State of Minnesota v. Vidale Lee Whitson, Vidale Lee Whitson v. State of Minnesota, C5-02-2108

876 N.W.2d 297, 2016 WL 805678
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedMarch 2, 2016
DocketA04-0875, C5-02-2108
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 876 N.W.2d 297 (State of Minnesota v. Vidale Lee Whitson, Vidale Lee Whitson v. State of Minnesota, C5-02-2108) 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
State of Minnesota v. Vidale Lee Whitson, Vidale Lee Whitson v. State of Minnesota, C5-02-2108, 876 N.W.2d 297, 2016 WL 805678 (Mich. 2016).

Opinion

*300 OPINION

LILLEHAUG, Justice.

Appellant Vidale Lee Whitson was convicted of first-degree felony murder for the killing of Milton Williams and attempted first-degree premeditated murder for the shooting of T.C. In this consolidated direct appeal and appeal from the denial of post-conviction relief, Whitson alleges five grounds for relief. We affirm.

I.

The Crime and Investigation

On the evening of April 24, 2001, the Duluth 911 Center received an emergency call from a woman, T.C., pleading for help. T.C. reported, that she had been shot, that another person in the apartment was dead, and that the man who had shot them was no longer in the apartment. During the call, T.C.’s upstairs neighbor A.B., who had heard the gunshots, entered the apartment to investigate. A.B. took the phone from T.C. and told the operator that he had witnessed three black men leave through the back door of the apartan,ent and drive off in a car with Minnesota plate number 650 PYT.

When police arrived at the apartment, they found a man lying face down in a pool of blood in the kitchen and T.C. sitting on the floor with blood on her face and hands. The man, Milton Williams, had been shot three times in the legs and once in the head. T.C. had been shot once in the left cheek, causing major injuries to her face, jaw, neck, and vocal cords. When asked three times by responding officers who had' shot her, she answered “Tyrone White,” then “Tyrone,” and finally “Tyrone White and his friend.” T.C. survived, but Williams was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Information identifying the-vehicle carrying the suspects was broadcast to law enforcement, and almost immediately a Duluth police officer observed a car matching the description travelling southbound on Interstate 35. The officer began to pursue the car, confirmed that its license plate matched the one given by Á.B., and followed until the car came to a stop in a gas' station parking lot. ' Inside the car were three men and a woman. The driver was Tyrone White, the front-seat passenger was Ben King, the passenger seated behind the driver was Charlessetta Jackson, and seated on the rear passenger’s side was appellant Vidale Whitson. When the occupants left the car, White was wearing a floral-patterned shirt, King was wearing a gray and white striped shirt, and Whitson was wearing an orange plaid shirt. Upon searching the vehicle, the police found a plastic bag containing cocaine and another bag containing $2,915.

On August 20, 2001, Whitson was indicted on- three counts: the first-degree premeditated murder of Milton Williams, Minn.Stat. §■ 609.185(1) (2000), the first-degree mürder of Milton Williams during an aggravated robbery, Minn,Stat. § 609.185(3), and the attempted first-degree premeditated murder of T.C., Minn. Stat. §§ 609.185(1), .17 (2000). All three offenses were charged on an accomplice-liability theory. Whitson’s attorney made motions in limine seeking, among other things, to exclude evidence that Ben King and his girlfriend J.M. had been threatened in an attempt to keep King from testifying to the events of April 24. The court granted Whitson’s motion to exclude any evidence of threats against witnesses.

At trial, the State argued that Whitson was the sole gunman and fired the shots that killed Williams and injured T.C. Whit-son’s defense was that Ben King shot Williams and T.C. and that Whitson did nothing to aid in the commission of the *301 crimes. Because forensic evidence could not establish the identity of the gunman, 1 the State’s case that Whitson was the shooter centered on the testimony of two eyewitnesses: T.C. and Ben King. Whitson did not testify at the trial.

T.C.’s Testimony

T.C. testified that, on the day of the crime, she received a telephone call from Tyrone White, who was calling from somewhere in the Twin Cities. White asked her if he could spend the night at her apartment in Duluth. T.C. responded that he could not stay with her because Williams was there, but that he could stop by. Between 6:00 and 6:30 that evening, White arrived at the apartment, accompanied by a man T.C. knew as “Big Time” (Ben King’s nickname), and a man wearing a plaid shirt whom she did not recognize. While King and the man in the plaid shirt sat in the living room, White entered the kitchen and began talking with T.C., Williams, and two other women.

Shortly thereafter, the two other women left the apartment. White and Williams began arguing over a $50 debt:that White supposedly owed Williams.. During the argument, White looked into the living room and nodded. King and the man in the plaid shirt then entered the kitchen. The man in plaid shot Williams, first in the legs and then in the head. T.C. began to plead for her life. She watched as one of the men reached into Williams’ pockets and pulled out some objects. T.C. then felt “a burning sensation” on her face and fell to the ground. She had been shot. Though she did not see who shot her, T.C. testified that only the man in the plaid shirt had a gun. T,C. further testified that she initially identified “Tyrone White” as the shooter because, of the three, she knew only his name and wanted to ensure that police could catch her attackers. • '

Ben King’s Testimony

When King was arrested on April 24, he initially told police that he did not know anything. about what, happened in T.C.’s apartment. However, 2 days later he contacted police and indicated that he wanted to talk about the crime. Ultimately he reached an agreement with the State to plead guilty to aiding an offender after the fact. As part of the plea, King agreed to testify at Whitson’s trial, and he and the State agreed to recommend that King would be-sentenced to 150 months in prison.

At Whitson’s trial, King testified that, on the day of the crime, White, Whitson, and another man named Doug had been talk-, ing and drinking beer in Minneapolis when White suggested traveling to Duluth to rob a man whom he thought had a lot of money. White suggested that he could start an argument with the man over a $50 debt as a pretext for robbing' him. White then noted that it would'not be easy to rob the man, and toíd Whitson he may have to use “the thing” on the man. King took this to be a reference to ’a. gun. King testified that Whitson responded: “[Y]ou shouldn’t be able to hear a .22 inside of a house.”

King then borrowed a gun from Doug and stowed it in the back pocket of the driver’s seat in Charlessetta Jackson’s car. White used King’s cell phone to call T.C. to make .sure that the man they planned to rob would be at her apartment. White, King, Whitson, and Jackson then drove to Duluth in Jackson’s car. When, the four arrived at T.C.’s apartment, .White in *302 structed Jackson to park the car facing outward and to leave the engine running.

White, King, and Whitson then entered the apartment and sat in the living room. White went into the kitchen and joined T.C. and Williams. White began to argue with Williams, at which point King started to leave the apartment because he wanted a cigarette and did not want to be there when Whitson robbed Williams.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In the Matter of the Welfare of: A. A. S., Child
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. Marcus Allen Reynolds
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
Seth Clayton Francis Crawford v. State of Minnesota
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2017
State of Minnesota v. Earl Lionell Ward
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2016
Kent Richard Jones v. State of Minnesota
883 N.W.2d 596 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2016)
State of Minnesota v. Aloeng Kelly Vang, A14-1574
881 N.W.2d 551 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2016)
Julius Antwon Coleman v. State of Minnesota
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2016

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
876 N.W.2d 297, 2016 WL 805678, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-minnesota-v-vidale-lee-whitson-vidale-lee-whitson-v-state-of-minn-2016.