State v. Bahtuoh

840 N.W.2d 804, 2013 WL 6834600, 2013 Minn. LEXIS 776
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedDecember 26, 2013
DocketNos. A10-1584, A12-1281
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 840 N.W.2d 804 (State v. Bahtuoh) 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 v. Bahtuoh, 840 N.W.2d 804, 2013 WL 6834600, 2013 Minn. LEXIS 776 (Mich. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

STRAS, Justice.

In a consolidated appeal, appellant Christopher Dineaa Bahtuoh challenges his conviction of first-degree felony murder while committing a drive-by shooting for the benefit of a gang. In his direct appeal, Bahtuoh argues that the record contains insufficient evidence to support his conviction. In his postconviction ap[808]*808peal, Bahtuoh argues that the district court misstated the law when it instructed the jury on accomplice liability, that trial counsel coerced him into not testifying at trial, that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel, and that the district court abused its discretion when it denied his motion for a mistrial. Bahtuoh also argues in a pro se supplemental brief that the jury’s verdicts are legally inconsistent and that the postconviction court erred when it denied an evidentiary hearing on his claim that the district court violated his right to a public trial. We affirm.

I.

On the evening of April 28, 2009, Kyle Parker was at his mother’s home in Minneapolis with two other men from his neighborhood, A.M. and N.A. While the three men were outside, Bahtuoh drove past the home, turned his car around, and then drove toward them. Bahtuoh, who knew Parker, opened a car window and called for Parker. As Parker approached the car, Bahtuoh’s passenger — later identified as Lamont McGee — shot Parker multiple times. Bahtuoh then drove away, speeding through a stop sign. After Parker’s sister learned of the shooting, she ran to Parker. Parker told her that Bah-tuoh was responsible for the shooting. Parker died later that evening from the gunshot wounds.

Bahtuoh and his attorney met with the police approximately 6 weeks later. Bah-tuoh waived his right to remain silent and denied any involvement in the shooting. The next day, the State charged Bahtuoh by complaint with intentional second-degree murder. See Minn.Stat. § 609.19, subd. 1(1) (2012). Bahtuoh admitted during a second conversation with the police that he was present at the scene of the shooting, drove the car, and fled the scene. Bahtuoh testified before a grand jury, which indicted him on four counts of first-degree murder, including first-degree felony murder while committing a drive-by shooting for the benefit of a gang, Minn. Stat. §§ 609.185(a)(3) (2012), 609.229, subd.(2012), and two counts of second-degree murder. On all six counts, the indictment charged Bahtuoh as both a principal and an accomplice.

At the jury trial that followed, defense counsel repeatedly told the jury during his opening statement that Bahtuoh would testify. Nevertheless, Bahtuoh later waived his right to testify and presented no witnesses in his defense. The jury found Bahtuoh not guilty of two of the counts of first-degree murder, but guilty of the four remaining counts of the indictment. The district court convicted Bahtuoh of each of the four counts on which the jury found him guilty, but sentenced him only on the count of first-degree felony murder while committing a drive-by shooting for the benefit of a gang. The district court sentenced Bahtuoh to life imprisonment with the possibility of release after 31 years. See Minn.Stat. §§ 609.185(a)(3), 609.229, subd. 2; see also Minn.Stat. § 244.05, subd. 4(b) (2012).

We stayed Bahtuoh’s direct appeal to permit him to file a petition for postconviction relief. State v. Bahtuoh, No. A10-1584, Order at 1 (Minn. filed Nov. 16, 2010). In his postconviction petition, Bah-tuoh alleged that the district court misstated the law when it instructed the jury on accomplice liability, that he did not voluntarily waive his right to testify, that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel, that the district court should have granted a mistrial because the prosecutor committed misconduct, and that the district court violated his right to a public trial. The postconviction court granted an evidentiary hearing to Bahtuoh on his allegation that he did not voluntarily waive his [809]*809right to testify, but summarily denied relief to Bahtuoh on the remaining claims.

At the postconviction evidentiary hearing, Bahtuoh was the only witness who testified. Bahtuoh said that he was “shocked” and “confused” when, at a meeting the night before the State rested its case, defense counsel told Bahtuoh that he had decided not to have Bahtuoh testify. Bahtuoh also stated that defense counsel never advised him about the advantages and disadvantages of testifying. According to Bahtuoh, defense counsel simply instructed him to “say nothing other than [that he] understood the questions that [he] was being asked” when he was questioned about his decision not to testify on the record. The postconviction court found Bahtuoh’s testimony unpersuasive and denied his petition for postconviction relief. Bahtuoh appealed the denial of his petition for postconviction relief, and we have consolidated Bahtuoh’s direct and postconviction appeals into a single proceeding to facilitate review. State v. Bahtuoh, Nos. A10-1584, A12-1281, Order at 1 (Minn. filed Aug., 2012).

II.

The first question presented by this ease is whether the State presented sufficient evidence to support Bahtuoh’s conviction of first-degree felony murder while committing a drive-by shooting for the benefit of a gang. See Minn.Stat. §§ 609.185(a)(3), 609.229, subd. 2. Although the indictment charged Bahtuoh both as a principal and as an accomplice, the evidence at trial showed that Bahtuoh did not shoot Parker. Therefore, the parties agree that we should address the sufficiency of the evidence only with respect to Bahtuoh’s liability as an accomplice. Bah-tuoh’s challenge focuses on whether the evidence was sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intentionally aided McGee, the man who shot Parker.

When considering a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and assume that the jury disbelieved any evidence that conflicts with the verdict. State v. Thomas, 590 N.W.2d 755, 757 (Minn.1999). We will uphold the verdict if the jury, “giving due regard to the presumption of innocence and to the state’s burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, could reasonably have found the defendant guilty of the offense charged.” Id. at 757-58.

The State ordinarily proves a criminal defendant’s mental state by circumstantial evidence. State v. Schneider, 402 N.W.2d 779, 782 (Minn.1987). This case is no exception: the State relied solely on circumstantial evidence to prove that Bahtuoh intentionally aided McGee in the commission of first-degree felony murder while committing a drive-by shooting for the benefit of a gang. When a challenge is to the sufficiency of the circumstantial evidence supporting a conviction, we apply the following two-step analysis:

First, we must identify the circumstances proved, giving deference to the jury’s acceptance of the proof of these circumstances and rejection of evidence in the record that conflicted with the circumstances proved by the State. Second, we independently examine the reasonableness of all inferences that might be drawn from the circumstances proved, including inferences consistent with a hypothesis other than guilt. Thus, our review consists of determining whether the circumstances proved are consistent with guilt and inconsistent with any rational hypothesis except that of guilt.

State v. Anderson,

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Bluebook (online)
840 N.W.2d 804, 2013 WL 6834600, 2013 Minn. LEXIS 776, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bahtuoh-minn-2013.