Robert Sabb v. Commonwealth of Virginia ( 1999 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Benton, Bray and Senior Judge Overton
Argued at Norfolk, Virginia
JEREMY SHAWN WALTON
v. Record No. 2471-97-1
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
JUDGE RICHARD S. BRAY
ROBERT SABB MARCH 30, 1999
v. Record No. 2472-97-1
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF HAMPTON
Wilford Taylor, Jr., Judge
Charles E. Haden for appellants.
Leah A. Darron, Assistant Attorney General
(Mark L. Earley, Attorney General, on
briefs), for appellees.
Jeremy Shawn Walton and Robert Sabb (appellants) were
convicted in a joint trial for robbery. On appeal, each
contends that the court erroneously allowed a Commonwealth
witness to invoke the Fifth Amendment, found that he was,
therefore, "unavailable" to testify, and admitted his
extrajudicial statement to police into evidence. Appellants
also complain that the court erred in denying a continuance to
permit them to produce a witness that failed to appear at trial
*
Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, recodifying Code § 17-116.010,
this opinion is not designated for publication.
and refusing to allow a defense witness to testify. Finding no
error, we affirm the convictions.
I.
The parties are fully conversant with the record, and this
memorandum opinion recites only those facts necessary to
disposition of the appeal. "On appeal, we review the evidence
in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, granting to it
all reasonable inferences fairly deducible therefrom." Martin
v. Commonwealth, 4 Va. App. 438, 443, 358 S.E.2d 415, 418
(1987).
On June 10, 1997, Jimmy Baggett, a white male, robbed a
branch of the First Union Bank. Tara Ramirez, a teller,
testified that Baggett entered the bank, "came up to one of the
desks and was writing." 1 He then approached another teller, who,
"for some reason," asked Baggett for identification. Baggett
then "went back outside" briefly, returned, entered Ramirez's
line and presented a note demanding $350. The note also
threatened Ramirez that Baggett "was pointing a gun at [her],"
and she noticed he was "holding [something] underneath his
shirt." Ramirez gave Baggett the money and watched him exit the
1
Ramirez recognized Baggett as "the same person that [had
reportedly] robbed the bank next door . . ., the afternoon
before."
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bank and enter "a gray, big car," parked nearby and occupied by
"four or five black males."
Officer Jimmy Forbes was alerted to the robbery and soon
located the car described by Ramirez, stopping it at a service
station. Police arrested and questioned the occupants, four
black males, including appellants, and a black female. All
denied involvement in the offense. Baggett was arrested a short
distance away, waived his Miranda rights, and provided the
disputed statement to Forbes. In searches incidental to the
arrests, police recovered $50 and $157 in cash from appellants
Walton and Sabb, respectively, a screwdriver from the vehicle,
and a "practice [robbery] note" from Baggett's sock.
At trial, Baggett was called as a Commonwealth witness and,
during initial questioning, acknowledged an acquaintance with
appellants "[t]hrough drug dealing." However, when the
prosecutor asked if Baggett was with appellants on the day of
the robbery, he invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to
answer questions related to the offense. After Baggett
responded similarly to cross-examination, the court declared him
an unavailable witness. The Commonwealth then recalled Officer
Forbes and, over appellants' objections, he repeated Baggett's
earlier statement which implicated appellants in a scheme to
coerce Baggett to rob the bank and pay a drug debt to appellant
Walton.
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II.
"It is generally recognized that . . . '[d]eclarations
against [penal] interest are admissible as an exception to the
hearsay rule because it is felt that a person will not usually
make statements damaging to his own interests unless such
statements are true.'" Randolph v. Commonwealth, 24 Va. App.
345, 355-56, 482 S.E.2d 101, 106 (1997) (citation omitted).
Accordingly,
[a] third party's statement is admissible as
an exception to the hearsay rule if: (1)
the declarant is unavailable, (2) the
statement was against the declarant's
interest at the time it was made, and (3)
the declarant was aware at the time the
statement was made that it was against his
interests to make it. Furthermore, the
declaration [by the unavailable witness]
must be shown to be reliable. 2
Raia v. Commonwealth, 23 Va. App. 546, 550, 478 S.E.2d 328, 330
(1996) (citations omitted). "'[W]here proffered hearsay has
sufficient guarantees of reliability to come within a firmly
rooted exception to the hearsay rule, the [Sixth Amendment]
confrontation clause is satisfied.'" Id. at 551, 478 S.E.2d at
330 (citation omitted).
Thus, "'"once it has been established that a third-party
confession has been made, the crucial issue is whether the
2
Appellants challenge only the court’s findings that Baggett
was entitled to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege, rendering
him unavailable, and that his statement was reliable.
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content of the confession is trustworthy."'" Randolph, 24 Va.
App. at 356, 482 S.E.2d at 106 (citations omitted). The
"'"determination of this issue turns upon whether . . . the case
is one where 'there is anything substantial other than the bare
confession to connect the declarant with the crime'"'" and rests
with the sound discretion of the trial court. Id.Here, Baggett's statement implicated him in a bank robbery
and, therefore, was against his penal interest, irrespective of
the sufficiency of the statement to convict him of the offense.
See Chandler v. Commonwealth, 249 Va. 270, 279, 455 S.E.2d 219,
224, cert. denied, 516 U.S. 889 (1995). Moreover, Baggett
admitted involvement in unlawful drug trafficking, also clearly
contrary to his penal interest. See 2 Charles E. Friend, The
Law of Evidence in Virginia § 18-12 (4th ed. 1996).
Additionally, Baggett was identified as the robber and fled in
an automobile occupied by appellants and stopped by police near
the scene shortly after the offense. The screwdriver used in
the offense was found in the car, appellants admitted Baggett's
indebtedness to Walton for drug purchases, and cash was
recovered from appellants, all consistent with Baggett's
statement to police.
Such evidence, together with other circumstances, provided
"sufficient indicia of reliability to support the
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trustworthiness of [Baggett's] statement." Raia, 23 Va. App. at
551, 478 S.E.2d at 331 (citation omitted).
III.
Appellants next complain that the trial court erroneously
allowed Baggett to invoke the Fifth Amendment, despite Code
§§ 19.2-270 and 18.2-262 which clothe such testimony with
immunity. 3 However, Code § 19.2-270, "by its terms, confers only
use immunity . . . . Such limited protection is obviously not
co-extensive with the constitutional privilege and cannot
overcome it, once validly asserted." Gosling v. Commonwealth,
14 Va. App. 158, 164-65, 415 S.E.2d 870, 873 (1992). Therefore,
the statute "[does] not supplant [a] witness's constitutional
privilege to invoke the protection of the Fifth Amendment."
Boney v. Commonwealth, 16 Va. App. 638, 642, 432 S.E.2d 7, 10
(1993).
Code § 18.2-262 provides, in pertinent part:
No person shall be excused from testifying
. . . for the Commonwealth as to any offense
alleged to have been committed by another
under this article or under the Drug Control
Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.) by reason of his
testimony or other evidence tending to
incriminate himself . . . .
3
Appellants also contend that "[t]he trial court erred in
overruling [their] objection to Baggett's invocation of the
Fifth Amendment where Baggett had already begun to testify
substantively against [them]," a question previously raised on
petition and denied by this Court.
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The referenced "article" relates to crimes involving illegal
drugs, not robbery, the instant offense. Thus, the statute was
inapplicable to Baggett's testimony.
IV.
Appellants next argue that the trial court erroneously
denied their mid-trial motion for a continuance to secure the
presence of witness Andre Wiggins. In support of the motion,
appellants' counsel proffered that Wiggins' attorney had assured
him "that he's willing to have [him] testify and corroborate the
testimony of [appellants]" and "feels that he can probably have
him here tomorrow if the Court is willing to set it over to
tomorrow." In denying appellants' motion, the trial judge
concluded that Wiggins was not "a material witness," and the
court was not satisfied that he "would . . . likely be present
on another date," noting also that "[w]e're at the end of
trial."
The record discloses that appellants' attorney had caused a
subpoena to be issued for Wiggins "at the jail" on August 8,
1997. On August 13, 1997, the subpoena was returned, bearing a
notation which advised that Wiggins was "not found . . .,"
having been "bonded [on] 08-01-97," and provided his "home
address [then] on file." Nevertheless, appellants did not
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resubpoena Wiggins or request a continuance of trial, then
scheduled for August 26, 1997. 4
"'The decision whether to grant a continuance is a matter
within the sound discretion of the trial court. Abuse of
discretion and prejudice to the complaining party are essential
to reversal.'" Lowery v. Commonwealth, 9 Va. App. 304, 307, 387
S.E.2d 508, 509 (1990) (citations omitted).
"In determining whether the trial court properly exercised
its discretionary powers, we look to the diligence exercised by
the moving party to locate the witness and secure his attendance
at trial," always "'with due regard to the constitutional
guaranty of a fair and impartial trial to one accused of crime,
and the right to call for evidence in his favor.'" Cherricks v.
Commonwealth, 11 Va. App. 96, 99-100, 396 S.E.2d 397, 399 (1990)
(citations omitted). "[C]ontinuances in the midst of trial
should not be an everyday occurrence." Bennett v. Commonwealth,
236 Va. 448, 461, 374 S.E.2d 303, 311-12 (1988), cert. denied,
490 U.S. 1028 (1989).
Appellants' proffer suggested that Wiggins' testimony would
only have been cumulative of appellants' testimonies denying
4
During the colloquy with the court at arraignment,
appellant Sabb advised the court that his witnesses were
present. However, appellant Walton answered, "No," to a like
inquiry, although he raised no objection to the commencement of
trial.
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knowledge of the robbery by other occupants of the car.
Appellants' attorney was unable to assure the court of Wiggins'
appearance or the availability of his testimony. Moreover, no
effort had been made to resubpoena Wiggins, or to previously
seek a continuance, despite the return of service, nearly two
weeks before trial, advising that he was "not found . . .," and
including his "home address." Such circumstances clearly fail
to establish that the court abused its discretion in denying the
continuance motion.
V.
Lastly, appellants complain that the trial judge erred in
refusing to permit witness Calvin Williams to impeach Baggett's
statement that appellant Sabb had accompanied him on another
bank robbery the day preceding the subject offense. Through
Williams' testimony, appellants sought to establish that Sabb
was with Williams at the time of the earlier robbery, contrary
to Baggett's claim.
Assuming, without deciding, that Williams' testimony was
proper impeachment of Baggett's statement to police, the
disputed ruling was clearly harmless. In Delaware v. Van
Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673 (1986), the United States Supreme Court
instructed that "the constitutionally improper denial of a
defendant's opportunity to impeach a witness . . ., like other
Confrontation Clause errors, is subject to . . . harmless-error
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analysis." Id. at 684; see Williams v. Commonwealth, 4 Va. App.
53, 78, 354 S.E.2d 79, 93 (1987). A non-constitutional error is
harmless if "'it plainly appears from the record and the
evidence given at the trial that' the error did not affect the
verdict." Lavinder v. Commonwealth, 12 Va. App. 1003, 1005, 407
S.E.2d 910, 911 (1991) (en banc) (quoting Code § 8.01-678). "An
error does not affect a verdict if a reviewing court can
conclude, without usurping the jury's fact finding function,
that, had the error not occurred, the verdict would have been
the same." Id. "The crux of the harmless error analysis is
whether the defendant received a fair trial on the merits and
substantial justice has been achieved." Timmons v.
Commonwealth, 15 Va. App. 196, 199, 421 S.E.2d 894, 896 (1992).
Baggett's credibility was sufficiently impeached at trial
in the absence of Williams' testimony. Baggett was an admitted
crack cocaine addict, under the influence of the drug during the
robbery, his second like offense in as many days. Shane
Ellenson, a cellmate with Baggett, testified that Baggett "said
ain't nobody know what was going on" when he robbed the bank and
vowed to falsely incriminate others. Further impeachment with
respect to the details of an unrelated robbery clearly would
have not changed the result and any related error did not
compromise appellants' rights to a fair and just trial.
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Accordingly, we affirm the convictions.
Affirmed.
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Benton, J. dissenting.
I would reverse the convictions of Jeremy Shawn Walton and
Robert Sabb for bank robbery on June 10, 1997 and remand for a
new trial.
I.
The evidence proved that Jimmy Baggett robbed the Old Point
National Bank on June 9, 1997, and robbed the First Union Bank
on June 10, 1997. On each occasion Baggett entered the bank
alone. When the police arrested Baggett on June 10, 1997,
Baggett was alone at a gas station. A police officer put
Baggett in the back of a police car, told Baggett he was under
arrest for bank robbery, and read to him Miranda rights.
Baggett then made the following statement to the officer:
[Y]esterday, Monday, the nine, after
being up all evening doing crack cocaine in
which Drey, Andre, and Hursh, and the guy
with the dread-locks in his hair were
supplying me, started threatening me. When
they found out I didn't have the money to
pay then they told me that they were going
to take me to the bank, any bank, and I was
going to get their money no matter what I
had to do. Then they started telling me
what they were going to do to me and my
family if I didn't pay them.
The guy with the gray sweat shirt put a
gun to my head and said, I'm telling you, we
don't play. So then the driver of the
Cadillac, Andre, told me how to write the
letter and what to do when I got in the
bank. And if I put a screwdriver under my
shirt it would look like a gun.
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So some time during the day we went to
the bank and I did what they told me while
they, Andre, Hursh, Drey and the guy with
the gray shirt waited out front of the bank.
Then when I went inside the bank I was so
high and scared for my life, and my family,
I did what they told me.
I was thinking about getting the next
hit. So after we left the bank we went to a
place on Monitor Apartment D-1, where we
stayed there until dark. Then we went to
the Golden Sands Motel where they gave me
more dope, crack. And I ran into the same
problem this time. They told me to get more
money so I could . . . buy crack. . . .
The only difference was Hursh was no
longer there. There was a short guy with a
camouflage jacket on that kept giving me
crack. And there was a girl who was a
whore, who either of the two did I ever talk
to about this. But on the way to the bank
we stopped off at some apartments whether he
gave me some crack. And Andre and the guy
with the gray sweat shirt, said don't try
nothing slick, because we know where your
mom works and we'll get her.
The next thing I remember we were in
front of the bank. I was so high I don't
even remember the drive from the apartments
to the bank where they gave me the crack.
Then I went inside the bank. Came . . .
out, got in the car. The two guys in the
back seat, the guy in the gray shirt and the
one in the camouflage jacket were saying go
to the Interstate. Then a guy in a blue
pickup pulled up beside us and was looking
for crack. So Drey said pull over and let's
make this quick sale.
As soon as the car pulled into Hardees
parking lot I was still so high and scared I
threw the money on the seat of the car, got
out, and ran to Maida where my mom works,
where I was arrested. Also the driver,
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Andre, said we don't have to worry they
didn't see the car and we need gas. We
can't go to the interstate.
Signed Jimmy Baggett. I really did not
want to do this.
When Walton and Sabb were arrested on June 10, 1997, they
were in an automobile with three other people. Although both
men admitted that Baggett earlier had been in the car, they
denied knowing Baggett had robbed the bank employees and denied
assisting him in the robbery.
II.
To be admissible as an exception to the rule against
hearsay, the statement of a declarant, who is not a party, must
meet the following prerequisites: (1) the declarant must be
unavailable; (2) the statement must have been against the
declarant's penal interest at the time the statement was made;
(3) the declarant must have been aware at the time the statement
was made that it was against his interest to make it; and (4)
the declaration must be shown to be reliable. See Ellison v.
Commonwealth, 219 Va. 404, 408, 247 S.E.2d 685, 688 (1978);
Boney v. Commonwealth, 16 Va. App. 638, 643, 432 S.E.2d 7, 10
(1993).
Penal Interest
"'A statement's admissibility [as a statement against penal
interest] is based on the [declarant's] subjective belief that
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he is making admissions against his penal interests.'" Pitt v.
Commonwealth, 28 Va. App. 730, 743, 508 S.E.2d 891, 898 (1999)
(citation omitted) (emphasis in original), reh'g en banc
granted, ___ Va. App. ___, ___ S.E.2d ___ (1999). See also
Chandler v. Commonwealth, 249 Va. 270, 278-79, 455 S.E.2d 219,
224-25 (1995). The record does not support the conclusion that
Baggett was aware his statement was against his penal interest
when he made the statement. Rather, the statement is Baggett's
self-serving explanation that he committed the robbery because
of duress. According to the statement, the men threatened
Baggett because he owed them money, "put a gun to his head,"
told him "what they were going to do to [him] and [his] family,"
and made him commit the robbery to get money to pay his debt.
"The common law defense of duress excuses acts which would
otherwise constitute a crime, where the defendant shows that the
acts were the product of threats inducing a reasonable fear of
immediate death or serious bodily injury." Pancoast v.
Commonwealth, 2 Va. App. 28, 33, 340 S.E.2d 833, 836 (1986).
Baggett's statement clearly is an assertion that he committed
the robberies only because he subjectively believed that he or
members of his family would be killed if he did not do as
ordered by the armed men. His final statement, "I really did
not want to do this" is emphatic evidence that he was attempting
to excuse his conduct by asserting that he was coerced into
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acting against his will. Baggett's statement clearly was not
truly self-inculpatory. Furthermore, no evidence tended to
prove any circumstances indicating Baggett had a subjective
belief he was making an admission against his interest.
Reliability
The Commonwealth could establish the admissibility of the
statement "only upon a showing that [the statement] is
reliable." Ellison, 219 Va. at 408, 247 S.E.2d at 688. Where,
as in this case, a declarant's statement is also inculpatory as
to a defendant, it can only be admitted in evidence in the
defendant's criminal trial when, additionally, the statement is
proved to be trustworthy. See id. Nothing about the statement
or the circumstances surrounding the giving of the statement
imbue it with reliability. Significantly, the United States
Supreme Court has noted that "'the arrest statements of a
codefendant have traditionally been viewed with special
suspicion. Due to his strong motivation to implicate the
defendant and to exonerate himself, a codefendant's statements
about what the defendant said or did are less credible than
ordinary hearsay evidence.'" Lee v. Illinois, 476 U.S. 530, 541
(1986) (citation omitted).
For reasons that I have more fully stated in Pitt, see 28
Va. App. at 766 n.12, 508 S.E.2d at 909 n.12 (Benton, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part), I would hold that
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Baggett's statement was untrustworthy because of the
circumstances in which it was made. Baggett was under the
influence of cocaine; he was being interrogated in police
custody; he had a motive to mitigate his own criminal conduct;
and he made accusatory statements placing greater blame upon
another while seeking to excuse his own conduct. See id. In
view of these circumstances, the Commonwealth failed to provide
an "affirmative reason, arising from the circumstances in which
the statement was made [that] provides a basis for rebutting the
presumption that a hearsay statement is not worthy of reliance
at trial." Idaho v. Wright, 497 U.S. 805, 821 (1990). Thus,
the record fails to establish a basis to admit Baggett's
statement.
III.
I would also hold that the trial judge erred in barring
Calvin Williams' testimony. The opportunity of the accused to
present a complete defense "would be an empty one if the State
were permitted to exclude competent, reliable evidence bearing
on . . . credibility . . . when such evidence is central to the
defendant's claim of innocence." Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S.
683, 690 (1986).
In its case-in-chief, the Commonwealth sought to prove by
Baggett's statement that Walton and Sabb engaged in bank robbery
and a course of criminal conduct with Baggett on June 9 and June
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10. Walton and Sabb were entitled to attack Baggett's
credibility by proving that his narrative of the events was
false. See Deavers v. Commonwealth, 220 Va. 14, 16, 255 S.E.2d
458, 459 (1979); Hummel v. Commonwealth, 217 Va. 548, 550, 231
S.E.2d 216, 217 (1977). Because the trier of fact determines
the credibility of witnesses, Zirkle v. Commonwealth, 189 Va.
862, 870, 55 S.E.2d 24, 29 (1949), Walton and Sabb were entitled
to offer impeaching evidence that had the tendency to cause the
trier of fact to reject Baggett's testimonial statement. Id.Relevant evidence that tends to impeach a witness' credibility
and assists in an accused's defense is always admissible. See
Hummel, 217 Va. at 550, 231 S.E.2d at 217.
The error was not harmless. Williams' testimony, if
believed by the trier of fact, would have provided a basis for
the trier of fact to reject Baggett's statement. Baggett's
statement was the only evidence that tied Walton and Sabb to the
robbery. The failure to consider Williams' testimony could not
have been harmless because "[t]he excluded testimony addressed
the credibility of the only witness against the defendant and
the weight to be given to his testimony." Jury v. Commonwealth,
10 Va. App. 718, 722, 395 S.E.2d 213, 216 (1990).
For these reasons, I dissent.
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