Bost v. United States, s. 12–CF–1589
| Decision Date | 15 February 2018 |
| Docket Number | 12–CF–1641,Nos. 12–CF–1589,12–CF–1590,12–CF–1675,15–CO–1005,12–CF–1699,s. 12–CF–1589 |
| Citation | 178 A.3d 1156 |
| Parties | Robert L. BOST, Jeffrey Best, Lamar J. Williams, Sanquan Carter, and Orlando Carter, Appellants, v. UNITED STATES, Appellee. |
| Court | D.C. Court of Appeals |
Kristina A. Crooks for appellant Robert L. Bost.
E. Benton Keatley, with whom Jeffrey T. Green, Lowell J. Schiller, Karen S. Smith, and Blair J. Greenwald were on the brief, for appellant Jeffrey Best.
Thomas T. Heslep for appellant Lamar J. Williams.
Joshua Deahl, Public Defender Service, with whom James Klein and Samia Fam, Public Defender Service, were on the brief, for appellant Sanquan Carter.
R. Trent McCotter, with whom Jessie K. Liu and Michael W. Khoo were on the brief, for appellant Orlando Carter.
Stephen F. Rickard, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Channing D. Phillips, United States Attorney at the time the brief was filed, and Elizabeth Trosman, John P. Mannarino, Michael D. Brittin, and T. Anthony Quinn, Assistant United States Attorneys, were on the brief, for appellee.
Before Blackburne–Rigsby, Chief Judge,* Fisher, Associate Judge, and Ferren, Senior Judge.
Following an extended months-long joint jury trial, appellants Robert Bost, Jeffrey Best, Sanquan Carter, Orlando Carter,1 and Lamar Williams were each convicted of participating in at least one of two separate, but related conspiracies to commit murder that in total left five dead and eight injured. Specifically, Best, Sanquan, and Orlando were found guilty of murdering Jordan Howe and injuring two others on March 22, 2010, in retaliation for the theft of Sanquan's bracelet ("first conspiracy").2 On March 23, 2010, to avenge Howe's murder, Howe's half-brother, Marquis Hicks, along with three friends, shot Orlando. In retaliation for Orlando's shooting, Bost, Orlando, Best, and Williams conspired to murder Howe's friends ("second conspiracy").3 On March 30, 2010, Bost, Orlando, and Best murdered Tavon Nelson for his firearm and then the three co-conspirators, with assistance from Williams, conducted a drive-by shooting on the 4000 block of South Capitol Street, Washington, D.C., where some of Howe's friends had gathered in Howe's remembrance. The shooting left three dead and six wounded.4
In their consolidated appeals, appellants—both jointly and individually—allege that several errors occurred during the course of their joint jury trial. For the forthcoming reasons, we affirm the judgments of the Superior Court. In light of the length of this opinion, we set forth below the following table of contents as an aid to the reader.
On the night of March 21, 2010, Sanquan was at a party with a group of acquaintances, including Andre Morgan and Jordan Howe, who were godbrothers, in the basement apartment of Jam'ya Wilkins, located at 1333 Alabama Avenue, Southeast, Washington, D.C. At the party, Sanquan showed off his fake diamond bracelet to numerous individuals, including Howe. After the party, Sanquan realized that his bracelet had been stolen. He became upset and rampaged through Wilkins's apartment looking for the bracelet, which he suspected that one of the men at the party had stolen. Sanquan, with assistance from Morgan, then went to find Howe at Howe's apartment, where Sanquan confronted Howe about the bracelet. In response, Howe told Sanquan, "[M]an, nobody got that fake bracelet, not nobody," and Sanquan responded, Morgan and Sanquan then attempted to find and confront the other men at the party, but were unable to locate them. Undeterred, on his way back to the apartment building on Alabama Avenue, Sanquan called his older brother Orlando and told him that he had been robbed and to "bring everything."
When Sanquan called, Orlando was with his friend, Nathaniel Simms, in a silver Kia Spectra, which belonged to Simms's girlfriend, Brittany Young. Orlando told Sanquan on the phone, "[W]e about to be on our way up there" and he then told Simms that Sanquan had just been robbed and that they needed to pick up their other friend, Best, to ride with them to meet Sanquan. Simms and Orlando first went to the home of Orlando's godmother, Shiree Little, where Orlando picked up his AK–47 rifle, and afterwards, they picked up Best from his home. The three men then went to Williams's home, where Williams gave them Simms's .380 pistol and Williams's shotgun. Orlando told the group, "[M]otherfu**ers robbed my little brother[;] they going to see." Best replied, Williams then showed Best how to use the shotgun. In preparation for the encounter, Orlando switched from his bright red jacket into a black jacket that was in the Kia's trunk and Best also switched into another jacket. Williams got out of the car before the men drove off toward 1333 Alabama Avenue, Southeast.
When Simms, Orlando, and Best arrived at Alabama Avenue, Sanquan approached the car and Orlando told him to "come on." Sanquan replied, "You think I brought [you] all the way over here for nothing?" Sanquan then took the .380 pistol from Simms. Sanquan, Orlando, and Best approached the apartment building where the party had occurred earlier and where numerous individuals who had attended the party were still standing outside. Sanquan brandished the .380 pistol, Orlando brandished the AK–47, and Best held the shotgun, while Simms remained in the car.
Sanquan held the individuals in front of the apartment at gunpoint while he patted them down and demanded the return of his bracelet. After one of the individuals refused to be patted down, Sanquan turned to Orlando and Orlando asked Sanquan if he should, "Go ham?", i.e., whether they should start shooting, to which Sanquan replied, "Go ham." The three men then started shooting at the group indiscriminately. Sanquan fired all five rounds that had been in the .380 pistol, Orlando fired all twenty-eight rounds from the AK–47, and Best fired the shotgun three times. During the shooting, Howe, who was in a car nearby, was hit by a stray bullet and died, while two others, juvenile V.K.M. and Tavon Lambert, were injured by the gunfire.
After seeing Howe's body and realizing that Howe was dead, Morgan, who had supported Sanquan up to that point but who was Howe's godbrother, left the scene vowing revenge on the Carter brothers. He immediately went to meet with other friends and told them what had occurred, and they all formed an agreement to murder Sanquan and Orlando in retaliation. Jordan Howe's cousin, Kalisha Howe, who had been present during the shooting, remained on the scene and identified Sanquan that night to the police from a photograph. She also identified Orlando from a nine-person photo array the following day, saying it "could be" him. Wilkins, the woman who hosted the party in her basement apartment, also identified Sanquan on the night of the shooting.
After the shooting, Simms drove Sanquan, Orlando, and Best to the apartment of one of the Carter brothers' relatives by marriage, Ronald Ray. At the apartment, the men hid their weapons and boasted about the shooting. Sanquan explained to the men what had happened before their arrival and complained that he was given a gun with only five bullets. Best said that he was not sure if he had successfully fired the shotgun, but thought he may have once. Orlando bragged that he had shot Howe and shot at a "nosy" woman on the top floor of the apartment building.6 After the discussion, Simms alone left Ray's apartment. The next day, while Simms was in the Kia with his girlfriend, Young, he met Orlando and Best and allowed Orlando to get his red jacket and Best to get his black jacket from the trunk of the car, all of which Young later testified to witnessing.
On March 23, 2010, police arrested Sanquan for his involvement in Howe's murder. Meanwhile, Morgan planned his retaliation for Howe's murder with Howe's half-brother, Marquis Hicks, and two friends. Morgan and the three others drove to Sixth and Chesapeake Streets, Southeast, a location where Orlando was known to hang out, and recognized Orlando in his red jacket. Hicks approached Orlando on foot and shot him, resulting in a graze to Orlando's head and a bullet in his shoulder. Best and Bost, who was another friend of Orlando's, were present during the shooting. At the hospital, Orlando told Best, Bost, and Simms that Sanquan had been arrested, and that the guns had to be moved from Ray's apartment. Simms and Best moved the shotgun and the AK–47 from Ray's apartment to Williams's apartment.
The next day, Simms and Best visited Orlando at his mother's house, where Orlando told them that he believed his shooter was one of Howe's friends, and that he wanted to attack Howe's funeral in revenge (which was to take place on March 30). In conjunction with Simms, Best, Bost, and Williams, Orlando decided to procure more guns and to rent a minivan for the shooting. On March 27, 2010, Orlando, Simms, Best and Bost...
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