State v. Portillo

CALABRIA, Judge.

*835 Jose Merlin Henriquez Portillo ("defendant") appeals from a judgment entered upon a jury verdict finding him guilty of first degree murder. Defendant contends the trial court committed reversible error by excluding certain evidence he offered at trial, and by failing to suppress two statements he made to police officers in the hospital. We conclude that defendant received a fair trial free from error.

I. Background

On the evening of 16 December 2009, Cirilo Avila ("Avila") drove a grocery truck to the Pepper Ridge apartment complex in Winston-Salem. He planned to sell produce…