Gibbs v. Ames
| Decision Date | 13 October 2021 |
| Docket Number | 20-0478 |
| Court | Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | Antwyn D. Gibbs, Petitioner Below, Petitioner v. Donnie Ames, Superintendent, Mt. Olive Correctional Complex Respondent Below, Respondent |
Petitioner Antwyn D. Gibbs, by counsel Evan J. Dove, appeals the March 10, 2020, order of the Circuit Court of Fayette County denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Respondent Donnie Ames, Superintendent of Mount Olive Correctional Complex, by counsel Patrick Morrisey and Benjamin F. Yancey III, filed a response in support of the circuit court's order.[1]
This Court has considered the parties' briefs and the record on appeal. The facts and legal arguments are adequately presented, and the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument. Upon consideration of the standard of review, the briefs, and the record presented the Court finds no substantial question of law and no prejudicial error. For these reasons, a memorandum decision affirming the order of the circuit court is appropriate under Rule 21 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
In the early morning hours of January 9, 2015, multiple intruders entered the Oak Hill, West Virginia, home of Edward and Linda Knight. Two of the intruders were armed; one held a shotgun and the other held a pistol. Edward Knight, Linda Knight, and her three grandchildren- her five-year-old granddaughter, her eighteen-year-old disabled grandson, and Andrew Gunn- were held at gun point. The intruders located a safe in Andrew Gunn's room and tossed it out a bedroom window along with a crossbow and two pairs of athletic shoes. The intruders then left the home and fled with the stolen items. Linda Knight immediately reported the incident to the Oak Hill police.
Soon after the police began their investigation, they received a tip that Kentrell Goodman and Kevin Goodman Jr. were possibly involved in the home invasion and that the Goodmans lived in or near Newberry, South Carolina. Officers from Oak Hill traveled to Newberry, and, with the help of Newberry police investigated the matter further. Pursuant to a search warrant executed on January 14, 2015, the police searched the home in which Kentrell Goodman resided, discovering the stolen crossbow, shoes, and safe. The police took statements from Kentrell Goodman and Rashod Wicker, who also lived in the home. Through their statements, the men implicated themselves, Kevin Goodman Jr., Radee Hill, and petitioner in the Oak Hill home invasion. Kentrell Goodman told police that after returning to South Carolina, the group went to petitioner's home, which was where they gained entry to the safe by shooting it.
At approximately 10:37 a.m. on January 15, 2015, police arrived at petitioner's home where he lived with his brother and his mother. Officers surrounded the residence. Officer Garrett Lominack of the Newberry County Sheriff's Office approached the door, and when petitioner's mother answered the door, Officer Lominack and other officers entered the home and arrested petitioner. Thereafter officers conducted a security sweep of the interior of the residence, observing, among other things, a silver handgun and shotgun shells. Meanwhile, at the rear of the residence, officers observed plastic pieces on the ground and two spent .410 gauge shotgun shell casings near the plastic pieces. While police were at the home, petitioner's brother arrived and gave police permission to search his (the brother's) bedroom. The silver handgun and some shotgun shells were located in the brother's bedroom.
Investigator Michael Stribble of the Newberry County Sheriff's Office obtained a search warrant to search petitioner's home at 11:41 a.m. on January 15, 2015. The search warrant was executed less than an hour later at 12:30 p.m. In executing the search warrant, the Newberry police seized, among other things, petitioner's cell phone, the silver handgun, the plastic pieces found at the rear of petitioner's home, shotgun shells from multiple locations inside the home, and the spent shotgun shell casings found at the rear of the home.
The day after petitioner had been taken into custody, Investigator Stribble obtained and executed an arrest warrant for petitioner's arrest as a fugitive from justice. The warrant stated, "Hold fig. max 20 days Gov. Ofc." Petitioner was ultimately extradited to West Virginia.
In May of 2015, petitioner was indicted in Fayette County, West Virginia, for the felony offenses of first-degree robbery, entry of a dwelling, grand larceny, and conspiracy. Kevin Goodman Jr. and Radee Hill were also indicted on these charges, and all three men were tried together in a three-day jury trial. At trial, the State presented the testimony of eleven witnesses- including the testimony of the Knights, Andrew Gunn, several police officers, a toolmark examiner with the West Virginia State Police lab, Kentrell Goodman, and Rashod Wicker-and numerous exhibits.
Kentrell Goodman testified that he had attended high school with Andrew Gunn in Oak Hill and that the two had been friends. He explained that he knew Andrew Gunn kept a safe in his bedroom containing approximately $10, 000. Kentrell Goodman testified that after he told his brother, Kevin Goodman Jr., about the money, he, Kevin Goodman Jr., Rashod Wicker, Radee Hill, and petitioner drove from South Carolina to Oak Hill to forcibly take the money from Andrew Gunn. According to Kentrell Goodman, Rashod Wicker was enlisted to drive the group to Oak Hill because Rashod Wicker had a driver's license. Kentrell Goodman testified that, upon arriving in Oak Hill, the vehicle was parked near a Domino's restaurant and he, Kevin Goodman Jr., Radee Hill, and petitioner proceeded to the Knights' home, ultimately taking Andrew Gunn's safe, a crossbow, and shoes. Kentrell Goodman further testified that, upon arriving back in Newberry, the group proceeded to the rear of petitioner's home where Kevin Goodman Jr. fired a shotgun at the safe at least twice to gain access to the safe and the money inside. Kentrell Goodman claimed he received a portion of the money from the safe. He admitted that he had entered a guilty plea to first-degree robbery in exchange for the dismissal of the remaining charges against him, but he testified that he had not received any deals or promises in exchange for his testimony. Kentrell Goodman had not been sentenced when he gave his testimony.
Rashod Wicker testified that he was recruited to drive Kentrell Goodman, Kevin Goodman Jr., Radee Hill, and petitioner from South Carolina to Oak Hill. He claimed he remained with the vehicle near a Domino's restaurant while the other four men acquired the safe, crossbow, and shoes from the Knights' home. He testified that immediately upon returning to South Carolina, the group dropped him off at his mother's house before proceeding elsewhere. He further testified that the next time he saw the safe was the following day and that by that point, the safe had been opened, and he had been given a portion of the money from the safe by Kentrell Goodman. Like Kentrell Goodman, Rashod Wicker testified that he had entered a guilty plea to first-degree robbery in exchange for the dismissal of the remainder of the charges against him. Rashod Wicker claimed that the plea was not conditioned on his agreement to testify against petitioner, Kevin Goodman Jr. and Radee Hill. Rashod Wicker had not been sentenced when he gave his testimony.
Regarding the arrest of petitioner, Officer Lominack testified, Officer Stephen Epps of the Newberry County Sheriff's Office was asked, "And were you there [at petitioner's home] -- were you there with an arrest warrant initially?" Officer Epps testified, "Initially, no."
Regarding the search of petitioner's home, the following discussion took place during the State's questioning of Officer Epps:
The silver handgun, the plastic pieces found at the rear of petitioner's home, the shotgun shells located inside petitioner's home, and the spent shell casings found at the rear of the home were all entered into evidence during the trial. The State presented expert testimony through the West Virginia State Police Lab's toolmark examiner establishing that at least some of the plastic pieces recovered from petitioner's backyard were part of the stolen safe. The State also introduced into evidence petitioner's cell phone and an extraction report of the cell phone. Officer Mason Hines of the Oak Hill Police Department testified that, on the morning of the home invasion, petitioner's cell phone "pinged" cell phone towers in Max Meadows, Virginia; Flat...
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