Richardson v. State

• Decision Date: 01 June 2022
• Docket Number: 1D18-4084
• Citation: 338 So.3d 1106
• Parties: Kquame Riquan RICHARDSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

338 So.3d 1106

Kquame Riquan RICHARDSON, Appellant,

v.STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 1D18-4084

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

June 1, 2022

Regina L. Wright, The Regina Wright Law Firm, Jacksonville, and H. Kate Bedell, Bedell & Kuritz and Associates, Jacksonville, for Appellant.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Virginia Chester Harris, Assistant Attorney General, and Jennifer J. Moore, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

Nordby, J.

During a gang-related drive-by shooting, three bullets fatally struck a young child.The State charged Kquame Riquan Richardson as one of the shooters and tried him alongside his co-defendant, Henry Lee Hayes IV.¹The jury convicted Richardson of one count of first-degree murder as a criminal gang member; two counts of attempted second-degree murder as a criminal gang member; and one count of discharging a firearm from a vehicle as a criminal gang member.Richardson now challenges his convictions and argues that the trial court erred in: (1) admitting multiple rap videos; (2) admitting multiple Facebook photographs over authentication objections; (3) admitting evidence of prior shootings; and (4) denying Richardson's motion for judgment of acquittal.We affirm on all issues.

I.

A violent feud between two rival gangs is at the heart of this case."Problem Child Entertainment"(PCE) and "187" are local Jacksonville gangs.Richardson and his co-defendant are PCE members.Traditionally, the two gangs were amicable towards one another.But a fight at a Kodak Black concert in November 2015 spawned an all-out street war between the two groups.The conflict, which spanned several months, was marked by shootouts, drive-by shootings, retaliatory violence, and at least one gang member's death.The escalating tension was documented by the gang members themselves—in rap songs, in videos, in photographs, and in many social media posts.The conflict came to a head on January 29, 2016, when the 22-month-old Victim was killed.

That evening, the Victim was in his carseat in the back seat of his mother's car.They had just pulled up outside his great-grandmother's house.As his mother chatted with a relative through her car window, another car pulled up behind them.The occupants quickly unleashed a hail of gunfire.Both the Victim's mother and great-grandmother (who was also in the car) were unharmed.But three bullets struck the Victim, causing fatal injuries.The child was an unintended casualty of the shooting.Reginald "Ducci" Williams and several other 187 associates, who were outside the house at the time of the shooting, were the targets.

The State charged Richardson and the co-defendant² each with one count of first-degree murder as a criminal gang member; two counts of attempted first-degree murder as a criminal gang member; and one count of discharging a firearm from a vehicle as a criminal gang member.Richardson and the co-defendant were tried together before two separate juries in June 2018.At trial, the State presented multiple witnesses, as well as rap songs, videos, phone recordings, and photographs.

A.The Escalating Tension Between 187 and PCE.

One of the State's key witnesses was Sanquan "Rondo" Bradford.Mr. Bradford was a longtime friend of Richardson, a current associate of PCE, and a former member of 187.Mr. Bradford testified to both defendants’ involvement in PCE, and he identified both defendants as PCE members.

According to Mr. Bradford, Richardson and the co-defendant were best friends.He explained that the co-defendant was called "Cracka Jack," and Richardson was called "JB," which means "Just Blow," like "blowing on a gun."Kameron "Killer Kam" Thomas, a member of 187, attested that Richardson and the co-defendant were both known "shooters" within PCE.Over Richardson's objection, Mr. Bradford testified at length to many photographs depicting Richardson donning what Mr. Bradford called PCE paraphernalia and making gestures with his hands that Mr. Bradford identified as PCE gang signs.

The State's evidence at trial highlighted the evolution of the dispute between PCE and 187 that preceded the January 29, 2016 drive-by shooting of the Victim.Mr. Thomas and Mr. Bradford testified in detail about the gangs.Both testified that PCE and 187 were amicable towards one another until the fall of 2015, when Breon "D Rose" Mason, a 187 member, stole firearms from the co-defendant, a member of PCE.

According to both witnesses, this incident set in motion an escalating series of violent interactions between the two gangs:

• November 14, 2015: a physical altercation occurred between members of 187 and PCE at a Kodak Black concert.Avery "Shug" McKnight, a revered member of 187, was involved in the incident.

• December 3, 2015: Avery McKnight was shot and killed on Odessa Street or "O Block."

• December 25, 2015(Christmas Day): a drive-by shooting occurred near Odessa Street during a memorial gathering for Avery McKnight.Mr. Thomas testified that, during the memorial, several 187 members were on Facebook taunting PCE and inviting PCE members to "pull up, that we lacking on the block, pull up, that we on the block.""We on Shug Drive, pull up."He explained this was another way to say, "come over where we at ... we don't have no protection."According to Mr. Thomas, within ten minutes of posting the message, unknown individuals drove by and shot at the residence, injuring several people(including a child).

• January 6, 2016: several 187 members conducted a drive-by shooting at the home of Cynthia Hayes, the co-defendant's sister.Those present at the home included Mr. Bradford, Richardson, and the co-defendant.

• January 16, 2016: a drive-by shooting occurred at Mr. Thomas's residence, a well-known 187 hangout.Mr. Thomas identified "Cracka Jack" as the driver and "JB" as the shooter.The State entered a video of the incident into evidence.

• January24, 2016: PCE member, Monteco "Teco" Brown, shot at Mr. Breon Mason, a 187 member, as he was walking down the street.The State entered a video of the incident into evidence.

The State also introduced multiple rap songs and videos produced by 187 and PCE.In them, the gang members rap about committing acts of violence against the opposition.

One such music video produced by PCE was "T on Top of T," in which Richardson is holding a Glock 26 that Mr. Bradford gave him.The co-defendant is also in the video holding a MAK-90 firearm called "Lil Kendre," named after a fallen gang member.The song was created in response to an earlier video by 187, in which 187 threatened to retaliate against the gang that shot Avery McKnight.Mr. Bradford explained that the video was PCE's way of taking responsibility for McKnight's murder.In another song, titled "Make it Black," Richardson, the co-defendant, and several other PCE members rap about committing acts of violence against 187.The song mentions "JB" and the Christmas Day shooting.

The State also presented multiple videos taken from the co-defendant's cellphone.Richardson had objected to this evidence via a motion in limine.Exhibit 404 contained three videos of the co-defendant rapping.These videos were all created on January 16, 2016, around 9:45 a.m., just thirty minutes before the drive-by shooting at Mr. Thomas’ residence.In the videos, the co-defendant sits in the driver's seat of a vehicle flashing a handgun and expresses a desire to shoot opposition gang members.

Exhibit 405 contained one video recorded later in the afternoon on January 16, 2016.Multiple individuals, including Richardson, are seen in the video walking down the street as the co-defendant taunts an opposing gang.

Exhibit 411 consisted of a short video recorded on January 23, 2016, that showed several firearms spread across a bed.Mr. Bradford attested that the video was recorded at the co-defendant's sister's residence.He identified the guns on the bed and their owners.He specifically stated that Richardson owned the Glock 26 and that firearm was used to kill the Victim.Exhibit 407, which was not addressed by the motion in limine, consisted of a video of Richardson and the co-defendant riding in a vehicle on January 18, 2016.Richardson is shown brandishing a handgun.The two individuals are heard singing, "[h]e disrespect Lil Kendre so we spraying him.Where your house?Bitch we coming there.(Inaudible).Riding on the hunt.(Inaudible)."

B.The Drive-By Shooting on January 29, 2016.

Tomeshia Brown, the Victim's mother, testified that she picked up her grandmother from work and drove to the grandmother's home on Spearing Street.Her grandmother sat in the back seat with the Victim.When Ms. Brown pulled into the front yard of the house, she was greeted by her cousin, Reginald Williams, and her brother, Thomas Brown.Soon after, a white vehicle pulled in behind her and the occupants began to fire a series of gunshots.Several shots struck Ms. Brown's vehicle.

Ms. Brown saw a darker-complexioned black male with a gun in the front seat of the white vehicle, wearing a mask.A young, lighter-complexioned black male was leaning out of the rear passenger side shooting a handgun.Ms. Brown could not identify the masked shooter, but she identified Hayes as the shooter in the rear passenger side.Ms. Brown drove away quickly to escape the gunfire.Realizing the Victim had been shot, she immediately took him to the hospital.Later that evening, doctors pronounced the Victim dead.

Jordan Harris(a 187 associate) and Mr. Brown were both present when the shooting occurred.Both testified that, after Ms. Brown pulled up, a white Toyota Corolla pulled in and the occupants started shooting.Mr. Harris was on Facebook Live at the time.He could not identify the shooters, but he heard "at least 30" shots.Mr. Harris also briefly discussed the tension between 187 and PCE, and he identified Mr. Williams as a member of 187.

Jamari Brooks, an associate of Mr. Brown, testified that several hours after the shooting, he...