State v. Spencer

45 P.3d 209, 111 Wash. App. 401
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided April 26, 2002·No. 26165-1-II, 27555-4-II·Published·Cited by 20 cases

Opinion

45 P.3d 209 (2002)
111 Wash.App. 401

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Henry George SPENCER, Jr., Appellant.
State of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Henry George Spencer, Jr., Appellant.

Nos. 26165-1-II, 27555-4-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

April 26, 2002.

*211 Rita Joan Griffith, Attorney At Law, Kevin R. Cole, Attorney At Law, Seattle, Counsel for Appellant (Court Appointed).

John Christopher Hillman, Pierce Co. Deputy Pros. Atty., Tacoma, Counsel for Respondent.

*210 HOUGHTON, J.

Henry George Spencer, Jr., appeals his conviction of drive-by shooting and witness tampering. Spencer argues that he was not allowed to call a witness to impeach the credibility of another witness and that the trial court erred in instructing the jury. We agree that the trial court erred in not allowing Spencer to call his witness. Therefore, we reverse this appeal and dismiss Spencer's linked appeal (Cause No. 27555-4-II) as moot.

FACTS

On October 17, 1999, between 4:30 and 5:00 A.M., someone fired a gun at Connie Beckmann's Tacoma home. Beckmann's 18-year-old daughter, Jessica Brayton, was in a romantic relationship with Spencer. Earlier that evening and that morning, Spencer had tried to reach Brayton by cellular telephone while Brayton was staying with a friend. The last call Brayton received from Spencer was at around 3:30 or 4:00 A.M.

The State charged Spencer with one count of drive-by shooting in violation of RCW 9A.36.045(1)[1] and one count of witness tampering in violation of RCW 9A.72.120(1)(c).[2]

Leanne McMullen's Testimony

At trial, the State called Leanne McMullen. McMullen also considered herself Spencer's girlfriend and was the mother of his child. According to McMullen, Spencer borrowed her car the evening of October 16. McMullen was spending the night babysitting for a friend at the friend's home, and Spencer was to return the car to McMullen the next morning. Spencer returned to where McMullen was staying to pick her up at about 5:30 A.M.

*212 McMullen further testified that on October 28, Spencer asked her to come to his house. When she arrived, Spencer told her that police officers were expected to search his house and look for a gun because they thought he was involved in a drive-by shooting. Spencer encouraged McMullen to agree that he had returned her car to her at 2:00 or 3:00 A.M. on the morning of the shooting. She agreed to say that Spencer had returned it at 3:00 A.M.

McMullen also testified that later Spencer told her that he was involved in a "`walk-by, run-by'" in the early morning of October 17. III Report of Proceedings (RP) at 192. McMullen decided to talk to the police again. She met with Detective Lewis and told him that Spencer had returned at around 5:30 A.M. on October 17.

On cross-examination, Spencer's defense counsel questioned McMullen about whether Spencer pressured her to lie and whether McMullen's mother influenced her to speak with the police again.

Karen Schmidt's Testimony

Later in the trial, Spencer called Karen Schmidt to testify about statements that McMullen had made to her. The State objected, arguing that such statements would be hearsay and to admit them under any exception would require that Spencer first confront McMullen about those statements under ER 801(d).[3]

Spencer's counsel replied that he was seeking to elicit Schmidt's testimony not under ER 801(d), but under ER 803(a)(3)[4] as a statement of the declarant's state of mind and emotion. Spencer's counsel offered that McMullen told Schmidt that the police intimidated and coerced her into talking with them a second time. Schmidt would also testify that McMullen told her that Spencer was not guilty, that she was afraid the police and Child Protective Services (CPS) would take her child away, and that McMullen was angry about Spencer having a second girlfriend.

The State countered that such a rule interpretation would be too broad because it would allow Spencer to impeach McMullen's testimony without giving McMullen a chance to respond.

The trial court ruled that because Spencer did not ask McMullen about her alleged statements to Schmidt while McMullen was on the stand, Spencer could not later call Schmidt to testify about McMullen's mental condition—her state of mind, intent, and motive.

Spencer then argued that Schmidt's statements were admissible under ER 804(b)(3)[5] as statements against McMullen's penal interests because McMullen said she was afraid she would go to jail if she did not say what the police wanted. The trial court declined to admit the statements on this ground.

Finally, Spencer asked to recall McMullen in order to ask her about these statements to Schmidt. The trial court denied Spencer's request.

Accomplice Liability Instruction

At the close of trial, the court instructed the jury on the definition of accomplice liability. *213 The "to convict" instruction, however, did not instruct the jury that Spencer could be found guilty of drive-by shooting based on accomplice liability.

Furthermore, the jury instruction that defined accomplice liability was based on 11 WASHINGTON PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTION: CRIMINAL 10.51 (2d ed. 1994) (WPIC) and, therefore, included the provision that an accomplice acts with "knowledge that [the action] will promote or facilitate the commission of a crime." Clerk's Papers at 29 (emphasis added).

Defense counsel objected to the instruction on the basis that the evidence did not support it. The trial court overruled the objection.

In its opening statement, the State mentioned: "In the early morning hours of October 17, 1999, the defendant or an accomplice fired a 9mm handgun, fired several rounds at the home of his girlfriend, Jessica Brayton." II RP at 84. In closing, the State argued that a person could commit a drive by shooting as an accomplice.[6] Later the State argued that

[t]here is an instruction, the "accomplice" instruction, and that tells you that a person is responsible for the acts of another if they're an accomplice, so when the "to convict" instruction tells you about the defendant, the "accomplice" instruction incorporates that person if there is another person involved as an accomplice, incorporates them into that.

V RP at 482.

The jury convicted Spencer as charged and he appeals.

ANALYSIS

Exclusion of Schmidt's Testimony

Spencer first contends that the trial court erred in not allowing Spencer to call Schmidt as a witness to testify about McMullen's bias against him.

We first note that a defendant has a constitutional right to impeach a prosecution witness with bias evidence. Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 316-18, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347 (1974). It is reversible error to deny a defendant the right to establish the chief prosecution witness's bias by an independent witness. State v. Jones, 25 Wash. App. 746, 751, 610 P.2d 934 (1980) (citing State v. Beaton, 106 Wash. 423, 180 P. 146 (1919)

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State v. Spencer, 45 P.3d 209, 111 Wash. App. 401 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002).

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