State v. Hawes

801 N.W.2d 659, 2011 Minn. LEXIS 501, 2011 WL 3687543
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedAugust 24, 2011
DocketNo. A10-1225
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 801 N.W.2d 659 (State v. Hawes) 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. Hawes, 801 N.W.2d 659, 2011 Minn. LEXIS 501, 2011 WL 3687543 (Mich. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

GILDEA, Chief Justice.

Elizabeth Hawes was convicted of aiding and abetting the first-degree premeditated murder of her brother Edwin Hawes, in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.05, subd. 1 (2010), and MinmStat. § 609.185(a)(1) (2010). The district court sentenced Hawes to life imprisonment. Hawes appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction. Hawes also argues that the district court erred when it ruled that out-of-court statements made by Hawes’ younger brother, Andrew Hawes, were not admissible as declarations against penal interest and when it denied Hawes’ motion for a new trial. We affirm Hawes’ conviction.

This case arises from the October 2008 murder of Edwin Hawes. The last time anyone saw Edwin alive was on October 29, 2008, at approximately 6:30 p.m. Authorities eventually recovered his burned body from a fire pit in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, on October 31. The State’s theory of the case was that Hawes helped Andrew commit the murder. Hawes claimed Andrew killed Edwin without her help.

Andrew and Edwin operated Hawes Lawn Service for about 20 years but in early 2007, the relationship between the brothers deteriorated, as did the relationship between Hawes and Edwin. The relationships between the siblings became strained because Hawes and Andrew believed that Edwin had stolen money from the lawn business and their grandmother, and they accused Edwin of theft.

Shortly after his brother and sister accused him of theft, Edwin went to his parents’ house to have a conversation with his parents and Hawes. Prior to entering the house, Edwin called police dispatch to notify them that he was outside the house and that he was concerned about going inside because Hawes was inside and she always took Andrew’s side. Once inside, Edwin told Hawes that he was fearful of Andrew because Andrew threatened to kill him and several people heard this threat. Hawes asked Edwin if he thought he deserved to be killed. Edwin responded that he just wanted to “get this all out on the [663]*663table” so that everyone could see that he did not steal any money.

Because of Andrew’s death threat, Edwin changed his residence. He moved in with M.W., an elderly individual, in And-over, and did not communicate his new address to Andrew or Hawes. But on June 8, 2007, Hawes discovered Edwin’s new address by following Edwin home from his daughter’s dance recital in Spring Lake Park.1 A police report documented Hawes’ June 8 conduct. Edwin made the report when he became suspicious of the vehicle following him.

Also during June, Hawes and Andrew reported Edwin’s alleged theft to several government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Minnesota Attorney General, and the Robbinsdale Police Department. But Hawes and Andrew were frustrated by the response of the governmental agencies.

Approximately a year later, on July 19, 2008, Andrew rammed Edwin’s car off the road in Minneapolis. Edwin’s daughter, Avery, was a passenger in Edwin’s car at the time. When Edwin’s ex-fiancée, R.W., contacted Hawes a few days later, Hawes said that Andrew could not have hit Edwin’s car because Andrew was in Ohio visiting his girlfriend on the day in question. Despite his alleged alibi, the State charged Andrew with two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of terroristic threats, and two counts of criminal damage to property because of the incident with Edwin.2 A no-contact order was also issued prohibiting Andrew from having contact with Edwin and Avery.

On August 20, 2008, Special Agent Glenn Bona told Hawes that the theft allegations against Edwin were unfounded and, that even if they were true, the statute of limitations barred prosecution of Edwin. Bona testified that Hawes became “agitated” upon hearing this and asked Bona how the authorities could let Edwin get away with theft. Bona said that Hawes became “very volatile” and loud, and he described her demeanor as “on fire.”

In September 2008, Hawes contacted R.W. about the visitation schedule Avery was to have with Edwin during that fall, and Hawes sought other details about Edwin’s whereabouts. Hawes wanted to know Avery’s visitation schedule, including the weekends R.W. and Edwin each had Avery, when R.W. and Edwin were to be on vacation, where and what time Avery was picked up, and what car Edwin would drive when he picked up Avery.3 Hawes said that she needed to know this information because the authorities were investigating Edwin for theft and were very close to arresting him, and Hawes did not want Avery around when they arrested Edwin. This explanation was false because by September 2008, Hawes knew that the authorities had concluded that the theft allegations were unsubstantiated and that statute of limitations had expired.

On September 22, M.W., Edwin’s housemate, caught Hawes looking around various areas of the property surrounding Edwin’s residence, including the shed on the property. After M.W. confronted her, Hawes left. M.W. subsequently called the sheriff and made a report because he knew there were problems between Edwin and Hawes. Shortly thereafter, on September 24, Edwin obtained a restraining order [664]*664against Hawes. R.W. testified that Edwin obtained the restraining order because he believed Hawes was a danger to him.

On October 30, 2008, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Anoka County sheriff deputies Bryan Pierson and Brett Froslee were at the Woodland Creek Golf Course in And-over, about a half-mile from Edwin’s residence. The deputies noticed a truck that was registered to Hawes Lawn Service parked in the parking lot. Shortly thereafter, the officers observed Hawes emerging from the woods. Hawes explained to Deputy Pierson that she was in the area visiting a friend to discuss a cancer benefit. Hawes told Pierson that her friend’s name was “Sandy Thompson” and that she lived down the road. Pierson found Hawes’ story suspicious, conducted a database search of “Sandy Thompson,” and was not able to locate a person with that name living in the area. Pierson then conducted a database search of “Elizabeth Hawes” and learned that there were police reports regarding Hawes and Edwin. Pierson also learned that Edwin lived a half-mile away from the golf course. Given this information, Pierson once again asked Hawes why she was in the area. Hawes continued to maintain her story that she was visiting a friend. Pierson then decided to check on Edwin.

Pierson was about two blocks from Edwin’s house when he came across a man, later identified as Andrew, staggering in the middle of the street and flagging him down. Andrew told Pierson that he was having a diabetic reaction. Pierson called an ambulance and while they were waiting for it to arrive, Andrew said his truck was located at a business nearby which turned out to be the golf course. Pierson drove Andrew to the golf course parking lot and subsequently asked Andrew why he was in the area. Andrew eventually told Pierson that he had been in a fight with Hawes and that she ran off.

Pierson thought that Andrew and Hawes could have been at Edwin’s residence and continued to question Andrew. Andrew eventually told Pierson that he and Hawes went over to Edwin’s residence. Pierson then questioned Hawes, who told Pierson that they went to Edwin’s house to repossess a Volkswagen Passat that belonged to Andrew after the business between Edwin and Andrew broke up. Pierson asked her how she was going to repossess the car and she pulled the key to a Volkswagen out of her sock.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
801 N.W.2d 659, 2011 Minn. LEXIS 501, 2011 WL 3687543, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hawes-minn-2011.