State of Washington v. Daniele Lee Williamson ( 2024 )

FILED
SEPTEMBER 10, 2024
In the Office of the Clerk of Court
WA State Court of Appeals, Division III
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
DIVISION THREE
STATE OF WASHINGTON, )
) No. 39697-5-III
Respondent, )
)
v. ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION
)
DANIELE LEE WILLIAMSON, )
)
Appellant. )
FEARING, J. — Daniele Williamson appeals from a conviction for first degree
burglary. She contends the trial court erred when prohibiting a law enforcement officer
from testifying that she, at the time of her arrest, commented that she was kidnapped. We
agree with Williamson that the question did not call for hearsay evidence, but we rule any
error to be harmless error because the witness testified he did not recall any such
statement and the jury heard other evidence of Williamson’s confused state of mind. We
therefore, affirm the conviction. We, nonetheless, because of Williamson’s indigency,
remand for the vacation of a criminal victim penalty assessment (VPA).
FACTS
The prosecution of Daniele Williamson arises from her entry into the residence of
stranger Janet Martin and her odd behavior inside. One evening at 10:00 p.m., after
putting her grandchildren to sleep, Janet Martin stepped outside of her home to speak
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State v. Williamson
with her ex-husband on the phone. She left the front door open. While Martin remained
outside, Williamson entered Martin’s residence. Martin had never seen Williamson
before.
Janet Martin raced into her abode and found Daniele Williamson in the living
room. Martin confronted Williamson and demanded that she leave. Instead of
complying, Williamson turned slowly and ambled to the kitchen. She opened and
scrutinized the refrigerator. Martin asked Williamson if she was hungry. Instead of
answering, Williamson slowly straightened up, turned, looked at Martin, and slammed
the refrigerator door hard enough to rattle items on the top. Martin again commanded
Williamson to leave, but Williamson lingered.
Daniele Williamson reconnoitered the kitchen and saw medication boxes on the
counter. Williamson grabbed the boxes and began to stuff them into a bag she carried.
Janet Martin intercepted the boxes and physically restrained Williamson to stop her from
escaping. Williamson kicked Martin in the stomach. Martin demanded Williamson to
leave again. Williamson went to the outside door through which she had entered the
residence, slammed the door while she remained inside, stood in front of Martin, crossed
her arms, and defiantly stared at Martin.
A frightened Janet Martin dialed and spoke to 911. Daniele Williamson swept
objects off the dining room table and kitchen counter, broke glassware and pottery, and
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threatened Martin with pieces of the shards by displaying the glass. Williamson bore a
knife and comb filed to be sharp.
Daniele Williamson scratched, kicked, and bit Janet Martin. She also pulled
Martin’s hair. Williamson reached for knives in the kitchen. 911 remained on the call
for thirteen minutes until law enforcement arrived. When one of the grandchildren
entered an adjacent room, Williamson called to the child, claimed to be his mother, and
warned him not to take drugs.
Daniele Williamson and Janet Martin still tussled when law enforcement arrived.
Williamson then fell limp to the ground and urinated on herself. She mumbled her name,
but did not respond to questions from law enforcement about her condition. She
struggled to remove her soiled clothes while being handcuffed. Officer Xenon Berkeley,
experienced in handling intoxicated and mentally ill persons, found Williamson’s
behavior odd. Officers attempted to render first aid to Williamson by placing her in a
recovery position.
Paramedic Joseph Pearman arrived at Janet Martin’s residence to render aid to
Daniele Williamson. Williamson ignored the paramedic’s questions. Her squirming
prevented Pearman from assessing Williamson’s condition. Pearman placed Williamson
in four-point restraints to facilitate an evaluation. Williamson’s respiration was adequate,
she possessed full motor control of her eyes, and she lacked visible signs of intoxication.
The paramedic could not judge whether Williamson had used other mood-altering
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substances. While being transported by ambulance, Williamson threatened to sue
Pearman and law enforcement officers for assault, kidnapping, and impersonating a first
responder.
PROCEDURE
The State of Washington charged Daniele Williamson with first degree burglary.
During trial, defense counsel asked Officer Xenon Berkeley if Daniele
Williamson, when confronted, said she was kidnapped. Officer Berkely responded that
he did not recall any such comment. After Berkeley answered, the State moved to strike
the answer as hearsay. The defense responded that it offered the officer’s testimony to
show Williamson’s delusional state of mind, not for the truth of the matter asserted. The
defense also argued that the statement qualified for the medical treatment exception to the
hearsay rule. The trial court sustained the State’s objection on the grounds that the
statement constituted self-serving hearsay and was offered for the truth of the matter
asserted within the statement. The superior court emphasized that the State could not
cross-examine the statement uttered to the law enforcement officer.
The superior court delivered a voluntary intoxication instruction to the jury. The
jury found Daniele Williamson guilty of first degree burglary. The trial court imposed an
87-month sentence and a $500 crime victim penalty assessment. The court entered an
order of indigency for purposes of Williamson appealing her conviction.
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LAW AND ANALYSIS
On appeal, Daniele Williamson assigns error to the trial court’s exclusion of
officer Xenon Berkeley’s testimony that she stated she had been kidnapped. Williamson
also challenges the victim penalty assessment. Finally, on her own, she asserts additional
grounds for reversal.
Hearsay Ruling
On appeal, Daniele Williamson assigns error to the trial court’s decision to
exclude the statement she uttered to the law enforcement officer. She contends the
statement was relevant, offered for a nonhearsay purpose, and alternatively fitted within
the “statements for medical treatment” hearsay exception. Williamson complains that the
exclusion of the testimony deprived her of important evidence of her state of mind at the
time of the burglary. Finally, she contends that, because the State carried the burden of
proving her intent, the exclusion of the law enforcement officer’s testimony about her
being delusional and paranoid likely affected the outcome of the trial.
The State concedes that the statement is not hearsay and the trial court erroneously
excluded Daniele Williamson’s statements. The State argues, however, that the error was
harmless. We agree with both positions of the State.
Daniele Williamson sought to introduce evidence that she proclaimed, at Janet
Martin’s residence, that she was kidnapped. The evidence rules define hearsay:
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“Hearsay” is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while
testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the
matter asserted.
ER 801(c). Williamson uttered her statement of kidnapping out of court. But she did not
offer the testimony to prove the truth of what she declared. To the contrary, she
presented her statement more for its falsity. She was not being kidnapped or poisoned.
The testimony covered her state of mind and whether she could form the intent to commit
a crime when entering the home. RCW 9A.52.020. Statements offered to establish the
declarant’s state of mind, without regard to whether the statement itself is true, are
offered for a proper nonhearsay purpose. State v. Duarte Vela, 200 Wn. App. 306, 319-
20, 402 P.3d 281 (2017).
Under the nonconstitutional harmless error test applied to evidentiary error, the
defendant must show a reasonable probability that the error materially affected the
outcome of the trial. State v. Young, 27 Wn. App. 2d 461, 471, 532 P.3d 629 (2023).
Evidentiary error is generally harmless when the error is cumulative with other evidence.
State v. Romero-Ochoa, 193 Wn.2d 341, 348, 440 P.3d 994 (2019).
We rule the exclusion of the testimony to be harmless for two reasons. First,
Officer Xenon Berkeley denied recalling Daniele Williamson uttering such a statement.
An accused cannot be prejudiced by the court excluding an out-of-court statement when
the witness would not confirm that someone uttered the statement. To the contrary,
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Williamson planted a seed in the mind of the jury despite the witness failing to water the
seed.
Assuming Officer Xenon Berkeley would have testified that Daniele Williamson
said she was kidnapped, similar testimony of a delusion mental condition rendered such
testimony cumulative. Paramedic Joseph Pearman testified that Williamson declared she
would sue him and law enforcement officers for not only kidnapping, but also assault and
impersonating a first responder. She claimed to one of Janet Martin’s grandchildren that
she was his mother and directed him not to take drugs. Police officers testified to
Williamson becoming unresponsive and urinating. First responders and Martin testified
to minutes of odd behavior of Williamson.
Crime Victim Penalty
Daniele Williamson asks this court to vacate her $500 victim penalty assessment
because of her indigency. The State agrees. So do we. Beginning on July 1, 2023,
Washington courts may not impose VPAs on a defendant “if the court finds that the
defendant is indigent at the time of sentencing.” FINAL B. REP. ON ENGROSSED
SUBSTITUTE H.B. 1169, at 2, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wash. 2023); see LAWS OF 2023, ch.
1169, §§ 1, 4.
Additionally, “[u]pon motion, the court must waive any crime victim penalty
assessment previously imposed against an adult defendant who does not have the ability
to pay. A person does not have the ability to pay if the person is indigent.” FINAL B.
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REP. ON ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE H.B. 1169, at 2, 68th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wash. 2023);
see LAWS OF 2023, ch. 1169, §§ 1, 4.
Statement of Additional Grounds
We reject three additional grounds that Daniele Williamson forwards. First,
Williamson faults the superior court for failing to conduct an omnibus hearing. She
contends CrR 4.5 and LCrR 4.5 demanded such a hearing.
We agree that CrR 4.5 demands such an omnibus hearing. The rule provides no
sanction for a failure to conduct a hearing, however. Daniele Williamson cites no case
law on the remedy for the failure to conduct a hearing.
RAP 10.10(c)
Reference to the record and citation to authorities are not necessary
or required, but the appellate court will not consider a defendant’s
statement of additional grounds for review if it does not inform the court of
the nature and occurrence of alleged errors. Except as required in cases in
which counsel files a motion to withdraw as set forth in RAP 18.3(a)(2), the
appellate court is not obligated to search the record in support of claims
made in a defendant’s statement of additional grounds for review. Only
documents that are contained in the record on review should be attached or
referred to in the statement.
Daniele Williamson contends she lacked access to discovery evidence and her
mother could not attend trial. She suggests that a disagreement over her offender score
could have been resolved at an omnibus hearing. Williamson fails to identify what
discovery the State withheld and how the discovery materials would have benefited her
defense. She does not explain how an omnibus hearing would have allowed her mother
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to attend trial. Finally, she does not understand that the parties do not discuss sentencing
matters such as an offender score until after a conviction and an omnibus hearing occurs
before trial. In short, Williamson shows no prejudice by any omission of an omnibus
hearing.
Second, Daniele Williamson argues that the trial court erred by not requiring Joe
Griffin, a private investigator hired by defense counsel, to interview Dominic Tolson, a
witness for the defense. Nevertheless, she neither cites to the record nor to caselaw to
support this argument. Williamson fails to recognize that the trial court typically
performs no role in identifying witnesses that a private investigator should interview.
Presumably, no one ever asked the trial court to order Griffin to interview Tolson.
Williamson fails to explain what information Tolson possessed and how that information
would have exculpated her.
Third, Daniele Williamson argues that, because a prospective juror informed the
court during jury selection that he knew her, the trial court erred in dismissing her request
for a mistrial. She provides no citations to the record to support this argument.
Williamson also fails to indicate whether the juror expressed he could be impartial
despite knowing Williamson.
CONCLUSION
We affirm Daniele Williamson’s conviction for first degree burglary. We remand
to the trial court to strike the $500 victim penalty assessment.
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A majority of the panel has determined this opinion will not be printed in the
Washington Appellate Reports, but it will be filed for public record pursuant to RCW
2.06.040.
_______________________________
Fearing, J.
WE CONCUR:
______________________________
Cooney, J.
______________________________
Pennell, J.
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