State v. Caldwell, s. A08–1529

• Decision Date: 05 October 2011
• Docket Number: Nos. A08–1529,A09–2279,A10–1752.,s. A08–1529
• Citation: 803 N.W.2d 373
• Parties: STATE of Minnesota, Respondent,v.Lincoln Lamar CALDWELL, Appellant,andLincoln Lamar Caldwell Appellant,v.State of Minnesota, Respondent,andLincoln Lamar Caldwell Appellant,v.State of Minnesota, Respondent.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

803 N.W.2d 373

STATE of Minnesota, Respondent,

v.Lincoln Lamar CALDWELL, Appellant,andLincoln Lamar Caldwell Appellant,

v.State of Minnesota, Respondent,andLincoln Lamar Caldwell Appellant,

v.State of Minnesota, Respondent.

Nos. A08–1529

A09–2279

A10–1752.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Aug. 31, 2011.Rehearing Denied Oct. 5, 2011.

Syllabus by the Court

Minnesota Statutes § 609.05, subd. 4 (2010), permits the conviction of a defendant for aiding and abetting first-degree murder notwithstanding the fact that the party who fired the shots that killed the victim was acquitted of first-degree murder and convicted of second-degree murder, the latter of which is a lesser degree of the crime of first-degree murder.

There was sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that the party who fired the shots that killed the victim had the necessary intent and premeditation to sustain the defendant's conviction for aiding and abetting first-degree murder.

There was sufficient evidence that the group of persons with whom the defendant associated, and for whose benefit he committed the crime of first-degree murder, was a gang as defined by Minn.Stat. § 609.229 (2010).

The defendant was not denied the effective assistance of trial counsel by his counsel's performance during voir dire or due to the fact that his relationship with his counsel was limited to three pretrial conversations because defendant failed to demonstrate that his counsel's performance was unreasonable, or that he suffered prejudice as a result of his counsel's performance.

The defendant was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on the basis of newly discovered evidence because the record indicates that the defendant was aware of the substance of the newly discovered evidence at the time of trial.

Bradford Colbert, Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners, St. Paul, Minnesota, for appellant.Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; and Michael O. Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney, Linda K. Jenny, Assistant County Attorney, for respondent.

OPINION

PAUL H. ANDERSON, Justice.

Lincoln Caldwell was convicted in Hennepin County District Court of aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated murder for the benefit of a gang. The court sentenced Caldwell to life in prison without any possibility of release. Caldwell has appealed his conviction and the denial of two postconviction petitions and raises five issues in his principal brief. He also raises several arguments in a separate pro se brief. On appeal, Caldwell argues that (1) Minn.Stat. § 609.05, subd. 4 (2010), bars his conviction; (2) there was insufficient evidence of the principal's intent and premeditation to support Caldwell's conviction; (3) there was insufficient evidence that the group of which he was a member met the definition of a gang under Minn.Stat. § 609.229 (2010); (4) he was denied effective assistance of counsel; and (5) newly discovered evidence entitled him to a new trial. We affirm.

In June 2006, 18–year–old Brian Cole lived with his family in North Minneapolis. He attended North High School, and he planned to graduate after attending summer school in 2006. On the afternoon of June 17, 2006, Cole left his home to attend a “Juneteenth” celebration at Theodore Wirth Park. Approximately ten or fifteen minutes after he left home, Cole's mother heard gunshots. Her husband went outside to investigate. Shortly afterward, her husband ran back into the house, saying, “Brian got shot.” Cole's mother ran out of the house to find Cole. She found him lying near the corner of Eighth Avenue North and Penn Avenue, with his eyes closed and his face covered with blood.

The police responded to 911 calls from several bystanders. Minneapolis Police Officer Shannon Barnette was the first officer to arrive at the scene, and rendered emergency aid to Cole. Cole was bleeding profusely from his mouth and nose. An ambulance arrived within two minutes of Barnette's arrival and took Cole to a hospital. Less than an hour later, Cole was pronounced dead.

Investigation

Doctor Andrew Baker conducted the autopsy of Brian Cole. Baker testified at trial that Cole was killed by a single bullet, which entered Cole's right shoulder, fractured his collarbone, pierced his right jugular vein and his windpipe, and lodged in the left side of his neck. Baker testified that Cole's wound was fatal because it pierced the jugular vein, leading to massive blood loss and possible asphyxiation from blood inhalation. Baker also testified that he found no alcohol or drugs in Cole's system.

At the scene of the shooting, the police recovered two shell casings made by two different manufacturers—Winchester and CBC. The police were unable to retrieve any fingerprints from the shell casings. Firearms examiner Dana Kloss examined the shell casings and the bullet that was recovered from Cole's body. Kloss testified that the two discharged casings were both from 9 mm caliber shells and that the bullet taken from Cole's body was most likely a .38 caliber bullet. Kloss explained that the .38 caliber family of guns “can include” 9 mm caliber shells and that it was possible the bullet that killed Cole came from one of the two shell casings found at the crime scene.

Two individuals subsequently approached the Minneapolis police with information about Cole's death. The first to contact the police was B.M., who called Lieutenant Nancy Dunlap on July 3, 2006. B.M. was a friend of Cole's and was present at the scene of the shooting. B.M. reported to Dunlap that he had seen an SUV drive past the street corner where he and Cole were standing and that shots were fired from the SUV's window. B.M. reported that he had seen the appellant, Lincoln Caldwell, driving the SUV. The second individual to contact the police was C.P., an acquaintance of Caldwell's. C.P. called the police on July 13 to tell them that Caldwell had bragged about participating in a homicide at Eighth Avenue North and Penn Avenue.

On July 13, 2006, Dunlap contacted Caldwell, and Caldwell gave her his home address. That same day, Dunlap obtained a warrant to arrest Caldwell and search his house. Dunlap carried out the warrant, assisted by several officers. Caldwell was arrested, and the police searched his house. The police found two boxes of ammunition inside a speaker box, neither of which exactly matched the shell casings found at the scene of the shooting. The police also found a photograph of Caldwell and six other men displaying gang signs. Dunlap submitted the boxes of ammunition found in Caldwell's house for fingerprint analysis. No matches were discovered.

Prosecution and Trial

Caldwell, who was driving the SUV from which Cole was shot, was indicted on six counts of aiding and abetting murder under Minn.Stat. § 609.05 (2010): (1) first-degree premeditated murder in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(1) (2010); (2) first-degree premeditated murder for the benefit of a gang in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(1) and Minn.Stat. § 609.229 (2010); (3) first-degree drive-by murder in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(3) (2010); (4) first-degree drive-by murder for the benefit of a gang in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(3) and Minn.Stat. § 609.229; (5) second-degree drive-by murder in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.19, subd. 1 (2010); and (6) second-degree drive-by murder for the benefit of a gang in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.19, subd. 1(2) and Minn.Stat. § 609.229, subds. 2, 3. At trial, in addition to the information above, the State introduced testimony from several other individuals who were either present at the scene of the shooting or involved in the shooting.

Two friends of Cole's who were with him on the afternoon of the shooting testified. E.F. testified that Cole was his best friend. On the day of the shooting, E.F. met with Cole when Cole was sitting at the corner of Eighth Avenue North and Penn Avenue and talking with a group of about ten people. E.F. recognized one of the people to whom Cole was talking as a person named “Cash.” Cash was a member of a gang known as the “One–Nine gang.” After E.F. and Cole talked for a while, E.F. left. A few minutes later, E.F. saw a red Chevrolet SUV “moving quickly” in an easterly direction across Oliver Avenue. He then heard four shots but assumed that it was “Cash” or another group member “act[ing] dumb,” so he kept walking. Shortly afterward, E.F. received a telephone call from a person who told him that Cole had been shot.

P.P. was also a friend of Cole's. P.P. met with Cole at the intersection of Eighth Avenue North and Oliver Avenue on the day of the shooting. He testified that two members of the One–Nine gang—“Willy” Watkins, also known as “Ill Will,” and “Cash”—were in the group with Cole on the corner. P.P. witnessed Cole's shooting, and like B.M., saw that Caldwell was driving the SUV out of which the shots were fired. P.P. also testified that before Cole's funeral, he and some of Cole's other friends went to the Brookdale Shopping Mall and made t-shirts that showed the newspaper article reporting Cole's death. P.P. also testified that Caldwell spoke to him while he was at the Brookdale Mall, and said: “I'm the reason why you got that shirt.”

Several individuals who were with Caldwell at the time of the shooting also testified. These individuals were William Brooks, Troy Young, Cey Barber, and Carnell Harrison (Carnell), who is Kirk Harrison's brother. With the possible exception of Brooks and Carnell,¹ all were members of a group called the “LL” gang, along with Kirk Harrison.² The “LL” gang was named after the intersection of Lowry Avenue and Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, the area where the gang's territory was located. Brooks also testified that the “LL” gang “had a problem” with the “One–Nine” gang—the gang of which Cole's alleged companions on the day of the shooting, “Cash” and “Ill Will,” were members.

Brooks testified that on the day of the shooting, Caldwell was driving around in...