State Of Washington v. Todd Anders Webster

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided November 9, 2020·No. 79985-1·Unpublished

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v. ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION )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

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,

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

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.”

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 also, that other guy.” The court did not allow impeachment using parts of Hernandez’s statement in which she “seem[ed] to be speculating and kind of getting into people’s minds.” Defense counsel also sought to impeach Hernandez’s testimony that Webster made a statement about breaking his phone while he was stabbing Willis, which the court permitted.

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

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