State Of Washington v. Todd Anders Webster

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedNovember 9, 2020
Docket79985-1
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington v. Todd Anders Webster (State Of Washington v. Todd Anders Webster) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Of Washington v. Todd Anders Webster, (Wash. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) No. 79985-1-I ) Respondent, ) DIVISION ONE ) v. ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) TODD ANDERS WEBSTER, ) ) Appellant. ) )

HAZELRIGG, J. — Todd A. Webster seeks reversal of his conviction for

assault in the second degree. He argues that the State failed to comply with its

disclosure obligations under CrR 4.7 and the Fourteenth Amendment before trial

and that the court erred during trial by limiting his impeachment of an eyewitness,

excluding reputation testimony, and refusing to instruct the jury on the lesser

included offense of fourth degree assault. Webster also raises multiple issues in

a pro se statement of additional grounds for review. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

In 2018, Todd Webster, Becky Hernandez, and Aron Willis were tenants at

Greenlake Plaza Apartments, a Seattle Housing Authority apartment building. On

March 28, 2018, Webster and Hernandez were in the building’s laundry room when

Willis turned off the light. An argument and fist fight between Webster and Willis

ensued. Webster recorded part of the argument on his cell phone, which was No. 79985-1-I/2

knocked to the ground and broken during the altercation. Eventually, Webster

pulled out a pocketknife and began stabbing Willis. Much of the incident was

recorded on the building’s security cameras.

Webster and Willis both called 911. When the police arrived, Webster was

outside smoking a cigarette and bleeding from a cut on his hand. Seattle Fire

Department paramedics bandaged his hand, and he was later taken to the

hospital. Responding police officers observed a fresh blood trail through the

building’s laundry room, parking lot, lobby, elevator, and stairwell. They found a

folding knife with a two-inch blade that was open and covered in blood on top of a

washing machine in the laundry room. Seattle Police Officer Vrndavana Holden

spoke with Hernandez and took her statement about the incident.

Responding officers discovered Willis curled up in a pool of blood on the

floor just inside the door of his apartment. Willis was awake and alert. Paramedics

noted stab wounds to Willis’ left cheek, left bicep, the back of his right shoulder,

and the front of his left shoulder. They observed an abnormal respiratory rate and

lung sounds and decided to intubate Willis out of concern that air or blood in his

thoracic cavity was affecting his ability to breathe. Willis was transported to

Harborview Medical Center and remained in the intensive care unit until his

discharge on April 2, 2018.

About two weeks after the incident, Webster was charged with assault in

the second degree and arrested. When he was taken into custody, Webster was

in possession of three cell phones. Defense counsel inquired about the phones

and was initially told that there were no cell phones in evidence. On July 5, 2018,

-2- No. 79985-1-I/3

the State informed defense counsel that it had located the cell phones, which had

been logged under a different case number. The State suggested that Webster

consent to a limited search of the phones to retrieve the footage to avoid the more

time-consuming process of obtaining a warrant to search the phones. No reply

appears in the record.

A week later, defense counsel emailed the State with “a video from the

phone in Mr. Webster’s pocket” appearing to show parts of the incident and

containing a recording of Willis’ voice saying, “There’s no cameras here . . . I can

fucking kick your ass.” The State asked how defense counsel had obtained the

video. Defense counsel did not respond via email, but a prosecutor submitted a

declaration stating that defense counsel had said that the video was on a phone

that Webster’s brother had retrieved from Webster’s apartment. On July 17, 2018,

the State emailed defense counsel regarding the surveillance video and cell phone

video and making a plea offer. The defense does not appear to have renewed its

request to review the contents of the phones in evidence.

On May 6, 2019, Webster filed a motion to dismiss under CrR 8.3, arguing,

among other things, that the State had committed misconduct when it failed to

preserve and turn over the cell phones. In the motion’s certification of facts,

defense counsel declared that defense witness Christina Sargent had indicated in

the State’s interview on May 2, 2019 that she had seen a video on Webster’s phone

in which a person was “coming at Todd saying ‘I’m going to kill you.’” Webster

acknowledged the recording obtained from his brother but argued that he was “not

able to recreate the time date and time stamp that it was recorded” without the

-3- No. 79985-1-I/4

phone. He also argued that he had not been able to examine the phones to see if

any other footage from the night of the incident existed and that he “may be unable

to provide a foundational witness to introduce” the cell phone video. The court

denied the motion, finding that Webster had not shown that there was arbitrary

action or government misconduct or shown prejudice affecting his right to a fair

trial.

The State called Hernandez to testify at trial. Hernandez is autistic. She

lives independently at Greenlake Plaza, and a counselor assists her with things

like paying bills and budgeting. Hernandez testified that, on the night of the

incident, she went to the basement of the building to do her laundry. Webster was

in the laundry room, and Hernandez chatted with him a bit. While they were in the

laundry room, Willis came in and turned off the lights. Webster “got on [Willis’]

case about turning off the lights,” and the two began arguing. They then began

pushing each other and throwing punches. Hernandez described Willis “[p]ushing,

grabbing and then choking [Webster], you know, strangling him.” Webster pulled

out his cell phone and began recording the altercation. The phone fell to the

ground and broke. Hernandez initially testified that Willis had smashed the cell

phone on the ground and stomped on it. However, when the State showed

Hernandez the surveillance video in court, she admitted that she had not actually

seen Willis stomp on the cell phone but had heard the phone crack when it hit the

ground. After the phone broke, Webster pulled out a pocketknife and began

stabbing Willis. Hernandez testified that, when Webster was stabbing Willis, he

said, “Don’t you ever break my cell phone again.”

-4- No. 79985-1-I/5

Before cross-examination, defense counsel indicated that she intended to

impeach Hernandez’s in-court testimony with a prior inconsistent statement that

she had made to Holden on the night of the incident. Defense counsel made an

offer of proof that, on the night of the incident, Hernandez had indicated that Willis

pushed Webster after choking him and that Webster took out the knife to defend

himself. The court agreed “that statement appears to be a prior inconsistent

statement that’s ripe for impeachment.” The court also stated that it would allow

impeachment on the following statement made by Hernandez on the night of the

incident: “So all that blood, he splattered all over him after he got mad at that guy

and said don’t because he was choking [Webster], so [Webster] had to defend

himself. He had to defend himself because he thought he was going to hit me

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State Of Washington v. Todd Anders Webster, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-washington-v-todd-anders-webster-washctapp-2020.