Faulkner v. State

• Citation: 156 Md. App. 615,847 A.2d 1216
• Decision Date: 29 April 2004
• Docket Number: No. 2677,2677
• Parties: Antoine Clay FAULKNER v. STATE of Maryland.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

847 A.2d 1216

156 Md. App. 615

Antoine Clay FAULKNER v. STATE of Maryland.

No. 2677, Sept. Term, 2002.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

April 29, 2004.

M. Albert Figinski (Stephen E. Harris, Public Defender on the brief), Baltimore, for appellant.

Annabelle L. Lisic (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Attorney General on the brief), Baltimore, for appellee.

Argued before DAVIS, ADKINS, and CHARLES E., MOYLAN, JR., (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ. ADKINS, Judge.

Appellant Antoine Clay Faulkner shot and killed Quincy Powers. Faulkner claims that he "had to" because Powers was about to shoot him. In a bench trial, the Circuit Court for Baltimore County convicted Faulkner of first degree murder and committing a felony with a handgun. Faulkner now challenges the legality of his arrest, the admissibility of his confession, and the court's rejection of his imperfect self-defense claim.

Faulkner asks us to decide what type of warrant police may use when they plan to make a home arrest in non-exigent circumstances. Specifically, he asserts that, when police enter a felony suspect's residence to execute a search warrant that does not authorize a search or seizure of the suspect himself, they may not immediately arrest the suspect, without having either an arrest warrant or exigent circumstances. We shall not reach that issue, because any illegality in Faulkner's arrest did not require exclusion of the confession that Faulkner later gave at the police station. Finding no error in the admission of that confession or the trial court's refusal to credit Faulkner's self-defense claim, we shall affirm the convictions.

FACTS AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

The Homicide And Investigation

At 11:40 a.m. on December 20, 2001, Baltimore County police received calls about "shots fired" in the vicinity of a "First Stop" convenience store. When they responded, they found Quincy Powers lying dead in the street located down the hill from the First Stop. He had been shot four times—twice in the left side of his back, once in his left thigh, and once through his right shoulder, passing into his heart.¹

Near Powers' body, police found one.380 caliber Remington shell casing. Police also found four of the same shell casings in the parking lot of the First Stop, near the pay phones outside the store entrance.

As part of their investigation, police took the names and addresses of people who were at the scene. One was Faulkner, who had gone home to change his clothes and hide his gun, then returned to the First Stop.

Police also interviewed witnesses in the immediate area of the shooting. Steven Douglas Larkin lived in an apartment across the street from the First Stop. His window looked out onto Radecke Avenue, where Powers was found. He told police that he heard four or five shots. He then looked out his window and saw two African American males running downhill on a dirt path that led from the First Stop toward Radecke Avenue. One tripped over his shorts or pants, falling forward in the middle of the street. When the second one caught up, the first was in a sitting position. The second man shot the victim in the back with a silver handgun that he held in his left hand. Although both men were facing toward Larkin, he could not identify either the shooter or the victim by face because he was not wearing his glasses at the time and the shooter's hood was over his head. But he described the shooter's attire as "all in black," with a "distinctive" black fleece hooded jacket marked by a silver stripe across the back. The shooter then ran back up the hill and to the left.

Elizabeth Truesdale lived in the direction that Larkin saw the shooter run, across the street from the First Stop, on the side of the store opposite Larkin. She did not see any of the shots fired, but she and her son Barry Harris did hear three or four shots in rapid succession. She reported that, 30 to 40 seconds later, she "heard one more" shot. She went to her third floor apartment window and saw a tall black male, dressed in jeans and a black hooded velour jacket with pin stripes along the zipper, running from the First Stop past her home, holding the bottom of his jacket or waistband, at his left hip area, with his left hand.

Two days after the shooting, police learned from Truesdale's son that a "young" friend had talked to him about the homicide. The friend told Harris that "Chew" had stopped by his home around the time of the shooting. Chew asked Harris's friend to retrieve his greenish colored lighter because he had dropped it in the First Stop parking lot. The friend told Harris that he found an orange lighter, but not a green one. Harris initially refused to identify the friend, but eventually told police that his name was "Jayrock" and showed them 5635 Utrecht Road as his address. Most importantly, Harris also identified Chew as "Antoine." He told police that Chew had been stopped by some police in front of the Woodhill Apartments, near the scene on the day of the shooting. He also pointed out 5665 Utrecht Road as Chew's home.

Police then reviewed their records, which showed that Antoine Faulkner had been stopped near the Woodhill Apartments and asked to wait there while police ran a check on him and completed a field investigation report card, which listed Faulkner's name, address, description, and clothing. They also returned to the First Stop parking lot and found pieces of a "yellowish green lighter," which had been run over or stepped on, near the pay phones where shell casings had been found on the day of the homicide. It lay beside another .380 Remington shell casing.

Police then identified and interviewed "Jayrock." They concluded that he had no information and discovered that he was incarcerated at the time of the shooting.

Having met 16 year old Maurice Jackson in the company of Barry Harris when she went to interview him, however, Detective Amy Prime investigated whether Jackson might be the "young friend" whom Harris described. On December 26, Prime took Jackson to police headquarters for questioning.

Jackson admitted that he had talked to Harris about the homicide and identified a booking photo of Faulkner as "Chew." Jackson lived at his girlfriend's house at 5635 Utrecht Road, down the street from Chew.

Jackson told police that he had seen Chew coming around the corner of the townhouse block where both lived, from the direction of the First Stop. Chew came to Jackson's door around the time of the shooting. He was out of breath and speaking more quickly than usual. Chew asked Jackson to go to First Stop and get his green lighter. Jackson went to the store. He picked up an orange lighter, which he later disposed of. He then noticed others looking down the hill. When he went over to see what was happening, he saw Powers' body. Police were just starting to respond.

Jackson concluded that Chew either "did it" or was involved. He told Harris about the visit and the lighter while both were still at the scene, and again after they had returned to Harris and Truesdale's home.

Later that day, Jackson encountered Chew in passing and told him that the lighter was "gone." On Christmas Eve, Jackson again saw Chew. Chew told Jackson that he shot Powers, but claimed that he had no other choice because Powers kept walking toward him with his hands in his pockets, saying "what's up" in a threatening way.

Harris admitted "that he had lied about Jayrock and that Maurice Jackson was the person that told him that information."

Based on this information, on December 27, the police began surveillance of the townhouse identified by Harris and public records as the Faulkner residence. Police observed Antoine Faulkner enter, leave sometime later, walk to a nearby stream with a friend, and then return home. On the afternoon of December 27, they applied for a search warrant for the Faulkner residence.

Warrant

The warrant affiants were Baltimore County Homicide Detective Amy Prime and Officer Ron Taylor. They sought a search warrant, but not an arrest warrant.

In the affidavit supporting the application, Prime averred that, having "attended schools on search and seizure law, interview and interrogation and homicide investigation," she was "well aware of laws pertaining to search and seizure and the Fourth Amendment." As probable cause to search Faulkner's residence for weapons, ammunition, shell casings, blood-stained clothing, and clothing matching the description of the shooter, the affiants stated:

Investigation into Mr. Powers' death revealed a witness who will testify that a black male he knows as "Chew" came to his residence on 12/20/01 and asked him to retrieve a green lighter that he had dropped at the First Stop, which is located at the crime scene.... The witness responded to the First Stop, and saw that someone had been shot. The witness saw "Chew" again on 12/23/01 or 12/24/01 at which time "Chew" told him that he had shot the boy at the First Stop. The witness identified a photograph of Antoine Clay Faulkner as "Chew".

A check with Baltimore County police records indicate[d] Deborah Yvonne Torain as the mother of Antoine Clay Faulkner. A check with a local utility company revealed 5665 Utrecht Road.... as Ms. Torain's address as of 7/6/01. Detectives requested Baltimore County Career Criminal Units to conduct surveillance on this address on 12/27/01. Detectives observed Antoine Clay Faulkner enter this residence through the rear door location and know that he is currently still inside of this address.

The requested warrant was issued at 4:23 p.m.

Arrest And Search

At 5:40 p.m., Detective Prime and seven other officers arrived at Faulkner's residence to execute the warrant. Deborah Torain, Faulkner's mother, answered the door. Prime advised her that they had a warrant to search the house and asked her who was on the premises. She replied that her mother and Antoine Faulkner were in the residence. Prime "asked that they come and sit in the living...