State v. McDonough

631 N.W.2d 373, 2001 Minn. LEXIS 474, 2001 WL 869332
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedAugust 2, 2001
DocketC6-00-1626
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 631 N.W.2d 373 (State v. McDonough) 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. McDonough, 631 N.W.2d 373, 2001 Minn. LEXIS 474, 2001 WL 869332 (Mich. 2001).

Opinions

[379]*379OPINION

GILBERT, Justice.

Appellant William McDonough was convicted of one count first-degree murder and one count attempted first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment for first-degree murder and a consecutive term of 180 months for attempted first-degree murder. On appeal, McDon-ough argues that he is entitled to a new trial because: (1) the district court erred by admitting statements McDonough made to a police officer after McDonough invoked his right to an attorney, (2) the district court erred by allowing the prosecutor to strike the sole African American juror, (3) the district court erred by not dismissing the indictment, (4) the state failed to preserve evidence and the district court failed to take any remedial action, (5) the district court erred by allowing a witness to testify that McDonough had a dispute with his brothers and by admitting as substantive evidence another witness’s testimony that she observed McDonough with a gun two weeks before the shooting, (6) the prosecutor committed three instances of misconduct, (7) the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdicts, and (8) the search warrant was flawed. We affirm.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m. on June 12, 1999, Reginald Rodgers and Steven Cren-shaw left the apartment Crenshaw shared with Gebriela Ansera to deliver marijuana to a friend. Rodgers and Crenshaw left in Ansera’s blue Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Crenshaw drove east on Iglehart and pulled into a driveway near 985 Igle-hart. A white Cadillac pulled up behind Crenshaw, which prevented Crenshaw from backing out of the driveway. Cren-shaw noticed that the Cadillac had a blue interior and rust above the wheel.

Crenshaw testified that the driver got out of the Cadillac and approached the vehicle Crenshaw and Rodgers occupied. Crenshaw heard Rodgers say that he thought “Leo,” a/k/a McDonough, drove a white Cadillac and that the man approaching had a gun. As the man began firing at Crenshaw and Rodgers, Crenshaw accelerated his car over the boulevard, around a tree, and off the curb in an effort to escape. Both Rodgers and Crenshaw ducked down, but one of the first shots hit Rodgers. As Crenshaw attempted to escape, he drove past the man, made eye contact with him, and saw the gun in his hand. Crenshaw immediately recognized the shooter as McDonough, whom Cren-shaw has known since elementary school. The last shot McDonough fired was at Crenshaw, which struck his shoulder, but he was nonetheless able to continue driving and soon reached his apartment.

When Crenshaw returned to his apartment, he quickly explained to Ansera what happened, including identifying the shooter as “Leo,” and Ansera telephoned 911. The police and the paramedics arrived and determined that Rodgers was dead. The paramedics then transported Crenshaw to the hospital where he was treated for a superficial gunshot wound. Crenshaw told the officers at the hospital that a man named “Leo” shot him and Rodgers. Although Crenshaw did not indicate a possible motive, at trial he testified that Mc-Donough was involved in a dispute with Crenshaw’s brothers. The police began their investigation immediately.

The police secured Ansera’s vehicle for processing while Rodgers’ body was still inside it. They found a .9mm shell casing on top of a seatbelt in the rear passenger area, and they also found a bullet hole— with the bullet still in the hole — on the passenger side post between the front and rear seats. In addition, a piece of lead from a bullet was found on the driver’s [380]*380side floor mat, and a bullet’s copper jacket was found on the other side of the mat. There was also a bullet hole in the vehicle’s windshield. After Rodgers’ body was removed from Ansera’s vehicle, and during a later inspection, the police found an intact spent bullet alongside the driver’s door and seat and a baggie containing a substance the police believed to be marijuana. The police returned Ansera’s vehicle to her 3 days later after photographing, recording, and measuring all items of interest to the investigation.

The police also investigated the scene near the driveway at 985 Iglehart where the shooting took place. The police observed skid marks that began at the driveway and proceeded over the grassy boulevard and back onto the street. They also found two .9mm shell casings.

In addition, the police located several eyewitnesses. One neighbor heard a noise just before 11:13 a.m. and looked out her window to see a midsize blue car moving slowly in an eastwardly direction being chased by a man wearing dark clothes who was firing gunshots. Another neighbor who was awakened at 11:13 a.m. by the sound of four gunshots coming from in front of his home looked out his window to see a blue car traveling south being chased by a light-skinned African-American male with a gun in his hand. That neighbor described the shooter as in his 20s, medium build with large braids, and wearing a black shirt and black pants.

One other neighbor heard screeching tires followed by four gunshots and observed a “light-skinned male with braids” dressed in black with a black glove on his right hand who was holding a gun and crouching on the boulevard looking east towards Chatsworth. She also observed the man go to a white car she described as an “older” Cadillac or Lincoln Continental with a rear tire package.

Still another neighbor who was walking home along the sidewalk saw a blue car with two African-American males traveling east on Iglehart. As he got to the edge of his driveway, he heard gunshots ahead of him and he looked up to see the same blue car that passed him earlier drive across the boulevard, around a tree, and back on to Iglehart in order to get around a white vehicle blocking its path back onto the street. The neighbor also observed a young African American male running after the blue car firing gunshots at the blue car. The neighbor then observed the shooter get into the white car and speed away, passing the neighbor as the white car drove westerly on Iglehart. The neighbor testified that he saw only one person in the white car, which he described as an early 1980’s General Motors model with rust.

The police interviewed Crenshaw at Regions Hospital that same day. Crenshaw told the police officer that “Leo” shot him and Rodgers, and Crenshaw described “Leo” as an African American male with a light complexion, 23- or 24-years-old, and wearing braids on both sides of his head. Based on Crenshaw’s description, the police created a computer-generated photo lineup containing McDonough and five other similar looking males on a single sheet of paper with no names underneath the photos. Crenshaw, who was the only person to see the shooter’s face, identified McDonough as the shooter.

That evening, the police went to the apartment McDonough shared with Hope Green to execute a search warrant. Mc-Donough was not there, but the police found and seized a black jacket, black pants, and a black right-handed glove. Green told police that McDonough wore those clothes earlier in the day when he left to get gas and see if he could get Green’s white Cadillac fixed. Green also [381]*381told police that she thought McDonough left at about 11:00 a.m., and a mechanic at a nearby service station told police that McDonough came by with Green’s car sometime after 10:30 a.m.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Johnson
915 N.W.2d 740 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2018)
State of Minnesota v. Earl Alfonso Culver
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2017
State of Minnesota v. Rochelle Denise Wilson
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2016
State of Minnesota v. Maureen Ndidiamaka Onyelobi
879 N.W.2d 334 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2016)
State of Minnesota v. Coleen Joy Peterson
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2016
State of Minnesota v. Patrick Charles Bonga
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2016
State of Minnesota v. Marcus Anthony Mattox
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2016
State of Minnesota v. Anthony London Foresta
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2016
State of Minnesota v. Lakeisha Noal Ivy
873 N.W.2d 362 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2015)
State of Minnesota v. Ashimiyu Gbolahan Alowonle
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2015
State of Minnesota v. Corey Vern Schmidt
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2015
State of Minnesota v. Curtis Wayne Regguinti
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2015
State of Minnesota v. Willie Ester Waters
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2015
State of Minnesota v. Marlon Terrell Pratt
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2015
State of Minnesota v. Saaundre Julian Burns
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2015
State of Minnesota v. Larry Jermaine McCool
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2014
State of Minnesota v. Paul Ronny Barsness
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2014
State of Minnesota v. Jeremy Dean Zittel
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2014
State of Minnesota v. Katherine Trinka Olson
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2014

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
631 N.W.2d 373, 2001 Minn. LEXIS 474, 2001 WL 869332, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mcdonough-minn-2001.