Davis v. State
| Decision Date | 09 August 2021 |
| Docket Number | 1259-2019,1260-2019,51-2020,2142-2019 |
| Parties | ROBERT CHARLES DAVIS v. STATE OF MARYLAND |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Circuit Court for Howard County Case Nos. C-13-CR-19-000133 C-13-CR-19-000136, C-13-CR-19-000156, C-13-CR-19-000160
Graeff, Beachley, Eyler, James R., (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.
On January 18, 2019, Robert Charles Davis, appellant, was arrested at 9521 Clocktower Lane in Columbia, Maryland for armed robbery. The home subsequently was searched, on three separate occasions, pursuant to three different warrants relating to multiple incidents, including three burglaries committed on August 21, 2018, August 25, 2018, and October 5, 2018, as well as an armed robbery committed on December 20, 2018.
Appellant was charged in the Circuit Court for Howard County on multiple charges in connection with those incidents. He filed identical motions to suppress the evidence found in the home in each case. The motions were denied, and appellant subsequently was convicted, in multiple separate proceedings, of three counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of armed robbery, two counts of first-degree assault, three counts of theft under $1, 500, and several firearms counts. The court sentenced him to a total of 68 years' imprisonment.
Appellant filed separate appeals in the different cases. In 2020, this Court granted motions to consolidate Case Nos. 1259, 1260, & 2142, Sept. Term, 2019, which involved the convictions relating to the three burglaries. On March 26, 2021, this Court granted appellant's "Unopposed Motion to Consolidate for Consideration by the Same Panel" Case No. 51, Sept. Term, 2020, which involved the armed robbery, with the other three cases.
On appeal in this consolidated action, appellant presents the following questions for this Court's review, which we have consolidated and rephrased, as follows:
For the reasons set forth below, we shall affirm the judgments of the circuit court in Case Nos. 1259, 1260, 2142, Sept. Term, 2019, but reverse the judgment in Case No. 51, Sept. Term, 2020.
This case involves the execution of three separate search warrants for the home located at 9521 Clocktower Lane. The first search warrant was issued to Detective Woctchou on January 18, 2019, relating to evidence regarding an armed robbery occurring on December 20, 2018. The second search warrant issued to Detective Cheuvront on January 19, 2019, at 12:26 p.m., related to a theft of a gun shop in North Carolina, and it relied on firearms seized in the first search that matched those stolen from the shop. The third search warrant, issued to Detective Yoon on January 19, 2019, at 2:47 p.m., related to several apartment leasing office burglaries in Columbia, and it relied on items that the police observed in the home during the first warrant that were consistent with items stolen in those burglaries.
On January 18, 2019, appellant was arrested at 9521 Clocktower Lane. As indicated, the police subsequently conducted three searches of the residence pursuant to three different search warrants. The searches revealed incriminating evidence against appellant relating to the armed robbery and the burglaries.
On February 27, 2019, three indictments were filed against appellant in the Circuit Court for Howard County in connection with apartment leasing office burglaries, each charging him with second-degree burglary and theft under $1, 500. A fourth indictment was filed that same day in connection with the December 2018 armed robbery, charging appellant with two counts of armed robbery, two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of theft under $1, 500, and related firearms charges. The four cases were not consolidated in the circuit court, but as indicated, they had a common suppression hearing, and the convictions in each case are addressed in this opinion.
On June 21, 2019, appellant filed four identical motions to suppress the evidence found at 9521 Clocktower Lane, alleging a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. On July 2, 2019, the circuit court held a joint hearing on the motions. Appellant introduced into evidence the three search and seizure warrants and their supporting affidavits.
Individual Warrants
The first search warrant was issued on January 18, 2019, and it authorized a search of 9521 Clocktower Lane for evidence relating to an armed robbery that occurred in Columbia on December 20, 2018. The warrant affidavit, authored by Detective Woctchou, a member of the Howard County Police Department's robbery unit, stated that two people were walking on the sidewalk of Cradlerock Way when a "tan colored Chevy SUV" stopped across the street from them. A man, who the victims described as a short, muscular, African-American male with facial hair, wearing a green, two-piece track suit, exited the vehicle, approached the victims, and demanded their money at gunpoint, using a "black semi[-]automatic handgun." The victims handed over a blue "Helly Hansen" jacket and a wallet, but the suspect returned the wallet because it did not have any money in it.
The man got back in his car and drove away, but he then made a U-turn and stopped to confront the victims again. This time, the man asked the victims to give him their phones. The victims complied and handed over an iPhone 7 and an iPhone 6S. The man threatened to kill them if they reported the incident. Before driving away, the man fired the handgun into the air. Surveillance video from a nearby business captured the incident and corroborated the victims' story. One of the victims later reported that the man also took a pair of gold-colored "Beats" headphones.
On January 16, 2018, Detective Woctchou and two additional detectives were preparing to conduct a canvas of the neighborhood. They observed a tan-colored Chevy Tahoe displaying only a rear Virginia license plate. The vehicle resembled the SUV used in the December armed robbery. The detectives requested a marked patrol vehicle to initiate a traffic stop of the Chevy Tahoe while they followed it and conducted a computer check on the license plate. This check showed that the tags were registered to a 2002 Kia van belonging to Angela D. Williams of Virginia.
When the patrol unit attempted to pull over the Chevy Tahoe, the suspect did not stop. A chase ensued for approximately 20 minutes, reaching speeds of more than 80 miles per hour. The Tahoe struck other vehicles during the pursuit, and it eventually "struck a light pole and a tree" on the side of Thunder Hill Road. The driver fled on foot, but the police quickly located an injured man matching the driver's description on Thunder Hill Road. That person, identified as appellant, was taken into custody. Detective Woctchou noted that appellant was short and had facial hair, "which matched the description the victims of the armed robbery provided."
The Chevy Tahoe was seized and searched pursuant to a warrant. During the search, the police located mail addressed to the residents of 9521 Clocktower Lane in Columbia, but there was no named addressee.
That same day, Detective Woctchou conducted an interview of appellant. Appellant stated that he lived in Adelphi in Prince George's County, but his fiancée, Angela Williams, lived in Columbia, although he refused to provide her exact address. Appellant was taken to Howard County Central Booking Facility ("CBF") for processing.
Detective Woctchou's warrant affidavit stated that, on January 17, 2019, he composed a photo array, and one of the victims "identified [appellant] as the person who robbed him and his friend at gunpoint on December 20, 2018." Detective Woctchou began to monitor appellant's phone calls from CBF, and appellant made several calls to a person he identified as "Angie." He told her: A computer check for Angela Williams revealed that she previously had a listed address of 9521 Clocktower Lane, Columbia, Maryland.
The affidavit continued:
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