State v. Miller

401 P.3d 229, 287 Or. App. 135, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 949
Court of Appeals of Oregon·Decided August 2, 2017·No. 120733133; A153987·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

EGAN, J.

Defendant appeals a judgment of conviction for attempted murder (Count 1), ORS 163.115; attempted assault in the first degree (Count 2), ORS 163.185; unlawful use of a weapon (Count 3), ORS 166.220; failure to perform the duties of a driver when property is damaged (Count 5), ORS 811.700; and unlawful possession of a firearm (Count 6), ORS 166.250.1 Defendant assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his demurrer to the indictment based on improper joinder of charges. We conclude that Counts 5 and 6 were not properly joined in the indictment with Counts 1 through 3 and, thus, the trial court erred in denying defendant’s demurrer. However, that error was not harmless with respect only to Counts 5 and 6, and we therefore reverse only those counts. Defendant also contends that the trial court erred in admitting police recordings of two witnesses’ statements as evidence under OEC 803(5),2 the past recollection recorded exception to the hearsay rule (OEC 802). We conclude that, because the two witnesses did not “make or adopt” their recorded statements, the trial court erred in admitting the recordings under OEC 803(5) and that error was not harmless with respect to defendant’s convictions on Counts 1, 2, and 3. We reject defendant’s other assignment of error without discussion. Accordingly, we reverse and remand the convictions on Counts 1, 2, and 3, and we reverse the convictions on Counts 5 and 6. Otherwise, we affirm.

We apply a two-part standard of review to a trial court evidentiary ruling that a statement fits within an [138]*138exception to the hearsay rule. State v. Cunningham, 337 Or 528, 538-39, 99 P3d 271 (2004). We will uphold the trial court’s preliminary factual determinations if any evidence in the record supports them. Id. at 537. However, we review for legal error the trial court’s ultimate legal conclusion on whether the hearsay statement is admissible under an exception to the hearsay rule. Id. at 538. Also, in the absence of express findings, we generally presume that the trial court decided disputed factual issues consistently with its ultimate conclusion. Ball v. Gladden, 250 Or 485, 487, 443 P2d 621 (1968). We set out the facts in accordance with that standard.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Background Facts

Defendant’s girlfriend was at a family party when she showed her grandmother her new car. When the grandmother went outside to look at the car, defendant was standing nearby with two of his friends—Brown and Ritmiller. Defendant and the grandmother began to argue. Then the grandmother walked away toward the house while defendant “yell[ed] and cuss[ed]” at her. When the grandmother returned to the house, she told her grandson, Royal, what had happened, and Royal left the house to talk to defendant.

The grandmother heard Royal and defendant yelling at each other angrily. Then she heard Royal say, “He got a gun. He’s getting ready to shoot.” One shot was fired. The grandmother saw Royal running toward the house and defendant “standing up like he had [a gun] in his hand,” but she could not determine whether defendant was shooting at Royal or firing a warning shot. Defendant and his two friends, Brown and Ritmiller, got in the car and defendant drove away.

Officer Porath and his partner were patrolling the area near where the gunshot was fired. They followed a white sedan that was speeding and watched it hit a parked car before it came to a stop. When Porath came up to the stopped car, the driver’s door was open and the driver, defendant, was running away. The two passengers, Brown and Ritmiller, remained inside or near the car. Porath found a [139]*139gun in the door panel of the car with one round in the chamber. On the street where the shooting had occurred, another officer found a shell casing that matched the caliber of the round found in the gun.

That night, Brown and Ritmiller were interviewed by two detectives.

B. Brown’s Recorded Interview with Police

During Brown’s interview with the police, a detective told Brown that he was a “fair” person and, if people are being “honest” with him, he tries to do what he can, but that, if people lead him down another direction and waste his time, he would have to “start digging” and “stuff like that” and that would not be “cool.” One of the detectives also asked Brown if he was “on paper,”3 and Brown shook his head no. The detective then asked Brown if he was “looking to get on paper” and Brown again shook his head no.

Before asking Brown who fired the gun, the detective told Brown repeatedly that Brown “needed to be honest with him” and that he needed to start making some “decisions.” The detective also told Brown that defendant had made some bad decisions, “but that what [Brown] told the detectives could help him and it was not going to hurt defendant any more than he was already hurt.” Brown did not identify who fired the gun.

The detective then asked Brown, “[H]ow was the gun being held?” and reiterated that Brown needed to be “honest” with him. Brown told the detectives that defendant had said, “On my dead homies, whoever comes out of that house to me talking shit is going to get busted.” Brown demonstrated how the shooter shot the gun by pointing straight ahead. The detective mimicked Brown, pointing straight ahead, and asked Brown again if the shooter pointed the gun like he had just demonstrated. Brown again showed the detectives how the shooter had held the gun and pointed his arm angled upward. Brown said that the shooter was not trying to aim “right” because he was very close, about 20 yards away, and he could have shot the guy. Brown [140]*140demonstrated how the shooter shot the gun one last time by pointing his fist in the air with his elbow bent upwards.

C. Ritmiller’s Recorded Interview with Police

The police interviewed Ritmiller after Brown’s interview ended. At the start of the interview, Ritmiller explained that he was getting his gang-affiliated tattoo removed, and that he was trying to get out of the gang, change his lifestyle, spend more time with his daughter, and stay out of the way. The detective responded that Ritmiller did not stay out of the way that night and that he was with “at least one knucklehead.” Then the detective told Ritmiller that he was fair and that, if Ritmiller was honest, he would do the best he could for him.

Ritmiller described an abbreviated version of what had happened and the detective applied pressure to Ritmiller, saying, “Here’s your chance to prove to me, to your [probation officer], and to everybody else that you’re trying to do the right thing. Okay? Because this could go a bunch of different ways.

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State v. Miller, 401 P.3d 229, 287 Or. App. 135, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 949 (Or. Ct. App. 2017).

401 P.3d 229 (State v. Miller) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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