Maharaj v. State, 71646

Decision Date26 March 1992
Docket NumberNo. 71646,71646
Citation597 So.2d 786
Parties17 Fla. L. Weekly S201 Krishna MAHARAJ, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtFlorida Supreme Court

Kenneth E. Cohen, Kroll & Tract, Miami, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Michael J. Neimand, Asst. Atty. Gen., Miami, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Krishna Maharaj appeals his convictions and sentences for two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and the unlawful possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense. Maharaj was sentenced: (1) to death for the murder of Duane Moo Young; (2) to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for twenty-five years for the murder of Derrick Moo Young; (3) to two life imprisonment terms for the kidnapping convictions; and (4) to fifteen years for possession of the firearm to run consecutively to each of the above sentences. We have jurisdiction 1 and affirm all convictions and sentences.

These murders occurred as a result of an ongoing dispute between Derrick Moo Young and Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj was arrested after an accomplice of his, Neville Butler, was questioned by the police and inculpated Maharaj.

During the trial, the primary witness for the State was Neville Butler. Butler testified that in June, 1986, he worked for The Caribbean Echo, a weekly newspaper directed to the West Indian community in South Florida. Prior to Butler's employment, the Echo had published an article, in May, 1986, accusing Derrick Moo Young of theft. When Butler joined the Echo, he assisted the publisher, Elsee Carberry, in writing an article in July, 1986, which charged Maharaj with illegally taking money out of Trinidad. Butler testified that on October 10, 1986, an article was published in the Echo accusing Maharaj of forging a $243,000 check. This article explained that the check was the basis for a lawsuit that Moo Young had filed against Maharaj.

Butler testified that in September, 1986, he was unhappy working for the Echo and contacted Maharaj seeking employment with The Caribbean Times, Maharaj's newspaper. Butler testified that, at Maharaj's urging, he arranged for a meeting between Derrick Moo Young and Maharaj at the DuPont Plaza Hotel in Miami so that Maharaj could extract a confession from Moo Young regarding his extortion of $160,000 from Maharaj's relatives in Trinidad. Butler arranged this meeting for October 16, 1986, using the pretext of a business meeting with some Bahamian individuals named Dames and Ellis, who were interested in importing and exporting certain products. Butler arranged to use Dames' suite at the hotel. Butler stated that Maharaj made it clear that he should not tell Moo Young that he would be at the meeting.

According to Butler, Maharaj wanted to (1) extract a confession of fraudulent activity from Derrick Moo Young, (2) require Moo Young to issue two checks to repay him for the fraud, and (3) have Butler go to the bank with the checks to certify them, at which time Maharaj would allow Moo Young to leave upon hearing of the certification. Butler stated that Derrick Moo Young and, unexpectedly, Duane Moo Young, his son, appeared at the hotel room. Once inside, Maharaj appeared from behind a door with a gun and a small pillow. An argument broke out between Maharaj and Moo Young over the money owed. Maharaj shot Derrick Moo Young in the leg. At that time, Derrick Moo Young attempted to leave. Maharaj ordered Butler to tie up Duane Moo Young with immersion cords. Maharaj also ordered Butler to tie up Derrick Moo Young; however, before he could do so, Derrick Moo Young lunged at Maharaj. Maharaj fired three or four shots at Derrick Moo Young.

After shooting Derrick Moo Young, Maharaj questioned Duane Moo Young regarding the money. During this time, Derrick Moo Young crawled out the door and into the hallway. Maharaj shot him and pulled him back into the room. Shortly thereafter, Duane Moo Young broke loose and hurled himself at Maharaj, but Butler held him back. Then Maharaj took Duane Moo Young to the second floor of the suite where he questioned him again. Later, Butler heard one shot. Maharaj came downstairs and both he and Butler left the room. They both waited in the car in front of the hotel for Dames.

Sometime later, Butler met with Dames and Ellis, the two men he used to lure Moo Young to the hotel. They encouraged him to tell the police what he knew of the murders. Later that day, Maharaj called Butler asking that he meet him at Denny's by the airport so they could make sure and get their stories straight. Butler called Detective Burmeister and told him what had transpired earlier that day in suite 1215 of the DuPont Plaza Hotel. The detective, along with another officer, drove Butler to Denny's to meet Maharaj and, at a prearranged signal, the detectives arrested Maharaj.

The State also presented the testimony of Tino Geddes, a journalist and native of Jamaica. He testified that in December, 1985, he met and began working for Elsee Carberry, the publisher of the Echo. Geddes stated that, while working for Carberry, he met Maharaj, and that he and Carberry went to Maharaj's home to discuss an article which Maharaj wanted the Echo to publish concerning Derrick Moo Young. Geddes stated that Carberry agreed to publish the article for $400. The article was published in the May 2, 1986, edition of the Echo and detailed the background of a civil suit filed against Derrick Moo Young by Maharaj's wife.

Geddes further testified that, because of the Echo's subsequent favorable coverage of Derrick Moo Young, Maharaj became hostile towards Carberry. Geddes stated that Maharaj purchased exotic weapons and camouflage uniforms and that, on several occasions, he and Maharaj had tried to harm Carberry. On one occasion, Maharaj had Geddes meet him at the bar of the DuPont Plaza Hotel; then he took him to a hotel room. Maharaj had a light-colored automatic pistol and a glove on one hand. Maharaj told Geddes to call and lure Carberry and Moo Young to the hotel room. Fortunately, Geddes was unable to get either Carberry or Moo Young to come to the hotel room.

The State also presented Elsee Carberry, the publisher of The Caribbean Echo. Carberry testified that he knew both Maharaj and Derrick Moo Young before his paper started publishing the articles. Carberry stated that he was approached by Maharaj's accountant, George Bell, who requested that he publish a front-page article about Moo Young. Carberry refused this request until he met with Maharaj. A meeting was arranged and Carberry was provided documentation for the article. Carberry testified that Maharaj told him that Moo Young stole money from him and that he had documents to prove it. They agreed on a center spread and Maharaj paid $400 to have the article published.

Carberry testified that, after the first article, Maharaj wanted him to do a weekly article on Moo Young. Carberry refused and Maharaj attempted to buy The Caribbean Echo. When this failed, Carberry learned that Maharaj was starting his own newspaper. Shortly thereafter, Carberry was contacted by Derrick Moo Young, who wanted to present his side of the story. Carberry met with Moo Young, who provided documentation to refute Maharaj's allegations. Carberry then began his own investigation and began publishing articles unfavorable to Maharaj. These articles were printed on June 20, June 27, July 18, July 25, and October 10, 1986.

On July 5 an article was published to inform the readership that the Echo could not be bribed. This statement was printed in response to Maharaj's attempt to bribe Carberry. The July 18 and 25 articles charged Maharaj with taking money illegally out of Trinidad. The October 10 article accused Maharaj of forging a $243,000 check and explained that Moo Young was filing a lawsuit against Maharaj based on the forged check. During this period of time, Maharaj severed his relationship with Carberry.

The State presented other corroborating evidence concerning the events that took place at the DuPont Plaza Hotel. The maid assigned to this room testified that she cleaned the room in the early morning of October 16, 1986, and, upon entering it, found that it had not been used the previous evening. She also explained that, when she left the room, it was in perfect order, including the fact that the "Do Not Disturb" sign was on the inside of the door. At 12:15 p.m., she and her boss were asked to check the room. They attempted to enter the room but were unable to do so because it was locked from the inside and, consequently, the master key would not work. She explained that the room could not be locked from the inside unless someone was in the room. Ten minutes later, she returned with a security guard, and they noticed that the "Do Not Disturb" sign was hanging on the doorknob. This time when she tried the master key, it worked; she opened the door and, upon entering the room, noticed that the furniture had been moved and that there were two bodies.

A police fingerprint expert testified that he found Maharaj's prints on: (1) the "Do Not Disturb" sign attached to the exterior doorknob of suite 1215; (2) the exterior surface of the entrance door; (3) the outer surface of the downstairs bathroom; (4) the top surface of the desk; (5) an empty soda can; (6) the telephone receiver; (7) the top of the television set; (8) a glass table top; (9) a plastic cup; (10) the Miami News newspaper; (11) a U.S.A. Today newspaper; and (12) torn packages that held immersion heaters. Butler's prints were also found on a plastic glass, the telephone, the desk, the front door, and the television set.

The State presented a firearms expert, who examined the spent projectiles and casings. The expert testified that the eight bullets fired were from a pre-1976 Smith & Wesson model 39, a nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol with a serial number under 270000. Evidence in the record established that...

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