State v. Porch

790 S.E.2d 440, 417 S.C. 619, 2016 S.C. App. LEXIS 94
CourtCourt of Appeals of South Carolina
DecidedAugust 3, 2016
DocketAppellate Case No. 2013-002531; Opinion No. 5435
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 790 S.E.2d 440 (State v. Porch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Porch, 790 S.E.2d 440, 417 S.C. 619, 2016 S.C. App. LEXIS 94 (S.C. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

HUFF, J.

Joshua William Porch appeals his conviction for murder, arguing the trial court erred in failing to void the State’s arrest warrant pursuant to Franks v. Delaware,1 Porch also argues the trial court erred by limiting Porch’s testimony in violation of the Confrontation Clause. We affirm.

[623]*623FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In the early morning hours of May 13, 2006, Justin Mallory (Mallory) found his wife, Nikea Mallory (Victim), dead in the family’s apartment in Richland County. Victim suffered blunt force trauma to the head, a bruise on her neck, a stab wound on the right side of her neck, and a stab wound on her right eyebrow. The stab wound to Victim’s neck was the fatal injury. Hours after discovering Victim’s body, Mallory was charged with Victim’s murder.

During the murder investigation, Mallory told officers they should talk to Joshua Porch, who lived near Mallory. Investigator Randy Strange interviewed Porch and his wife. Porch told Investigator Strange he was not in the Victim’s apartment the night of the murder.

Police interviewed Porch again on June 27, 2007, after they discovered unidentified male DNA at the crime scene. Porch agreed to provide officers with a DNA sample and told them that he was in the Victim’s apartment the day before the murder. Porch stated he cut himself while he was peeling or cutting an apple for his child and he attempted to clean up the blood with paper towels in the kitchen. Porch then signed a written statement of his version of events. In that statement, Porch also indicated he told this version of events to the investigators that interviewed him after the murder.

Following the second interview, Major James Smith contacted Investigator Strange to confirm Porch’s story. Investigator Strange told Major Smith he could not recall Porch telling him he cut himself in the Victim’s apartment the day before the murder. Major Smith returned to Porch’s home that same day and asked Porch about his story. Porch told Major Smith he could not recall whether he told Investigator Strange about the cut. Porch stated he was scared to tell the police about the cut because he did not want to be considered a suspect.

On July 2, 2007, Captain James White and Major Smith interviewed Porch again. Porch told the officers he was present at Victim’s apartment during the early morning hours of May 13, 2006. Porch stated he and Victim were drinking together that night and started kissing and fondling one another. According to Porch, Mallory arrived at the apartment and became angry. Mallory and Victim started arguing in [624]*624front of Porch but later went to the kitchen to continue arguing. Porch stated he saw Victim push Mallory and Mallory “swung at her” with an unidentified item in his hand. Porch told the officers he stepped in between Mallory and the Victim to stop them from fighting and Mallory cut him. Porch then went to the kitchen to wrap his hand with paper towels and clean up the blood. According to Porch, Victim was “slouched” on the couch when he left, but he did not think she was badly injured. Porch explained he made inconsistent statements to police because he “was afraid [he] would be charged as an accomplice, or accused of actually doing it. [He] was also afraid [his] wife would find out about [him] and [Victim] getting involved that morning.” During the interview, Captain White noticed Porch was left handed.

Mallory was tried twice for Victim’s murder. Porch testified consistent with his July 2, 2007 statement in each of those proceedings. The first trial ended in a hung jury. Mallory then elected to proceed to a bench trial and was acquitted. Following his acquittal, Mallory contacted the Richland County Sheriffs Department (RCSD) and requested they reopen the investigation into his wife’s murder. Deputy Chief David Wilson was assigned to investigate the case. Chief Wilson reviewed the investigation file and noticed several inconsistencies. Chief Wilson was bothered by Porch’s shifting statements to police. Chief Wilson noted the stab wounds were to the Victim’s right side, which led him to suspect the assailant was left-handed. Chief Wilson learned Porch was left-handed. Finally, Chief Wilson reviewed DNA evidence from the crime scene, which revealed further inconsistencies relating to Porch’s version of events. Specifically, investigators found Porch’s blood not only in the kitchen, but also on Victim’s shirt.

Chief Wilson interviewed several other witnesses and secured a warrant for Porch’s arrest. Officers learned Porch had moved from South Carolina back to his home town in California. On July 8, 2009, RCSD officers arrested Porch in a store in California and transported him to the Long Beach Police Department for questioning. Investigators Shawn McDaniel and Brian Godfrey notified Porch of his Miranda rights around 1:00 a.m. on July 9, 2009. That morning, Porch admitted he stabbed Victim but claimed it was an accident.

[625]*625Investigators McDaniel and Godfrey reviewed the case file to determine if the evidence supported Porch’s accident claim. The investigators then interviewed Porch again on July 10, 2009. At that time, Porch told the investigators he initiated intimate contact with Victim and she attacked him with the knife. Porch told officers he hit Victim in the head with his palms and once on the right side of her head with his left elbow.

Investigators McDaniel and Godfrey then took Porch to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department for a third interview, which was recorded. Initially, Investigator Cohen from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Office interviewed Porch for six and a half hours. Investigators McDaniel and Godfrey then interviewed Porch. Subsequently, investigators brought Porch back to South Carolina for trial.

Prior to trial, Porch challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support probable cause for his arrest warrant. Porch argued Chief Wilson intentionally or recklessly omitted information from his arrest warrant affidavit and any evidence gathered as a result of his arrest should be suppressed. The trial court granted Porch a pretrial hearing to determine if the arrest warrant was valid but declined to suppress the evidence gathered as a result of Porch’s arrest.

Porch also made a motion in limine to exclude the entire recorded interrogation from California because Investigator Cohen was unavailable to testify. Porch argued he would not be able to cross-examine her because the California state court declined to enforce the South Carolina subpoena sent by the State. The trial court found Porch had an opportunity to cross-examine Investigator Cohen regarding the video at a pretrial Jackson v. Denno2 hearing. The trial court believed that opportunity to cross-examine was all that is necessary under Crawford v. Washington3 but took the matter under advisement. The next morning, prior to trial, the court ruled the portion of the interview conducted by Investigator Cohen was inadmissible but the portion of the interview conducted by Investigators McDaniel and Godfrey was admissible.

[626]*626During the trial, Porch testified on his own behalf. Prior to his testimony, Porch inquired whether he would be allowed to discuss what he was told in the six-and-a-half-hour interview the court determined was not admissible because of Investigator Cohen’s absence. The State argued, “[I]f Mr.

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State v. Porch
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
790 S.E.2d 440, 417 S.C. 619, 2016 S.C. App. LEXIS 94, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-porch-scctapp-2016.