State v. Chambers

• Decision Date: 19 December 2016
• Docket Number: No. 72093-7-I,72093-7-I
• Citation: 197 Wash.App. 96,387 P.3d 1108
• Parties: State of Washington, Respondent, v. Lovett James Chambers, Appellant.
• Court: Washington Court of Appeals

197 Wash.App. 96

387 P.3d 1108

State of Washington, Respondent,

v.Lovett James Chambers, Appellant.

No. 72093-7-I

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

FILED: December 19, 2016

David Bruce Koch, Nielsen Broman & Koch PLLC, 1908 E Madison St., Seattle, WA, 98122-2842, for Appellant.

Dennis John McCurdy, King County Prosecutor's Office, 516 3rd Avenue Suite W554, Seattle, WA, 98104-2362, for Respondent.

Schindler, J.¶ 1 The State charged Lovett James Chambers with murder in the second degree of Michael Travis Hood. Following a seven-week trial, the jury convicted Chambers of the lesser included offense of manslaughter in the first degree. Chambers contends the evidence does not support the decision to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of manslaughter in the first degree and the court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from his home and statements he made after his arrest. Chambers also claims he is entitled to reversal because he was denied his right to counsel during the videotaped deposition of a witness and prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument denied him of the right to a fair trial. Viewed in the light most favorable to the State, the evidence supports the decision to give the lesser included manslaughter instruction. We conclude the court erred in denying the motion to suppress evidence seized from the house. The warrantless entry and protective sweep was not justified under Maryland v. Buie, 494 U.S. 325, 110 S.Ct. 1093, 108 L.Ed.2d 276 (1990), but the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Because the unchallenged findings support the conclusion that the police "scrupulously honored" the right to remain silent under Michigan v. Mosley, 423 U.S. 96, 96 S.Ct. 321, 46 L.Ed.2d 313 (1975), and the record shows Chambers was not deprived of his right to counsel or a fair trial, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2 Between 1966 and 1989, Lovett James "Cid" Chambers was convicted of several serious felonies and incarcerated in the California State prison system and the federal prison system. After his release from custody in 1989, Chambers moved to Seattle and worked in the construction industry. Chambers later obtained degrees in computer science and started an IT¹ business.

¶ 3 Chambers and Sara started dating in 1991 and were married in 1992.² Chambers never told Sara about his felony convictions or the time he spent in prison. In 1993, Chambers and Sara purchased a house in West Seattle.

¶ 4 A few years later, Chambers asked Sara to buy him a Colt .45 caliber semiautomatic handgun. Sara purchased the gun for his birthday. The Colt .45 is registered to Sara. Chambers routinely carried the gun with him and would often go to the shooting range.

¶ 5 The Feedback Lounge is a bar located approximately a mile from Chambers' house in West Seattle. Chambers went to the Feedback Lounge at least four to five times a week. Chambers would arrive between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m., sit at one end of the bar, and drink a couple of vodka martinis.

¶ 6 After a "significant snow storm", it was cold, wet, and windy on Saturday, January 21, 2012. That afternoon, Chambers stopped at the Rocksport Bar & Grill to have a beer with friends. After approximately 45 minutes, Chambers left and drove to the Feedback Lounge. Chambers parked his blue 1998 BMW M3 facing south on California Avenue SW in front of the Beveridge Place Pub. The Feedback Lounge is located 72 feet south of the Beveridge Place Pub on California Avenue SW.

¶ 7 Chambers arrived at the Feedback Lounge at approximately 4:30 p.m. When the bartender arrived for her 5:00 p.m. shift, Chambers was "sitting in one of his favorite seats ... at the very end of the bar" drinking a vodka martini. Chambers' friend Pierre Rodrick arrived at the Feedback Lounge around 8:00 p.m. Over the course of the next hour and a half, Chambers had two or three more vodka martinis and a shot of vodka. Rodrick left around 9:30 p.m. Chambers went to the restroom before leaving the bar to drive home.

¶ 8 Forty-two-year-old Jonathan Vause and 35-year-old Michael Travis Hood were also at the Feedback Lounge that night. Vause and Hood are Caucasian males of average height and weight. Vause and Hood had been good friends since 1996. Vause grew up in North Carolina and lived in Tennessee and Florida. Vause moved to Seattle in 2010, worked as a general manager of a cafe, and lived in West Seattle. In 2011, Hood moved to Seattle and Vause helped him find a job.

¶ 9 Vause and Hood got together after work on Saturday, January 21. Between 5:00 and 8:30 p.m., they smoked marijuana and had a beer or two. At 8:30 p.m., they drove to the Rocksport Bar & Grill. The bar was "packed" with "nowhere to sit." Vause and Hood left and drove to the Feedback Lounge. Vause parked his red 1996 Ford Ranger pickup truck between a backhoe and a large van on California Avenue SW in front of Morgan Junction Park. The Ranger pointed south and the passenger door opened onto the sidewalk. Morgan Junction Park is a small park located 195 feet north of the Feedback Lounge.

¶ 10 Vause and Hood arrived at the Feedback Lounge at approximately 9:00 p.m. Because the bar was crowded, they went to the back area. They had a couple beers, ordered some food, played PAC-MAN, and left 40 to 45 minutes later. As they were leaving, Vause noticed Chambers standing to the right of the front door. Chambers is a 67-year-old six-foot-three-inch-tall African American who weighed approximately 225 pounds. Vause thought Chambers worked as security for the bar.

¶ 11 After leaving the Feedback Lounge, Vause and Hood walked north on California Avenue SW toward the Ford Ranger. When they reached the alleyway between the Feedback Lounge and the Beverage Place Pub, Hood turned and walked down the alleyway.

I looked at Travis and told him the truck was that way. When he responded, kind of went across at an angle where he stopped and back down to the corner and back down the sidewalk, he went at an angle towards me and proceeded towards the truck as well.

¶ 12 Because it was cold and windy, Vause did not wait for Hood and walked "really fast" to his truck. Vause unlocked the doors, got in the driver's seat of the truck, and waited for Hood. A full-size van parked in front of the truck blocked his view. Vause could see down the sidewalk "just about to the front door" of the Beveridge Place Pub but he did not "have a clear view all the way down the sidewalk to the Feedback." A few seconds later, Vause saw Hood walking up the sidewalk and Chambers walking six to eight feet behind Hood.

¶ 13 When Hood reached the pickup truck, he opened the passenger-side door and then grabbed a flat-head shovel out of the back. Hood "pulled" the shovel "up in a batter's stance" and held it "like a baseball bat." Chambers "jumped back about three steps" until he was 9 or 10 feet away from Hood. Hood yelled at Vause, "[W]atch out, he's got a gun," and immediately "spun and turned to try to get into the truck."

¶ 14 Vause heard a shot fired and saw the flash as he got out of the truck and "crouched down hiding behind the bed of my truck." Chambers fired two more shots. After the gunfire stopped, Vause watched Chambers put the gun "back inside of his jacket" and "just casually walk[ ] away" back toward the Feedback Lounge.

¶ 15 Hood was lying facedown across the seat of the pickup truck. Vause pulled Hood's legs into the pickup, pushed the shovel handle out the door onto the sidewalk, and drove away "as quick as possible" to get medical help. Meanwhile, Chambers walked to his BMW parked in front of the Beveridge Place Pub and drove home.

¶ 16 A number of witnesses called 911. Witnesses told Seattle Police Officer Brian Koshak the suspect "was a black male wearing blue jeans, a shiny leather jacket, and a black beanie." An employee of the Feedback Lounge said "somebody that matched that description [was] in the bar" that night who "went by Cid" and drove a blue BMW M3. The employee provided Officer Koshak with a credit card receipt signed by "Lovett Chambers." Officer Koshak found three shell casings from a .45 caliber handgun, a shovel, and blood on the sidewalk near Morgan Junction Park.

¶ 17 When paramedics responded to a nearby location, Hood was in critical condition. While medics transported Hood to Harborview Medical Center, Officer Brandon McDougald took a statement from Vause. Vause was "very coherent," did not smell of alcohol, and "seemed rather in shock." Hood died at Harborview from lethal gunshot wounds

to his back.

¶ 18 Seattle police arrested Chambers at his home at 10:49 p.m. Officer Anthony Belgarde read Chambers his Miranda³ rights at 10:51 p.m. Chambers smelled of alcohol. He was "swaying," had trouble balancing, slurred his words, and was argumentative. Officer Kyle Galbraith drove Chambers to the precinct. Officers obtained a warrant to search Chambers' home and seized a loaded .45 caliber handgun, a spare magazine, and the BMW keys. The police impounded the BMW.

¶ 19 After obtaining a blood draw from Chambers at Harborview, Detective Cloyd Steiger and Detective E. Jason Kasner advised Chambers of his Miranda rights. Chambers agreed to talk to the detectives. The recorded interview began at approximately 4:00 a.m. and lasted approximately an hour. Before the interview begins and while Chambers is alone, he shakes his head and says, "Goddamn. Fuck. Um! Goddamn! What the fuck. Goddamn! ... Ah, Fuck. What the fuck happened?" When the detectives enter the room and begin the interview, Chambers says, "Tell me what happened, man."

¶ 20 Chambers told the detectives he was at the Feedback Lounge drinking martinis from approximately 4:30 p.m. until he left at approximately 9:30 p.m. to go home. Chambers said he keeps a Colt .45 underneath the passenger seat of his BMW. He said he remembered parking the BMW in front of the Beveridge Place Pub that night and getting into his car to go home. But Chambers did not remember "any trouble" when he got in his car and did...