Hooks v. State
| Docket Number | 84-2022 |
| Decision Date | 21 July 2023 |
| Parties | JORDAN BURRIS HOOKS v. STATE OF MARYLAND |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF MARYLAND [*]
Graeff, Tang, Kenney, James A., III (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.
In November 2021, a jury in the Circuit Court for Frederick County convicted Jordan Burris Hooks, appellant, of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, and accessory after the fact to the first-degree murder of Jaemari "Mari" Anderson, the victim, who was shot and killed in September 2020. The court sentenced appellant to ten years, all but eight and a half years suspended, on the conviction for involuntary manslaughter, ten years, consecutive, all suspended, on the conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, and ten years, consecutive, all suspended, on the conviction for accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.[1]
On appeal, appellant presents the following questions for this Court's review, which we have rephrased slightly, as follows:
For the reasons set forth below, we shall affirm the judgments of the circuit court.
On September 21, 2020, appellant was indicted in connection with the shooting of Mr. Anderson and charged with first-degree murder (count one), first-degree assault (count two), use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime (count three) and unlawfully carrying a handgun on his person (count four). Approximately ten months later, on July 23, 2021, appellant was charged by supplemental indictment with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder (count five), conspiracy to commit first-degree assault (count six), involuntary manslaughter (count seven), second-degree assault (count eight), conspiracy to commit second-degree assault (count nine), conspiracy to use a firearm in the commission of a violent crime (count ten), and accessory after the fact to first-degree murder (count eleven).
On October 25, 2021, appellant's 18-day trial began. In opening statement, the prosecutor stated that Mr. Anderson was shot in the center of his forehead with a .38 caliber bullet. The prosecutor stated that, "although there was only one single bullet, there were several people behind that bullet, including [appellant]." In this regard, appellant "put the wheels in motion that ultimately led to [Mr. Anderson's] untimely death."
The prosecutor stated that a conflict between appellant and Mr. Anderson led to Mr. Anderson's death. Appellant "did not resolve his conflict privately." Instead, he "invited the others to his house, and to his personal developing conflict with" Mr. Anderson. The prosecutor asserted that appellant, together with Mr. Flythe, Brian "Lurk" Henry, and Tynoura Coleman, "in a coordinated effort, had common objectives that night, one of which, first and foremost, was to settle that conflict between [appellant] and Mr. Anderson."
The prosecutor stated that Mr. Flythe "was the one who probably pulled that trigger," but "[w]hether or not that gun was actually in [appellant's] hands on the night of the murder, [appellant] effectively brought that gun to his own conflict." Appellant "knew that gun was likely to be with them," and he bore "responsibility for that single fatal bullet, even though just one of them pulled that trigger." The prosecutor stated:
Defense counsel asserted in opening statement that, by December 15, 2020, when Mr. Henry was arrested, the police knew that Mr. Flythe-not appellant-shot Mr. Anderson. Counsel stated:
Jessica Neder, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health, testified that, in September 2020, she lived in the Waterside community in Frederick, Maryland. On September 6, 2020, at approximately 8:00 p.m., she and her fiance were walking their two dogs on the walking path behind the neighborhood. They were using their flashlights because it was "[p]itch-black." Ms. Neder saw a man on the grass lying on his back, and she "noticed blood on the grass."
Ms. Neder told her fiance to call 911. She approached the man on the ground and "bent down to check to see if the gentleman was okay." He was unresponsive and "moaning and groaning in pain." There was blood "underneath his head and off to left of the body." "There was a lot of blood in the grass next to him, and he was pulling the grass out, as in pain." She sat next to the man and held his hand until the police and emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene.
Dr. Theodore King, an Assistant Medical Examiner with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, testified as an expert in forensic pathology. He performed an autopsy of Mr. Anderson on September 10, 2020. Dr. King testified that there was an entrance gunshot wound between Mr. Anderson's eyebrows. Around the edge of the entrance wound was gunpowder stippling, which Dr. King testified was "one of the evidences of close range firing." He testified in this regard that "the weapon was fired close enough to the target to allow those residues to land on the target." He opined that the manner of Mr. Anderson's death was homicide.
Kayla Scott testified that appellant was her boyfriend in September 2020. Appellant lived in the basement of his mother's house, located in the Waterside community, and Ms. Scott stayed with appellant frequently. People would come and go from the house using the back door to basement, which opened into a living room. Appellant's bedroom, a laundry room, and a full bathroom were in the back of the basement.
Approximately two days before the shooting, on September 4, 2020, Ms. Scott first met Mr. Flythe, Mr. Henry, and Ms. Coleman. They came over to appellant's house that evening, on appellant's invitation, and were "hanging out" with appellant, Ms. Scott, and Mr. Anderson. They were smoking marijuana, drinking, and using "Molly" until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. During the party, Ms. Scott was "getting a weird vibe from them." She felt that Mr. Flythe, Mr. Henry, and Ms. Coleman were "using" appellant. A few hours later, she "texted [appellant] trying to ask if [he] want[ed] [her] to fake being sick so that they would leave, and that didn't happen." Appellant did not respond to her text. She did not see any guns at appellant's house that evening.
The prosecutor played a video to the jury that depicted Ms. Scott, appellant, and Mr. Anderson, among other individuals, mere days before the shooting. Ms. Scott was lying in bed next to appellant, and Mr. Anderson was "either dropping off or picking up money for puff bars," a type of electronic cigarette.[2] Appellant and Mr. Anderson would sell the puff bars and share the proceeds.
On the evening of the shooting, September 6, 2020, there was a gathering at appellant's residence, and Ms. Scott, appellant, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Flythe, Mr. Henry, and Ms. Coleman were there. They were "hanging out," listening to music, dancing, and drinking in the basement.
An argument ensued when Mr. Anderson "said that he was [the] realist [n*****] in the room," and "everything kind of just turned." Ms. Scott thought that the statement was a joke, but Mr. Henry took it pretty seriously and did not like it. Mr. Henry "kept saying that they needed to teach [Mr. Anderson] a lesson, meaning fighting him because he was being disrespectful by saying that he was the realist [n*****] in the room."
Mr. Anderson indicated that he was willing to go outside and fight, but he wanted to change his clothes first. When Mr. Anderson walked back to appellant's bedroom to change, Ms. Scott "followed him and told him that this was stupid, and everybody was just high and everybody was acting dumb."
Mr. Anderson changed into black clothing and went outside. Ms. Scott went outside after the others, and she saw appellant, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Flythe, and Mr. Henry near the walking path behind the Waterside community. She saw Ms. Coleman standing "more towards the parking lot" up the hill and "decided to go towards her" and "stay with the only girl that was there."
She observed appellant, Mr. Flythe, and Mr. Henry in "a semi-circle just standing in a line," and Mr. Anderson "was standing in...
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