Holt v. State, No. A08-223.
| Decision Date | 03 September 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. A08-223. |
| Citation | 772 N.W.2d 470 |
| Parties | Clarence Allen HOLT, petitioner, Appellant, v. STATE of Minnesota, Respondent. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
OPINION
A Dakota County jury found Clarence Holt guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree intentional murder, and second-degree murder while committing or attempting to commit the felony offense of assault in the second degree, for the May 13, 1997, shooting death of Frederick Pitts. The district court sentenced Holt to life in prison for first-degree premeditated murder. Nine years later, Holt filed a petition for postconviction relief in Dakota County District Court but did not request an evidentiary hearing. Holt appeals the district court's denial of his petition. The following seven issues are raised: (1) whether Holt's appeal is barred by his delay in seeking postconviction relief; (2) whether the district court erred by not removing a juror who had been the victim of a crime during the trial and who could not say with certainty that the crime was unrelated to Holt's case; (3) whether Holt's exclusion from an in-chambers Schwartz hearing violated his constitutional right to self-representation; (4) whether Holt's exclusion from an in-chambers Schwartz hearing violated his constitutional right to be present at critical stages of the proceeding; (5) whether the district court erred by admitting evidence of Holt's witness tampering and failing to instruct the jury on the specific purpose of "consciousness of guilt" evidence; (6) whether the district court erred by admitting an alleged accomplice's statements as substantive evidence; and (7) whether the district court erred by refusing to give an accomplice liability instruction. We affirm the conviction.1
Fredrick Pitts was killed at the Red Roof Inn in Burnsville just before 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 1997. He died from a gunshot fired from within an inch of his head. Holt was soon identified as the primary suspect, but evaded arrest until August 6, 1997.
Holt was charged by indictment with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree intentional murder, and second-degree murder while committing or attempting to commit the felony offense of assault in the second degree.
Evidence at trial revealed a drug-selling relationship gone awry. Pitts had lived in Minnesota for two weeks prior to his murder. During that time, James Turner (a/k/a June) fronted money to Pitts to buy crack cocaine, and Pitts gave the crack to Holt to sell. After Holt failed to produce sufficient profits, Turner told Pitts to stop doing business with Holt. The day before the murder, Pitts and Turner visited Holt and asked Holt why he was short on money. Holt gave them an estimated $1,600, which the two men divided; however, they still felt Holt was being dishonest.
The day of the shooting, Holt moved into David McCoy's apartment. In exchange, McCoy asked for crack cocaine. Holt called 16-year-old Marqueen Hamer (a/k/a Queen), who sold crack cocaine for him, and asked her, as he had in the past, to have Pitts call him. Queen called the Red Roof Inn where Pitts was staying and left a message with Domino, Pitts' girlfriend. Pitts returned the call to Queen between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. Queen relayed the message from Holt about wanting drugs. Pitts said that Holt would have to wait because he was going out.
Meanwhile, Holt left McCoy's apartment around 5:00 p.m. and arrived at Queen's door with Kimball, a friend. Holt said they were going to see Pitts but he did not say why. Henderson Howard, a friend who arrived at Queen's house, was paid $20 to drive Holt, Kimball, and Queen to the Red Roof Inn at Holt's direction. Howard parked behind a trailer in a lot adjacent to the hotel and Holt, Kimball, and Queen went into the hotel.
Queen approached room 121 by herself with Holt and Kimball standing several doors down. After Pitts answered the door for Queen, Holt came in behind her brandishing a gun and demanding "[w]here my sh*t at." From behind the bathroom door where she had hidden, Domino heard a male, whom Pitts referred to as "Shorty," order "baby" to search for other people in the room and a female respond "[n]o I don't see her."2 Domino heard the man order Pitts to get on the floor and threaten,
According to Domino and Queen, Pitts gave Holt crack cocaine and $200. Holt demanded the rest of his "sh*t," but Pitts said that June had it. Holt threatened, "[w]hen I'm through with your ass I'm going to get June, too." Holt ordered Queen to gather money and jewelry from the room and go back to the car. She was about five steps from the room when she heard gunshots and turned around. Holt, who was standing in the doorway, yelled at her to go back to the car. When she got to the car, she told Kimball and Howard that she thought Holt had "popped" Pitts. Holt returned to the car and ordered Howard to get on the freeway. They later got off the freeway and stopped at two garbage cans where Holt threw a purse, which Queen had taken from the hotel room, and some pagers into the garbage. Holt did not return to McCoy's apartment that night. The following day, Holt returned to the apartment and gave McCoy crack cocaine.
Bruce Bratt was a hotel guest staying at the Red Roof Inn on the same day as the murder. He heard nearby shots and went out onto the balcony of his second floor hotel room. He saw a "shorter" black man running away from the hotel with his right hand inside his coat pocket. At the same time, Brian Johnson was loading business supplies into his car in the lot where Howard parked. He noticed a black man, about 5'10", casually walk to Howard's car. A few minutes later, he saw a shorter black man "quickly running" to the same car. After the second man got into the car, the vehicle accelerated so fast out of the lot that if it had gone any faster
The police located Howard and took a tape-recorded statement from him. He confirmed driving Holt, Kimball, and Queen to the Red Roof Inn and that he was paid $20 for the ride. Howard testified that Holt had told him that he needed a ride to the location to pick up some work and money. Holt told him where to park, and Howard stayed in the car. Kimball returned to the car first, then Queen came back, and finally Holt returned. Holt announced that he had shot Pitts in the chest and the head. Howard acknowledged stopping at two garbage cans where Holt threw away various things. Later, Howard recanted most of his statement. He denied having any knowledge about what had happened to Pitts.
Kimball was never located. The police never found the murder weapon, but a firearms examiner believed it was either a nine-millimeter Smith and Wesson or a Ruger based on the bullets and casings found at the scene. Turner recalled that Pitts had purchased a nine-millimeter Smith and Wesson and had given the gun to Holt. Queen testified that Howard took the gun from Holt, but Howard denied this.
While Holt was in jail awaiting trial, a confidential informant alerted police that Holt had made several phone calls to someone in which he asked for help in killing several of the State's witnesses. Police arrested Takisha Holiday after she visited Holt in jail, and found a note with trial witness names and the words "codes, powder, rat poison, fire bombed, needle, syringe, and cigarette poison." The note also contained witness addresses, two of which had been protected by a confidentiality order since inception of the case. An identical note was found in Holt's jail cell. Holt had held this note against the glass during Holiday's visit so that she could copy it. Holt also tried to solicit two of his cellmates to kill several of the State's witnesses. June, a witness for the State, received a threatening call and two letters, one of which read,
On the third day of trial, Holt requested to proceed pro se, and his two public defenders began acting as standby counsel.
The jury found Holt guilty as charged, and the court imposed a mandatory life sentence for the first-degree murder conviction.
We first consider Holt's claim that the district court erred by not removing a juror whom Holt argues was biased. Over a weekend recess from trial, there were two attempted break-ins at a juror's home. The first burglary attempt occurred around 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The juror's electricity and phone went dead, he heard someone trying to get in the front door, and saw someone run past a window. He pumped an unloaded rifle, yelled for the intruder to leave, and then heard someone run. The Sheriff, who responded to a 911 call from the juror, said that the electrical company was having problems and that there was something wrong with the phone line. Around 12:30 a.m. the juror heard a car park behind one of his sheds and someone trying to get in again. He did not see anyone outside, but the Sheriff came back and noticed footprints.
On the following Monday, the juror notified a jury attendant of these events and the district court held an in-chambers Schwartz3 hearing to question the juror. The court asked if the juror believed the burglaries were "an isolated incident" and the juror responded, "[y]eah ... I've lived there as long as I can remember, and nothing ever [happened] before." The juror was not...
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