Goodman v. Searls

• Decision Date: 19 November 2021
• Docket Number: 20-0169
• Parties: KEVIN GOODMAN, JR., Petitioner Below, Petitioner v. SHELBY SEARLS, SUPERINTENDENT, HUTTONSVILLE CORRECTIONAL CENTER, Respondent Below, Respondent
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court

KEVIN GOODMAN, JR., Petitioner Below, Petitioner
v.
SHELBY SEARLS, SUPERINTENDENT, HUTTONSVILLE CORRECTIONAL CENTER, Respondent Below, Respondent

No. 20-0169

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

November 19, 2021

Submitted: October 26, 2021

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Fayette County The Honorable Paul M. Blake, Jr. Case No. 17-C-342

J. Timothy DiPiero, Esq. Lonnie C. Simmons, Esq. Luca D. DiPiero, Esq. DIPIERO SIMMONS MCGINLEY & BASTRESS, PLLC Charleston, West Virginia Attorneys for Petitioner

Patrick Morrisey, Esq. Attorney General Mary Beth Niday, Esq. Assistant Attorney General Gordon L. Mowen, II, Esq. Assistant Attorney General Charleston, West Virginia Attorneys for Respondent

JUSTICE WOOTON dissents and reserves the right to file a separate opinion.

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SYLLABUS BY THE COURT

1. "In reviewing challenges to findings and conclusions of a circuit court in a habeas corpus action, we apply a three-prong standard of review. We review the final order and the ultimate disposition under an abuse of discretion standard; the underlying factual findings under a clearly erroneous standard; and questions of law are subject to a de novo review." Syllabus Point 1, Mathena v. Haines, 219 W.Va. 417, 633 S.E.2d 771 (2006).

2. "In the West Virginia courts, claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are to be governed by the two-pronged test established in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984): (1) Counsel's performance was deficient under an objective standard of reasonableness; and (2) there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceedings would have been different." Syllabus Point 5, State v. Miller, 194 W.Va. 3, 459 S.E.2d 114 (1995).

3. "'Where a counsel's performance, attacked as ineffective, arises from occurrences involving strategy, tactics and arguable courses of action, his conduct will be deemed effectively assistive of his client's interests, unless no reasonably qualified defense attorney would have so acted in the defense of an accused.' Syl. Pt. 21, State v. Thomas,

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157 W.Va. 640, 203 S.E.2d 445 (1974)." Syllabus Point 3, State v. Frye, 221 W.Va. 154, 650 S.E.2d 574 (2006).

4. "In reviewing counsel's performance, courts must apply an objective standard and determine whether, in light of all the circumstances, the identified acts or omissions were outside the broad range of professionally competent assistance while at the same time refraining from engaging in hindsight or second-guessing of trial counsel's strategic decisions. Thus, a reviewing court asks whether a reasonable lawyer would have acted, under the circumstances, as defense counsel acted in the case at issue." Syllabus Point 6, State v. Miller, 194 W.Va. 3, 459 S.E.2d 114 (1995).

5. "In order to obtain a new trial on a claim that the prosecutor presented false testimony at trial, a defendant must demonstrate that (1) the prosecutor presented false testimony, (2) the prosecutor knew or should have known the testimony was false, and (3) the false testimony had a material effect on the jury verdict." Syllabus Point 2, State ex rel. Franklin v. McBride, 226 W.Va. 375, 701 S.E.2d 97 (2009).

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OPINION

WALKER, JUSTICE

A jury convicted Kevin Goodman, Jr. of first-degree robbery, conspiracy, and entry of a dwelling after he and several accomplices entered the home of an elderly couple and held them and their grandchildren at gunpoint while members of the group stole a safe and other items. We affirmed the conviction in 2017, and now Mr. Goodman appeals the circuit court's denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus.^[1]

Mr. Goodman argues that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to introduce certain evidence and not requesting specific jury instructions. He also claims that the prosecutor violated his constitutional rights by knowingly presenting false testimony. But, in deeming his lawyer's decision-making deficient, Mr. Goodman fails to recognize that many reasonable lawyers would have strategically made the same decisions under the circumstances. Mr. Goodman likewise mischaracterizes a witness's contradiction of prior statements as presentation of false evidence by the State. So, we find Mr. Goodman failed to meet his burden of proof and affirm the circuit court's denial of his petition.

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I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Mr. Goodman's brother, Kentrell Goodman (Kentrell), previously lived in Oak Hill, West Virginia, and during his time there, spent significant time in the home of Linda and Edward Knight because he was friends with their grandson, Andrew Gunn. At some point shortly before January 9, 2015, Kentrell and his girlfriend, Linsey Hess, moved from Oak Hill to the home of Benita Wicker (Aunt Benita) in Little Mountain, South Carolina. Aunt Benita is the paternal aunt of Kentrell and Mr. Goodman, and Rashod Wicker is Aunt Benita's son and first cousin of Kentrell and Mr. Goodman. By the time Kentrell moved in with Aunt Benita, Mr. Goodman split his time living there or at his girlfriend, Courtney Curry's, nearby apartment. Mr. Wicker, Tamika Bookman, and Shakayla Wicker (Shakayla) also lived with Aunt Benita.

Antwyn Gibbs and Radee Hill lived in separate homes close to Aunt Benita's house and spent some time there with Kentrell, Mr. Goodman, and Mr. Wicker. A few days before January 9, 2015, Kentrell told Mr. Goodman about a significant stash of money Mr. Gunn kept in a safe in his bedroom inside the Knights' home, and Mr. Goodman told Kentrell something to the effect of "[l]et's go get money." The Goodman brothers then recruited the assistance of Mr. Wicker, Mr. Hill, and Mr. Gibbs, and at some time between midnight and 1:00 a.m. on January 9, 2015, the group departed South Carolina with Mr. Wicker driving Ms. Hess's car towards Oak Hill, West Virginia.

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The group arrived in Oak Hill at around 7:30 or 8:00 that morning, and Mr. Wicker parked the car near a wooded area 50-60 feet from the Knights' house. Mr. Wicker has cerebral palsy which limits his mobility, so he stayed in the car while the others retrieved several guns from the trunk and descended upon the Knights' home. Ms. Knight left a door to her home ajar that morning after letting her dogs out, and as she sat on the couch in the living room preparing her daughter's hair for school, she saw a long-gun ease through the door and several men covering their faces and yelling follow closely behind. Ms. Knight refused one of the intruder's demand that she get on her knees and instead remained seated on the couch where her eighteen-year-old, disabled grandson buried his head in her lap and cried while her five-year-old granddaughter cowered behind her.

Two of the intruders proceeded to ransack Mr. Gunn's room while at least one other held the victims at gunpoint. Those in Mr. Gunn's bedroom located the safe and threw it, two pairs of Jordan athletic shoes, and a crossbow out the window. The group then gathered the objects and fled back to the getaway car, which Mr. Wicker drove back to South Carolina. When they arrived later that day, they went to Mr. Gibbs's home to blast open the safe with a shotgun and divided the contents of approximately $10, 000 amongst themselves. Members of the group then transported the damaged safe to Aunt Benita's house and disposed of it behind a shed in her yard. Ms. Hess heard Mr. Goodman and Kentrell discussing the robbery days before it happened and then saw Mr. Goodman, Kentrell, and Mr. Wicker with the safe at Aunt Benita's house.

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Immediately after the robbery, officers from the Oak Hill police department responded to the scene to investigate. Shortly into the investigation, Mr. Goodman's mother told investigators that she suspected Mr. Goodman's involvement and directed the officers to his whereabouts in South Carolina. And on January 14, 2015, officers from the Oak Hill Police Department traveled to Newberry, South Carolina and, with the help of local law enforcement, obtained and executed a search warrant on Aunt Benita's home. The police found, among other things, the opened safe behind the shed and Mr. Goodman's wallet in a bedroom with a shotgun, a rifle, and two handguns. Kentrell and Mr. Wicker were present when the police executed the warrant, and the police arrested them. Each gave statements admitting to the robbery and implicating Mr. Goodman, Mr. Gibbs, and Mr. Hill. The same day, police executed a search warrant at Mr. Gibbs's home and found fragments of the safe and spent shotgun shells in the backyard. Phone records showed that on the morning of the robbery, Mr. Gibbs's phone pinged on cell towers in Max Meadow, Virginia, Flat Top, West Virginia, and Oak Hill, West Virginia.

A grand jury indicted Mr. Goodman, Kentrell, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Hill jointly on charges of first-degree robbery, entry of a dwelling, grand larceny, and conspiracy. Before trial, Kentrell and Mr. Wicker pled guilty to first degree robbery, and the State dropped the other charges in exchange. Kentrell and Mr. Wicker testified against Mr. Goodman, Mr. Gibbs, and Mr. Hill at their joint trial, and after the State presented its case, Mr. Goodman offered his girlfriend, Courtney Curry, as an alibi witness and testified in his own defense. Ms. Curry claimed she picked Mr. Goodman up from Aunt Benita's

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at around 8:30 a.m. on January 9, 2015. But, Ms. Curry sent Ms. Hess a text message at around 1:00 a.m. that day asking if she knew Mr. Goodman's whereabouts, and Ms. Hess responded that he traveled to West Virginia with Kentrell. Mr. Goodman claimed he passed out drunk and slept the whole night on Aunt Benita's couch before Ms. Curry picked him up and that Ms. Hess either mistakenly said he was in West Virginia or lied. He also claimed that Aunt Benita, Shakayla, and Ms. Bookman were all home when he woke up on the 9th,...