State v. Barden

949 A.2d 820, 195 N.J. 375, 2008 N.J. LEXIS 790
CourtSupreme Court of New Jersey
DecidedJune 24, 2008
DocketA-23 September Term 2007
StatusPublished
Cited by66 cases

This text of 949 A.2d 820 (State v. Barden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Barden, 949 A.2d 820, 195 N.J. 375, 2008 N.J. LEXIS 790 (N.J. 2008).

Opinions

Justice WALLACE, JR.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

In this case, the trial court admitted evidence that defendant sold drugs to co-defendant over a six-month period prior to the robbery under a theory of res gestae. On appeal, the Appellate Division affirmed, but held that the other-crimes evidence was properly admitted under N.J.R.E. 404(b) to show defendant’s motive with respect to the crimes charged and that the corresponding limiting instruction was appropriate. We granted certification “limited solely to the question of whether testimony that defendant sold drugs to the co-defendant over a six-month period prior to the robbery of September 7, 2003, was improperly admitted by the trial court under either a theory of res gestae or N.J.R.E. 404(b).” We now reverse. We conclude that the evidence that defendant sold drugs to the co-defendant over a six-month period was evidence of other crimes that was unduly prejudicial and should have been excluded.

I.

A.

The State presented the following evidence at trial. Sixteen-year-old Andrea Gendron was addicted to crack cocaine since mid-2003. She supported her drug habit by means of prostitution, theft, and burglary. Gendron purchased crack cocaine from defendant Diara Barden on approximately thirty occasions for six months prior to September 2003.

On Sunday, September 7, 2003, Gendron asked defendant to give her- some crack cocaine and promised to pay him later because she had no money. Defendant declined but suggested that they , rob one of Gendron’s clients. Gendron agreed and selected Robert Brown as the victim because he kept money in a [383]*383safe in his bedroom. She also told defendant that Robert’s brother, Randall Brown, lived in the same house.

Gendron called Robert and received permission to come see him. Defendant then drove Gendron to Robert’s house in a burgundy Mustang, but before going there they stopped at a house on Olden Avenue where defendant retrieved a handgun. Gendron and defendant arrived at Robert’s house around 9:30 p.m. Prior to entering the house, the two agreed that they would tell Robert that defendant was Gendron’s bodyguard and was there to protect her. When they knocked on the door, Robert refused to allow defendant to enter with Gendron. Defendant returned to his car while Robert and Gendron went upstairs to a bedroom. Soon thereafter, Gendron heard defendant beeping the ear horn. She excused herself from Robert and left the house to go talk to defendant. Several minutes later, Gendron returned to the house with defendant. When they were inside, Robert approached them and asked defendant to leave. As he escorted defendant to the door, defendant drew a handgun and demanded that Robert call his brother who was also in the house. Defendant and Robert then walked to the kitchen where Robert yelled for Randall. Defendant was distracted when Randall entered the room, allowing Robert the opportunity to grab defendant’s wrist.

Randall joined the struggle as defendant continued to hold the handgun. Defendant yelled for Gendron to stab Robert. Gen-dron grabbed a pot instead and began hitting Randall on the head. The struggle shifted to the dining room where Robert forced defendant to drop the handgun outside the screened window. Defendant was able to break free and fled from the house with Gendron.

Robert’s neighbor, Tom Sliwinski, overheard the commotion and called the police. When the police arrived, Robert outlined what occurred and gave the police a description of defendant and Gendron. Defendant was eventually apprehended and charged with robbery.

[384]*384B.

At trial, defendant presented a different picture of the incident. In addition to his own testimony, he offered the testimony of Towanna Stephens, his cousin; Peggy Barden, his grandmother; Brett Barden, his uncle; and Theresa Jones, Robert’s neighbor.

Defendant testified that on the night of September 7, 2003, he, Towanna, Peggy, Brett, and other family members were sitting outside of Peggy’s house in Trenton, when they observed a young, white girl who did not live in the neighborhood walking up and down the street, looking lost and confused. After about ten minutes, the girl, later identified as Gendron, approached Peggy’s house and asked Brett to give her a ride.

At first Brett agreed to do so. However, after receiving a cell phone call from his girlfriend asking him to pick her up, Brett asked defendant to give the girl a ride. Defendant said he hesitated, but his grandmother persuaded him to do it. Defendant and Gendron departed in a maroon Mustang and drove to 219 Homecrest Avenue in Ewing. When they arrived at the house, Gendron asked him to wait outside while she went inside. Defendant agreed. After about ten minutes, he began blowing the horn to tell Gendron to hurry. At that point, Theresa came outside and asked him to stop beeping the horn.

Defendant said that Gendron came to the. front door and motioned for him to come inside. He entered the house and told Gendron he was leaving. At that point, Robert came downstairs and yelled at defendant for being in his home. The two exchanged insults that led to a verbal altercation. Defendant turned to leave when Robert struck him in the head. Defendant fought back but another man joined in the fight. Defendant testified that it was Robert who displayed a handgun during the fight. At some point during the struggle, they crashed into a window and Robert dropped the handgun outside. Defendant was able to flee from the house, and he drove away with Gendron. Defendant claimed he never saw Gendron before that day and denied having a handgun. Defendant also denied discussing with Gendron the [385]*385idea of committing a robbery, and that he made a statement to the police about the incident.

C.

The State called Detective Holt to rebut much of defendant’s testimony. Detective Holt testified that defendant came to the police station on September 12, 2003. He administered Miranda1 warnings to defendant, and defendant waived his right to remain silent. After explaining that Gendron had been identified as a suspect of a robbery on Homecrest Avenue, Detective Holt asked defendant if he knew anything about the case. Defendant was silent for about thirty minutes before Detective Holt asked defendant where he was the previous Sunday. Defendant replied that he had traveled to Maryland for a few days and returned on Sunday. When Detective Holt told defendant that the police recovered a handgun and intended to check it for fingerprints, defendant again fell silent for about twenty minutes before asking what would happen if he told him what occurred that day. Detective Holt replied that he could not make defendant any promises. Defendant then told Detective Holt that he drove to a house with Gendron to see “some guy” and while inside, the man’s brother came out of the kitchen with a handgun. Defendant indicated that a fight broke out and the handgun fell out the window. A short while later, he and Gendron fled from the house. Detective Holt testified that defendant indicated he did not want to say anything else and the questioning stopped.

The State sought to read a statement that Detective Holt had obtained from Sliwinski, Robert’s neighbor, because he was on military duty in Iraq at the time of the trial, and defendant consented.

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Bluebook (online)
949 A.2d 820, 195 N.J. 375, 2008 N.J. LEXIS 790, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-barden-nj-2008.