State of Washington v. Patrick Kevin Gibson

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided January 16, 2014·No. 31077-9·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

JAN 16,2014

In the Office of the Clerk of Court W A State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) No. 31077-9-III )

Respondent, )

)

v. )

)

PATRICK K. GIBSON, ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION )

Appellant. )

BROWN, 1.-Patrick Gibson appeals his bench trial first-degree murder conviction for killing Brian Cole during a 1992 Spokane store robbery. In addition to evidence insufficiency, he contends the trial court erred in admitting (1) tainted in-court identifications, (2) evidence of a similar robbery the same day, and (3) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence. Mr. Gibson in his pro se statement of additional grounds (SAG)

generally asserts the trial court did not understand the evidence and suggests 1 i prosecutorial misconduct. We fmd no abuse of discretion in the trial court's evidence I rulings, conclude the evidence sufficiently supports Mr. Gibson's conviction, and reject

!

Mr. Gibson's SAG. Accordingly, we affirm.

!

}

No. 31077-9-III State v. Gibson

FACTS

On November 7, 1992, two robberies occurred within three hours committed by a man wearing a black baseball cap that read "Solid Gold," sunglasses, and a fake beard (the disguise). The robber employed the same method of operation described below. The first occurred at 5 :00 p.m. in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The second, the subject of this murder case, occurred around 8:00 p.m. in Spokane. The disguise, method of operation, and timing linked the two crimes but it was not until years later that DNA linked Mr. Gibson as a suspect. The court at a later bench trialleamed, and generally found, the following facts.

In Coeur d' Alene, Teresa Benner was closing Kid's Fair, the store she owned with her husband, Steve Benner, when a man wearing the disguise briskly walked through the doors, displayed a small, silver handgun, and said, "'You are being robbed.'" Clerk's Papers (CP) at 319. The man ordered Ms. Benner and employee Kathy Ward, to the backroom where he found Mr. Benner and the Benners' two young children. The man ordered Ms. Ward to handcuff Mr. Benner and zip tie herself to Ms. Benner, then demanded cash, credit cards, and, unsuccessfully, personal identification number (PIN) numbers. They gave the man approximately $100 in cash. Before leaving, the man unsuccessfully tried to remove the handcuffs from Mr. Benner. When police arrived, the victims described the man and his disguise, describing the beard as "Amish-style." CP at

No. 31077-9-III State v. Gibson

320. Police recovered a fingerprint from the handcuffs but it did not match Mr. Gibson. The robber was not then apprehended.

In Spokane, a man wearing the disguise entered Cole's Furniture and stated, '''This is a stickup. '" CP at 322. He displayed a small, silver handgun and demanded cash, credit cards, and PIN numbers. Michele Cole retrieved $18 from her purse and handed it to her husband, Brian Cole, who handed it to the robber. The robber ordered the Coles to the back of the store. Ms. Cole suffers from multiple sclerosis and drove her scooter toward the back. Mr. Cole then asked, "'You wouldn't hurt a handicapped lady, would you?'" Id. The robber responded, "'I might.'" Id. Before reaching the back of the store, Ms. Cole heard a ruckus and a gunshot. When she turned around, she saw her husband and the intruder struggling and crashing into furniture. Blood stained Mr. Cole's back. The intruder fired a second shot, hitting Mr. Cole in the head and fled. The Coles called 911. Mr. Cole died due to his injuries.

At the crime scene, police found the robber's sunglasses, the black baseball cap, and a clump of fibers from the fake beard. Ms. Cole described the robber as "clean- shaven with a fake beard and a thin face, 5'8", thin, about 30 years old." CP at 324. By chance, Heather Bender stopped her car at a well lit intersection directly in front of Cole's and saw a man wearing the disguise pass about 10 feet in front of her car and make a "beeline" toward Cole's. CP at 321. She described the man as 30-35 years old, about 5' 11" and '''not heavy, not slim. '" Id.

No. 31077-9-III State v. Gibson

In late 1993, the lead .detective Mark Henderson showed Ms. Cole a photomontage. Ms. Cole was 85 to 90 percent certain the intruder was number four, Hugh Knuttgen. The same day, Detective Henderson showed the same photomontage to the Benners and Kathy Ward. Both Benners tentatively and separately identified number four, Mr. Knuttgen, as the robber. Kathy Ward was unable to positively identify anyone. Police later cleared Mr. Knuttgen of involvement.

Also in 1993, Detective Henderson took the black hat to Washington, D.C. The television show, "America's Most Wanted," used the hat to reenact the robbery. Three people handled the hat: Detective Henderson, producer John Walsh, and actor, Trevor St. John, each unintentionally causing DNA contamination.

In April 2004, Detective Henderson submitted the hat, along with the sunglasses found at the scene, to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab (WSPCL). The crime lab forensic specialist James Currie analyzed the hat for DNA. Specialist Currie inconclusively found DNA from at least three people.

In 2007, Spokane County Detective Lyle Johnston assumed responsibility for the Cole murder case. In December 2010, he submitted the clump of fibers from the fake beard to the WSPCL. The lab found DNA from one individual on the clump of fibers, and ran it through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). CODIS reported the DNA match to Mr. Gibson. The lab concluded a one in 3.1 trillion chance existed the DNA on the clump of fake beard does not belong to Mr. Gibson. When Detective

No. 31077-9-111 State v. Gibson

Johnston learned the DNA on the beard belonged to Mr. Gibson, he asked the crime lab to analyze the hat collected from Cole's Furniture. The lab found Mr. Gibson potentially contributed his DNA to the hat. But, because the hat contained at least three DNA contributors, without more, one out of every two people in the United States could have contributed DNA to the hat.

Detective Johnston reviewed Mr. Gibson's file and learned he had not previously been contacted nor considered a suspect. Detective Johnston checked the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) records. The NCIC reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had arrested Mr. Gibson in 1994 for bank robbery. The FBI briefed Detective Johnston on Mr. Gibson's bank robbing operation. His usual bank robbing method, according to Special Agent Frank Harrill, included wearing a hat, beard, and trench coat as a disguise.

In April 2011, Detective Johnston prepared a photomontage of six photos, including Mr. Gibson's 1994 driver's license photo. The bottom of the photomontage admonished the suspect's photograph mayor may not be among those in the lineup, and specified the witness was not obligated to make an identification. Detective Johnston presented the photomontage to witnesses of both the Coeur d'Alene and Spokane robberies. From the photomontage, Ms. Cole identified Mr. Gibson as her husband's murderer. Mr. Benner identified Mr. Gibson as the man who robbed his store. Ms. Benner and Ms. Ward could not positively identify anyone. Ms. Bender was not

No. 31077-9-111 State v. Gibson

contacted. Detective Johnston did not follow the Spokane County Sheriffs office policy manual explaining the best practices for using photos to identity suspects by being involved in the investigation and not presenting the photos sequentially.

On May 4, 2011, authorities arrested Mr. Gibson who was charged with first-

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