Hobby v. State

• Decision Date: 24 January 2014
• Docket Number: Sept. Term, 2013.,No. 33,33
• Citation: 83 A.3d 794,436 Md. 526
• Parties: Ronald Alexander HOBBY v. STATE of Maryland.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

436 Md. 526

83 A.3d 794

Ronald Alexander HOBBY

v.STATE of Maryland.

No. 33, Sept. Term, 2013.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

Jan. 24, 2014.

Michael R. Braudes, Assistant Public Defender (Paul B. DeWolfe, Public Defender, Baltimore, MD), on brief, for Petitioner.

Gary E. O'Connor, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Douglas F. Gansler, Attorney General of Maryland, Baltimore, MD), on brief, for Respondent.

Argued before BARBERA, C.J., HARRELL, GREENE, ADKINS, McDONALD, WATTS, and JOHN F. McAULIFFE (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.

WATTS, J.

Ronald Alexander Hobby (“Petitioner”) was charged with, and convicted of, theft of property valued in excess of $100,000 and related offenses arising out of his unauthorized occupancy of a home for a period of approximately seven months. We must decide whether the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions for: (I) theft; (II) theft of property valued in excess of $100,000; and (III) first-degree burglary.

For the below reasons, we hold that: (I) the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction for theft; (II) the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction for theft of property valued in excess of $100,000, but was sufficient to support a conviction for theft of property having a value of at least $10,000, but less than $100,000; and (III) the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction for first-degree burglary.

BACKGROUND

Petitioner was indicted in the Circuit Court for Charles County on five charges: theft of property valued in excess of $100,000, forgery, uttering a false document, identity fraud, and first-degree burglary.

From March 23 to March 24, 2011, the circuit court conducted a jury trial at which the following evidence was adduced. In 2007, Dr. Coryse Brathwaite had a single-family dwelling built at 2742 Kirk Drive (“the property”) in Waldorf. Brathwaite had a mortgage on the home in the amount of approximately $900,000, and owed the builder an additional $500,000. Brathwaite's monthly mortgage payment was approximately $6,000, and her monthly payment to the builder was between $2,500 and $3,500. Brathwaite resided in the home from June 2007 until July 2009, at which point she moved out due to “financial difficult [ies]” and offered the property for sale with a realtor from Coldwell Banker. At the time that Brathwaite moved out, the property was in “[e]xcellent condition” and “[e]verything was intact”; all of the doors and windows were closed and secured.

Brathwaite did not know Petitioner and did not authorize him to occupy the property. Brathwaite learned of an alleged lease between herself and Petitioner ¹ after receiving a letter from the successful foreclosure bidder Severn Savings Bank FSB (“Severn Bank”), which alleged that she had been using the property to collect rent money that belonged to Severn Bank. Upon receiving the letter, Brathwaite telephoned Severn Bank to advise that she did not know of any lease involving the property. Brathwaite testified that the signature on the lease was not hers; that she never signed any lease involving the property; and that Petitioner did not have authority or permission to put her name on the lease. Brathwaite did not know an individual named “Derrick Williams” ² and denied giving anyone named Derrick Williams permission to put her information on a lease.

Kimberly Washington, a real estate agent, identified Petitioner as a former client who had used her services to list his home in Fort Washington, Maryland, for sale in 2008. After expiration of the listing agreement, the Fort Washington home was eventually sold at foreclosure. Thereafter, Petitioner contacted Washington regarding 2742 Kirk Drive, which was for sale, and advised that he and his wife were interested in purchasing the property. Washington prepared a sales contract for Petitioner and his wife, offering $450,000 to purchase the home. Severn Bank rejected the offer. According to Washington, after informing Petitioner that the offer had been rejected, she had no contact with him about the property until she received a telephone call from a detective.

Andrea Colander, general counsel and vice president of Severn Bank, testified that on July 26, 2010, the property located at 2742 Kirk Drive was sold at foreclosure auction to Severn Bank. After the foreclosure sale, Colander began working on behalf of Severn Bank to take possession of the property, and was notified that the property was occupied by a tenant pursuant to a lease agreement. Colander obtained a copy of the purported lease. Believing the lease to be legitimate, Colander filed a motion for possession of the property with the circuit court and served Petitioner with a copy of the motion.

Colander noticed that the purported lease did not contain a provision designating a rental amount and that the lease term began after foreclosure proceedings had been initiated. Thus, Colander filed an “amended possessory order,” notifying the circuit court of the above. Colander believed that Petitioner and Brathwaite “were in cahoots to try to pull a fast one on the bank.” On August 4, 2010, Colander wrote letters to Petitioner and Brathwaite alleging fraud. On August 5, 2010, Brathwaite telephoned Colander, denied the existence of any lease, and told Colander that she did not know Petitioner. As a result, Colander notified the sheriff's office that she believed there was a “squatter” at 2742 Kirk Drive. Colander filed an amended motion with the circuit court, stating that the purported lease for 2742 Kirk Drive was a “fraudulent lease[.]”

On September 29, 2010, Severn Bank obtained a writ of possession for the property, and Colander contacted the sheriff's office to execute the writ. According to Colander, Severn Bank's re-sale of the property was “delayed by a number of months” as a result of issues arising out of Petitioner's tenancy; namely, Severn Bank was unable to take action or to show the property to potential purchasers until after Petitioner had been evicted and the property had been cleaned and repaired. Approximately forty-five days before the start of Petitioner's trial, Severn Bank sold the property for $650,000. According to Colander, Petitioner left the property in late September or early October 2010.

Nathaniel Swinton lived next door to 2742 Kirk Drive and met Petitioner in late February or early March 2010. Swinton testified that Petitioner resided at 2742 Kirk Drive for approximately six months.

On August 26, 2010, the lead investigator in the case, Detective Elizabeth Clark of the Charles County Sheriff's Office, met with Petitioner at 2742 Kirk Drive. During the meeting, Petitioner told Detective Clark that he was renting the property from Brathwaite. Detective Clark asked Petitioner for copies of checks as proof of the rental arrangement. Petitioner told Detective Clark that, although he did not have the paperwork in his possession at that time, he would provide her with the documentation at a later date. Petitioner did not mention Derrick Williams during the meeting.

On September 15, 2010, during a telephone conversation, Detective Clark informed Petitioner that Brathwaite's signature on the purported lease was a forgery. Petitioner told Detective Clark that he was unaware of any forged signature and stated that he was renting the property from someone other than Brathwaite, and that he would contact her later with that information. Detective Clark received an affidavit signed by Brathwaite, and compared Brathwaite's signature on the affidavit to the signature on the purported lease. According to Detective Clark, the signatures appeared to have been made by different people.

Michelle Hobby (“Michelle”), Petitioner's wife, testified, on his behalf, that the adjustable rate mortgage on the home that she and Petitioner owned in Fort Washington adjusted and more than doubled their monthly mortgage payment, and that they ultimately lost the home in foreclosure. According to Michelle, she and Petitioner first met Derrick Williams, in 2008, when he brought potential purchasers to view their home, which they were attempting to sell. In December 2009, Williams contacted Michelle and Petitioner and informed them that “he had a property in Waldorf that was for rent” for $3,500 per month for one year. In January 2010, Michelle and Petitioner met Williams at 2742 Kirk Drive. According to Michelle, Williams entered a code at the front gate of the property and opened the front door of the home with a key. Two or three days after the viewing, Michelle contacted Williams to advise that she and Petitioner wanted to rent the home.

Michelle testified that on February 1, 2010, Williams visited her home in Fort Washington to deliver the purported lease for 2742 Kirk Drive, and she observed Petitioner sign the lease with Brathwaite's signature already on the document at the time. Michelle testified that she and Petitioner paid $7,000 in cash to Williams upon signing the lease to cover the first month's rent and the security deposit. In March 2010, Michelle, Petitioner, and their family moved into the home at 2742 Kirk Drive. Michelle and Petitioner set up utilities and cable in their own names. Michelle testified that on April 1, 2010, Williams visited the property to collect a rent payment in the amount of $3,500, which Michelle and Petitioner paid in cash. In mid-April 2010, Michelle and Petitioner received a letter in the mail from Severn Bank indicating that the property at 2742 Kirk Drive was in foreclosure. Michelle testified that, as a result, she attempted to contact Williams several times by telephone, leaving messages to no avail, and near the end of April 2010, Williams's “[tele]phone was disconnected.”

According to Michelle, at the end of April 2010, she and Petitioner telephoned Severn Bank and spoke with John Marhefka in the bank's foreclosure department. Michelle advised that she and her family were living in the home at 2742 Kirk Drive and had received the foreclosure...