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Sheard v. State

Defendant was entitled to a new trial because portions of his trial transcript were missing, which prevented adequate appellate review of his murder trial.

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Appellant Elliot Sheard was convicted of murder and associated crimes in connection with the stabbing death of Charles Elder. Sheard now appeals, arguing, as he did in his motion for new trial, that missing portions of his trial transcript render his appeal meaningless.1 In light of a number of factors complicating the absence of portions of the trial transcript, we agree that Sheard is entitled to a new trial and reverse the judgment of the trial court.

Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdicts, the evidence adduced at trial – which was conducted in September and October 1998 – established as follows. The victim, Charles Elder, was known to run a successful cash-only bootlegging operation out of his apartment and, as a consequence, maintained a large amount of money in his home. Elder, himself an alcoholic, was prone to brag and display his cash, which was kept in brown paper sacks throughout his apartment. Sheard, along with his co-defendants, Dorothy Grier and Craig Sheard,2 were familiar with both Elder’s neighborhood and his bootlegging operation, and the three defendants were known to ride around the neighborhood in Grier’s white BMW. In the months leading up to Elder’s murder, witnesses overheard the co-defendants discussing the idea of robbing Elder and using his money to get out of town.

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