Martin v. State

825 N.W.2d 734, 2013 WL 331561, 2013 Minn. LEXIS 36
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedJanuary 30, 2013
DocketNo. A12-0089
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 825 N.W.2d 734 (Martin v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Martin v. State, 825 N.W.2d 734, 2013 WL 331561, 2013 Minn. LEXIS 36 (Mich. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

DIETZEN, Justice.

Appellant LaMonte Rydell Martin was found guilty by a Hennepin County jury of aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated murder, Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(1) (2012), and committing a crime for the benefit of a gang, Minn.Stat. § 609.229, subd. 2 (2012), arising out of the shooting death of Christopher Lynch on May 3, 2006. The district court entered judgment of conviction on the first-degree premeditated murder charge and sentenced Martin to life in prison without the possibility of release. We affirmed Martin’s conviction on direct appeal. State v. Martin, 773 N.W.2d 89 (Minn.2009). Martin filed a petition for postconviction relief on August 2, 2011, which the postconviction court summarily denied. Because we conclude that Martin was entitled to an evidentiary [737]*737hearing on his claim of witness recantation, but not on his remaining postconviction claims, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

Pretrial Proceedings

In May 2006 Martin was 17 years old. Pursuant to Minn.Stat. §§ 260B.007, subd. 6(b), 260B.101, subd. 2 (2012), the State automatically certified Martin as an adult by filing a two-count complaint alleging aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated murder, Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(1), and committing a crime for the benefit of a gang, Minn.Stat. § 609.229, subd. 2. Three weeks later, a grand jury indicted Martin on both charges alleged in the complaint. The grand jury also indicted Cornelius Jackson and Jonard McDaniel with aiding and abetting Martin in the murder of Lynch and with committing a crime for the benefit of a gang.

Jury Trial and Sentencing

The State presented the evidence1 against Martin and Jackson in a combined jury trial.2 The State’s theory was that Lynch was an innocent victim and that his murder was “collateral damage” in an ongoing gang dispute. The identity of the shooters was a highly contested issue at trial. Only two of the State’s eyewitnesses, Jermaine Mack-Lynch and his older brother Charles Pettis, were able to provide direct evidence that Martin and Jackson shot Lynch.

Mack-Lynch testified that on the evening of May 3, 2006, he was walking through a residential neighborhood in north Minneapolis with his cousin, Lynch, when they saw a white car occupied by three members of the One-Nines gang. Mack-Lynch, who was a member of the Tre Tre gang, recognized the driver as Martin and the two passengers as Jackson and McDaniel. Because there was an ongoing dispute between the One-Nines gang and the Tre Tre gang, Mack-Lynch and Lynch fled down an alley. Martin and Jackson jumped out of the car holding pistols and chased them down the alley. While Lynch stopped to catch his breath in the back yard of 626 Thomas Avenue, Mack-Lynch ran ahead in an effort to lead Martin and Jackson away from Lynch. Eventually, Mack-Lynch reached the home of his older brother, Pettis. The Pettis home was located across the street from the house immediately north of 626 Thomas Avenue. Mack-Lynch asked Pet-tis and C.S., who was Pettis’s then-girlfriend, if Lynch was there. When Pettis said that he had not seen Lynch, Mack-Lynch explained that the One-Nines were chasing Lynch. As they stood in the living room, Mack-Lynch, Pettis, and C.S. heard gunshots. In response to the gunshots, Mack-Lynch looked across the street and saw Martin and Jackson firing their guns toward the back yard of 626 Thomas Avenue. Mack-Lynch ran across the street and saw McDaniel drive the white car down the alley and Martin and Jackson jump into the car. As the three men drove away, Mack-Lynch found Lynch mortally wounded in the back yard of 626 Thomas Avenue.

Pettis also testified at trial. He told the jury that on the date of the shooting, Mack-Lynch rushed into his home in a frantic manner, saying that the One-Nines were chasing Lynch. After asking Mack-Lynch some clarifying questions, Pettis looked out the front door of his home and saw Martin and Jackson standing in the front yard of 626 Thomas Avenue. Martin [738]*738and Jackson were holding handguns and looked like they were searching for Mack-Lynch. Martin and Jackson then ran into the back yard of 626 Thomas Avenue and Pettis heard gunshots. In response to the gunshots, Pettis ran across the street and saw Jackson and Martin get into a white car and drive away. Pettis and Mack-Lynch then found Lynch mortally wounded in the back yard of 626 Thomas Avenue.

Ten-year-old S.H. witnessed the shooting from his back porch. He could not see the two shooters’ faces, but he did observe that the shooters were black men wearing hats. S.H. also testified that Lynch had his hands in the air when he was shot. When S.H.’s father heard the gunfire, he went out onto the porch and saw “two guys” jump into a white car; one of the men was wearing a red baseball cap and a red-and-white striped shirt.

Additionally, Paris Patton, a member of the One-Nines gang, and Kiron Williams, a member of the Vice Lords gang, testified that Martin, Jackson, and McDaniel made admissions to them regarding their involvement in Lynch’s murder. Both Patton and Williams were in federal custody on narcotics charges. They agreed to testify in exchange for the possibility of a reduced sentence in federal court. About a month after the murder, Patton overheard Jackson say that Lynch was on his knees begging for his life when Jackson shot him. According to Williams, Martin bragged to him about chasing Mack-Lynch and then killing the person who was with him.

The jury found Martin guilty as charged. At the sentencing hearing, Martin presented Individual Education Plans (IEPs) from his high school that documented possible learning disabilities and a low IQ, and medical reports indicating Martin previously had been shot in the head. Martin argued that the imposition of life imprisonment without the possibility of release, mandated by Minn.Stat. §§ 609.106, subd. 2(1), 609.185(a)(1) (2012), constituted cruel and unusual punishment under U.S. Const, amend. VIII and Minn. Const, art. 1, § 5 because he was a juvenile at the time of the offense. The district court disagreed, explaining that Martin was less than two months away from his eighteenth birthday when he committed the offense, and therefore his “age of 17 is not a factor that renders the punishment of life in prison without parole unconstitutional under either the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution or under the Minnesota Constitution.”3 After convicting Martin of first-degree premeditated murder, the district court imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of release.

Direct Appeal

On direct appeal, Martin challenged his conviction and sentence asserting nine claims, four of which are relevant here.4 First, Martin claimed the State committed [739]*739a discovery violation when it failed to timely disclose the notes of a police investigator. Martin, 773 N.W.2d at 109. He next claimed trial counsel was ineffective when she failed to investigate the State’s “key” witnesses. Id. Martin also claimed the State failed to prove all of the elements of committing a crime for the benefit of a gang. Id. at 108. Finally, Martin claimed sentencing him to life imprisonment without the possibility of release was cruel and unusual punishment because he was a juvenile at the time of the crime. Id. at 97.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
825 N.W.2d 734, 2013 WL 331561, 2013 Minn. LEXIS 36, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martin-v-state-minn-2013.