell Cheatham that Smith often had large amounts of cash, and the three devised a plan to rob him. Cheatham testified at D's trial regarding the various burglaries the group committed in their efforts to steal from Smith. On April 18, 2014, they broke into Smith's home and stole approximately $27,000 in cash. Cheatham claimed he remained in the car while D and Garland burgled the house. On April 25, 2014, Cheatham, D, and Justin Travis met Douglas Thomas at a local Walmart, then went to Cheatham's hotel room to discuss robbing Smith again-this time, at his store. D believed Smith kept about $100,000 in cash in a safe at the store, and the group planned to ambush Smith when he arrived at the store that night. D, Thomas, and Travis used a stolen truck, while Cheatham remained nearby in Heather's car. The three broke into Smith's store. When Smith did not arrive as expected, they set the store on fire. Two days later, D, Thomas, and Cheatham met at a hotel to discuss another plan to rob Smith. On April 29, 2014, D drove them in Heather's car to pick up the stolen truck. The group left the car on a dirt road and took the truck to Smith's mobile home. They beat and handcuffed him. They ransacked and robbed the home, set it on fire, and left Smith handcuffed inside to die. Firemen found a handcuffed body inside the burnt trailer. Investigator Jill Domogauer found handcuffs, a rope, several exploded casings, and metal debris in close proximity to the area from which the body had been removed. She also found a safe containing $120,000 in cash. A grand jury indicted D for Smith's murder. A mistrial was declared almost immediately on the first trial because D did not provide P with advance notice of an alibi witness. The case went back to trial and D moved to dismiss for double jeopardy. The court denied the motion. D presented four alibi witnesses at trial. D was convicted of murder, first-degree arson, third-degree arson, and two counts of first-degree burglary. D appealed in part on the admission of text and Facebook messages not being properly authenticated.