Garcia-perlera v. State Of Md.
Decision Date | 02 February 2011 |
Docket Number | No. 1371,1371 |
Parties | JOSE GARCIA-PERLERA v. STATE OF MARYLAND |
Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
REPORTED
Matricciani,
Moylan, Charles E., Jr.
Opinion by Matricciani, J.
Appellant, Jose Garcia-Perlera, appeared before the Circuit Court for Montgomery County on one count of felony murder, four counts of first degree burglary, one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon, four counts of false imprisonment, one count of first degree assault, and one count of use of a handgun in the commission of a felony. After a five-day trial from May 11 to 15, 2009, a jury acquitted appellant of the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony and convicted him of all remaining charges. On August 13, 2009, the court sentenced appellant to incarceration for life, without parole, for the crime of felony murder, and to three concurrent sentences of life, plus thirty-five years, for the remaining crimes.
In his timely appeal, appellant raises four questions for our consideration:
For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgments of the circuit court.
Appellant's convictions arise from four burglaries perpetrated in Montgomery County between September, 2007, and September, 2008.
Margaret Arnold was ninety-four years old at the time of appellant's trial and resided alone in Bethesda, Maryland, along the "River Road corridor." On September 17, 2007, at approximately 10:45p.m., Mrs. Arnold was accosted in the basement of her home by an unknown assailant. The assailant was wearing a mask, gloves, and black clothing, was approximately twenty years of age, a little taller than her height of 5'414", and described as male with a Hispanic accent. Using a piece of clothesline taken from her yard, the assailant tied Mrs. Arnold's wrists to her ankles and then gagged her. The intruder ransacked Mrs. Arnold's home, stealing her watch, wedding and engagement rings, and other pieces of jewelry. Mrs. Arnold was discovered later that night by a family member.
Betty Tubbs resided alone in Chevy Chase, Maryland, also along the River Road corridor. On the night of November 27, 2007, the seventy-seven year old Mrs. Tubbs was accosted in the basement of her home by an unknown assailant wearing a baseball cap and a piece of beige cloth across his nose and mouth. Mrs. Tubbs described her assailant as approximately her height of 5'5 14", wearing dark clothing and a hat, and speaking with a Hispanic accent. Using rope, the assailant tied Mrs. Tubbs' wrists to her ankles, then gagged and blindfolded her. The intruder ransacked Mrs. Tubbs' home, stealing money, her laptop computer, and multiple items of costume jewelry. Shortly after the intruder left her home, Mrs. Tubbs managed to loosen the ropes that were binding her and to seek assistance at the home of a neighbor.
Ann Wolfe was seventy-nine years old and resided alone, along the River Roadcorridor of Potomac, Maryland. On the morning of February 27, 2008, Mrs. Wolfe was outside her home retrieving the newspaper when she was accosted by a Hispanic man, approximately twenty-five years of age, between 5' 6" and 5' 8" tall, wearing a theatrical costume.1 Mrs. Wolfe's attacker spoke to her in Spanish. Her assailant dragged her into the basement of her home, hitting her on the head with a pistol three times. Using rope and duct tape, the intruder tied Mrs. Wolfe's hands to her feet. He then taped her mouth shut with duct tape and put a sheet over her head, which he tied with rope. Mrs. Wolfe's home was ransacked and her car stolen, along with cash, bottles of wine, and jewelry from a wall safe in her bedroom. After her attacker left, Mrs. Wolfe was able to chew through the duct tape so that she could breathe through her mouth. She was found by her daughter, two days later. Mrs. Wolfe was hospitalized for five days and suffered permanent damage to her hands.
Mary Francis Havenstein was sixty-three years old when she died in her home along the River Road corridor. Mrs. Havenstein was last seen alive by her neighbor on September 2, 2008. On September 4, 2008, Mrs. Havenstein's niece arrived to take her to a doctor's appointment and found her corpse. Mrs. Havenstein was on the floor in her bedroom with her hands tied to her feet. There were numerous abrasions and binding injuries to Mrs. Havenstein's body, but the fatal wound was an injury to her head consistent with blunt-force trauma. Mrs. Havenstein's car was missing from her garage, and jewelry was missing from her home.
Appellant was arrested in connection with multiple crimes on October 15, 2008. When police arrived at appellant's home to execute a search warrant, appellant said, "You're here for me." Items recovered from appellant's home were identified as having been stolen from the homes of each of the four victims. DNA specimens recovered from the Tubbs, Wolfe, and Havenstein crime scenes were consistent with appellant's DNA.
Additional facts will be provided as necessary to support our analysis of the issues.
Prior to trial, appellant moved for separate trials, contending that the counts related to each of the four incidents should be tried separately from the others to avoid prejudice. The State opposed, and after hearing arguments, the trial court ruled:
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