Jones v. State

• Decision Date: 28 February 2008
• Docket Number: No. 875, Sept. Term, 2007.,875, Sept. Term, 2007.
• Citation: 943 A.2d 1,178 Md. App. 454
• Parties: James Desmond JONES v. STATE of Maryland.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

943 A.2d 1

178 Md. App. 454

James Desmond JONES v. STATE of Maryland.

No. 875, Sept. Term, 2007.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

February 28, 2008.

George E. Burns, Jr. (Nancy S. Forster, Public Defender on the brief), Baltimore, for appellant.

Brian S. Kleinbord (Douglas F. Gansler, Attorney General on the brief), Baltimore, for appellee.

Argued before SALMON, JAMES R., EYLER, and WOODWARD, JJ.

JAMES R. EYLER, J.,

James Desmond Jones, appellant, was convicted, after a bench trial in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, of second-degree murder and the use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. Subsequently, appellant was sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment on the second-degree murder conviction, with twenty-years concurrent on the use of a handgun conviction. On appeal, appellant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress and the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. We shall affirm.

Factual Background

Prior to trial, a motions hearing was held. The parties stipulated that the court would consider the testimony adduced at the hearing as evidence during trial. At the motions hearing, the following transpired, pertinent to this appeal.

Detective John Lee, of the Annapolis City Police Department, testified that on January 25, 2006, he became involved with the investigation into the homicide of Darnell Brown, who had been killed on January 13, 2006, and whose body had been found on the grounds of St. John's College in Annapolis. Mr. Brown "was known to [the police] to be a seller of [controlled dangerous substances]," and was found dead with several gunshot wounds to the torso, "laying on his side, coat pulled over his head. His pocket [ ] turned inside out. There was drugs found on him. There was a cell phone case ... but no cell phone." Detectives also found "a series of tire tracks," in "close proximity to where Mr. Brown was found."

Detective Lee testified that Detective Johns obtained Mr. Brown's cell phone records, which revealed a "series of calls made to Mr. Brown just moments before he died...." The calls were traced to "somebody named Jones in Kent County ... on Station Road." Pursuant to this information, Detective Lee, as well as Detective White, Detective Johns, and Lieutenant Kneisling, of the Annapolis City Police Department, and Deputy Hickman, of the Kent County Sheriff's Department, traveled to 11299 Station Road, the home of appellant and his wife, Tammy Jones.

Detective Lee testified that the property had a long driveway that split to the left and to the right. He stated that initially the officers went "to the left where [they] met an older couple, the Webs,¹ who said they were Tammy's parents. Ms. Webb said that she was the mother of Tammy Jones and that Tammy Jones lived next door." Ms. Webb, who was "very friendly," and "more than helpful," also told the police that "she thought there was something strange going on over there and that they were into drugs. And that they keep the windows pulled down in the house. And that her daughter was a nice daughter, but she met her husband and has not been right since she met that man." Detective Lee stated that "there's lots and lots of dogs on the property. And they were all making all kinds of noise when we got there." He did not remember whether Ms. Webb "stepped out [of the house] or whether we had to knock briefly and she came out. But we didn't wait at any great length of time at the door."

Detective Lee testified that Detective Johns asked Ms. Webb if she knew her daughter's telephone number. Ms. Webb provided "what she knew to be Tammy Jones' phone number," which was "the same number the [the police] had from the phone records." After speaking with Ms. Webb, who had not indicated that she did not want the officers on the property, the officers "walked over to — the other side of the property," where there were three buildings, one of which, "immediately to the right from the driveway," appeared to be a residence, and two appeared to be "outbuildings or barns." Detective Lee testified that Detective Johns knocked on the front door for several minutes without any answer "when the door opened and a lady who was later identified as Tammy Jones came out of the house and shut the door behind her." Detective Johns testified that it was cold and windy outside, and the officers asked if there was "some place we could go and talk and [Ms. Jones] suggested next door, the building immediately adjacent to her house." The officers followed Ms. Jones to the next building, and "[s]he opened the door and said come on in." Detective Lee stated that Ms. Jones was "very friendly and willing to talk" to the officers.

After approximately ten minutes, Detective Lee left the building for a few minutes, leaving Ms. Jones and Detective Johns behind. He was then "summoned to another storage building which was the next barn down." Detective Lee testified that he "was told that Ms. Jones had gone back to her house and retrieved ... the key to the second barn...." The officers proceeded to the second barn, and Ms. Jones "let them in" and showed them a tan Chevy Malibu. Detective Lee stated that Detective Johns asked if the officers could look inside the car, and Ms. Jones left to retrieve the keys to the car. Detective Lee testified that Ms. Jones returned with the keys "and opened it for Detective Johns," but later stated that he did not recall who opened the car. The police looked inside the vehicle and noticed "some sort of a stain, probably blood in the back seat" that "looked as though it had been cleaned up. And there was also a hole which appeared to possibly be a bullet hole in the back seat of the car."

After observing the interior of the car, Detective Lee photographed the car, the interior of the barn, and the inside of the car. The officers had the car towed to the Annapolis police station as possible evidence, and subsequently applied for a search and seizure warrant for the vehicle.

On cross-examination, Detective Lee testified that he did not recall seeing any "No Trespassing" signs "anywhere on either property."

Detective William Johns testified that, upon arriving at the property, the detectives encountered Ms. Webb, who told them that Tammy Jones was her daughter "and that she lived next door, actually on the same property, but just the house next door to hers." Ms. Webb, who was "very friendly, very cooperative," also told them that "she thought there was something funny going on over there. She thought they were selling drugs or doing drugs over there." Ms. Webb also told the officers that she had rented a car for Ms. Jones to use, and that the rental company wanted the car back, but that Ms. Jones "wouldn't give it back and locked it in one of the shed buildings over there." Ms. Webb asked the officers if they could try to get the car back for her when they went to speak to Ms. Jones.

While the officers were talking to Ms. Webb, Tammy Jones walked out of the back door, and Ms. Webb "pointed her out to [the officers] and said there's Tammy right there." Subsequently, the officers walked over to the house and knocked on the door for "at least five minutes before it was finally answered .... by Tammy Jones." Detective Johns asked Ms. Jones if they could step inside to talk, as it was "a rather cold day," but Ms. Jones said that she would rather they talk in one of the other buildings on the property. Detective Johns stated that "at one point [he] asked her about the car her mother had mentioned. And she stated to [him] that it was in the other shop next door. And [he] asked her if [they] could go over and look at it. She said yes, but she had to go get the key." Subsequently, Ms. Jones went back to the house, and then came out with the key "and opened up the second shop and let [the officers] in."

After Ms. Jones let the officers in to the building, they were able to observe a Chevy Malibu. Detective Johns asked Ms. Jones "if she would mind us looking inside the car and she said no, it was okay, but she had to go get the key." Ms. Jones left again, and returned with the key, which she handed to Detective Johns. Upon opening the car, the officers observed "what appeared to be stains on the back seat that appeared to ... be blood stains that someone had tried to clean up that were faded." There was also "spots of what appeared to be blood around the doorframe," and a "small hole in the seat back of the back seat on the passenger side, which was consistent ... with the injuries to the victim."

Detective Johns testified that Ms. Jones confirmed that her mother had rented the car for her to use, and that she was the only one who drove it. Ms. Jones told the officers that she had once allowed her husband, appellant, to drive the car, but that her mother "fussed at her about that, so she never let him drive it again."

Detective Johns testified that he did not recall seeing any "No Trespassing" signs on the property.

Subsequently, Detective Johns was recalled, and shown several photographs, offered into evidence as appellant's Exhibit B, depicting multiple "No Trespassing" signs on the property. Detective Johns identified the areas depicted in the photographs, but testified that the "No Trespassing" signs in the photographs were not there at any time when he was on the property.

The State also offered photographs, admitted as Exhibit 5, depicting photographs taken by police during the execution of the search warrant on February 3, 2006. Detective Johns testified that the photographs did not depict "No Trespassing" signs.

During argument on the suppression motion, appellant argued that the property was "replete" with "No Trespassing" signs; thus, "[a]n intrusion was made onto the property by the police in an unlawful manner. They were essentially trespassers when they crossed over onto this land." In accordance with this argument, appellant requested that ...