U.S. v. Triplett

• Decision Date: 18 January 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90-1181,90-1181
• Citation: 922 F.2d 1174
• Parties: 32 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 152 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Shannon Blake TRIPLETT, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 1174

922 F.2d 1174

32 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 152

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Shannon Blake TRIPLETT, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 90-1181.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Jan. 18, 1991.

Coyt Randal Johnston, Johnston & Budner, Dallas, Tex. (court appointed), for defendant-appellant.

Mark Nichols, Asst. U.S. Atty., Amarillo, Tex., Delonia A. Watson, Asst. U.S. Atty., Marvin Collins, U.S. Atty., Dallas, Tex., for plaintiff-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Before WISDOM, KING, and BARKSDALE, Circuit Judges.

WISDOM, Circuit Judge:

This case is an appeal from a conviction for arson under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 844(i) and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2 and for serving as an accessory after the fact in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3. We AFFIRM.

I.

On April 4, 1989, Shannon Blake Triplett was indicted by a grand jury in a one-count instrument which charged that he and Richard Snyder, aided and abetted by each other, did maliciously damage and destroy, and attempt to damage and destroy by means of a fire, a building used in and affecting interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 844(i) and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2. On August 16, 1989, a superseding indictment was filed as to Triplett only, charging the original arson count and adding a second count alleging that Triplett, having knowledge of the commission of an offense against the United States, did relieve, comfort, and assist Snyder to hinder and prevent Snyder's apprehension, trial, and punishment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3.

Triplett, whose trial was severed from Snyder's, pleaded not guilty. Triplett was found guilty by a jury on both counts, and on March 8, 1990, the district court sentenced Triplett to a prison term of 1,188 months on the first count and a prison term of 108 months on the second count, to be served concurrently. A five year term of supervised release and an assessment of $100 were also imposed.

Triplett's conviction was the result of a jury finding that he had been involved in setting a fire that, in the early morning hours of January 16, 1989, destroyed apartment 131 of the Spring Valley Apartments in Richardson, Texas. The fire claimed the lives of 29-year-old Jenny Kale Christenson, (Jenny), the lessee of the apartment; her 14-year-old daughter, Nancy Kale; Nancy's three-month-old daughter; and Michael Diggs, a hitchhiker Jenny picked up, who had been staying in the apartment for about a week before the fire.

II.

Triplett argued five points on appeal. (1) The evidence was insufficient to support a verdict that Triplett, either as a principal or as an aider and abettor, committed arson. (2) The evidence was insufficient to show that Triplett served as an accessory after the fact in connection with Snyder's offense. (3) The district court erred by finding that certain statements made by Snyder were admissible as admissions against his penal interests and as statements made in furtherance of a non-charged conspiracy. (4) The district court erred by refusing to permit Triplett to elicit expert testimony as to whether his ingesting of controlled substances would cause him to become enraged. (5) The district court abused its discretion by refusing to permit Triplett to impeach a government witness regarding an alleged suicide attempt by that witness.

A. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support a verdict that Triplett, either as a principal or an aider and abettor, committed arson.

The standard of review that this Court applies in reviewing sufficiency of the evidence claims is whether, after viewing the evidence presented and all inferences that may reasonably be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any reasonably-minded jury could have found that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2788-89, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); United States v. Roberts, 913 F.2d 211, 217 (5th Cir.1990); United States v. Anchondo-Sandoval, 910 F.2d 1234, 1236 (5th Cir.1990); United States v. Kim, 884 F.2d 189, 192 (5th Cir.1989); United States v. Ortiz-Loya, 777 F.2d 973, 979 (5th Cir.1985). The evidence need not "exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence or be wholly inconsistent with every conclusion except that of guilt, provided a reasonable trier of fact could find that the evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." United States v. Bell, 678 F.2d 547, 549 (5th Cir.1982) (en banc), aff'd on other grounds, 462 U.S. 356, 103 S.Ct. 2398, 76 L.Ed.2d 638 (1983). See also United States v. Ascarrunz, 838 F.2d 759, 763 (5th Cir.1988).

To uphold Triplett's conviction and sentence for violating 18 U.S.C. Sec. 844(i), ¹ this Court must find that the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Triplett (1) maliciously damaged or destroyed a building, or attempted to do so; (2) that Triplett damaged or destroyed the building by means of fire; (3) that the building was being used in interstate commerce or in an activity affecting interstate commerce; and (4) that the fire resulted in the death of a person.

To uphold Triplett's conviction for violating 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2, ² this Court must find that the government proved that Triplett "willfully associated himself in some way with the criminal venture and willfully participated in it as he would in something he wished to bring about." United States v. Ortiz-Loya, 777 F.2d 973, 980 (5th Cir.1985). "Association" means that the defendant shared in the criminal intent of the principal. "Participation" means that the defendant engaged in some affirmative conduct designed to aid the venture. Id. at 980 (citing United States v. Colwell, 764 F.2d 1070, 1072 (5th Cir.1985)). See also United States v. Kaufman, 858 F.2d 994, 1002 (5th Cir.1988); United States v. Manotas-Mejia, 824 F.2d 360, 367 (5th Cir.1987); United States v. Weddell, 800 F.2d 1404, 1408 (5th Cir.1986). Thus, an aiding and abetting offense has two components: (1) an act by a defendant which contributes to the execution of the criminal activity, and (2) the intent to aid in its commission. See United States v. Stovall, 825 F.2d 817, 827 (5th Cir.1987).

Triplett contends that no one saw him actually set the fire and that the government's evidence never established that the origin of the fire was incendiary. Viewed in the light most favorable to the government, we find the evidence at trial sufficient to support Triplett's conviction.

At trial, expert witnesses testified that the fire was not accidental and that it was likely that an accelerant was used to set the fire. A sample of kerosene was found in only one location in the apartment; however, the burn pattern in the bottom portion of the apartment indicated that an accelerant had been poured heavily over the bottom portion of the apartment. Experts testified that there are several reasons why signs of an accelerant might not remain after a fire. We find that this evidence was sufficient to establish that the fire was intentionally set.

At trial, evidence was also presented to show that Michael Diggs placed a 911 call from the upstairs bedroom of Jenny's apartment at approximately 2:54 a.m. Diggs passed out during that call and died in the bedroom.

A neighbor whose bedroom was next to Jenny's apartment, Mary Yates, testified that after midnight, she heard arguing between Jenny and one or two unidentified males from the upstairs bedroom. She stated that this argument lasted about an hour and a half. At the time of the argument, there were three men in the apartment, Snyder, Triplett, and Diggs.

Yates also testified that after the argument ended, she saw two men standing outside the fence of her apartment for about five or ten minutes. She described one man as about 5'7" to 5'8" in height, with blonde hair, and, at trial, she identified this man as Snyder. She described the second man as about the same height, with reddish-blond hair, and wearing white tennis shoes. Triplett is 6'1"; however, at trial, Yates estimated his height as being 5'8". His hair is a dark red, and his nickname is "Red". Triplett, however, was not wearing tennis shoes when he was taken into custody the morning after the fire.

When Yates went back to bed, the men were still standing by the fence. After returning to bed, she dozed off and was awakened by smoke. Yates testified that she smelled smoke and noticed the fire about five or ten minutes after she laid down.

At trial, there was also testimony from Mark Engles, a drug-trafficking friend of Triplett's, that he had seen Snyder and Triplett arrive at the parking lot of the Rodeway Inn at about 2:30 or 2:40 a.m. on the morning of January 16th. The Rodeway Inn is about a mile and a half away from the Spring Valley Apartments. Engles had called Triplett the night before at Jenny's to tell Triplett to come by the motel to give Engles the money Triplett owed him. Engles talked with Triplett in the parking lot for a few minutes, and either during, or just after this conversation, Engles testified that he saw smoke from the fire and heard sirens going down Spring Valley Road. The first fire trucks arrived on the scene at about 2:56 a.m.

The evidence also established that Triplett had begun staying at Jenny's apartment about one and a half weeks before the fire. Snyder had also started spending large chunks of time at the apartment and was to have become a rent-paying tenant.

On the Thursday before the fire, the manager of the apartment complex had told Jenny that Triplett would have to leave the apartment because he was not on the lease. The manager testified that Jenny told the manager that she would tell Triplett to leave. Jerry Davidson, a boyfriend of Jenny's, testified that he had told Jenny that Triplett was not the type of person she should have around. The record further indicates that...