Roebuck v. State
| Decision Date | 23 December 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 01799,01799 |
| Citation | 813 A.2d 342,148 Md. App. 563 |
| Parties | Akil Jabari ROEBUCK v. STATE of Maryland. |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Nicole M. Zell, Asst. Public Defender (Stephen E. Harris, Public Defender, on brief), Baltimore, for appellant.
Diane E. Keller, Asst. Atty. Gen. (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen., Baltimore and Joseph I. Cassily, State's Atty. for Harford County, Bel Air, on the brief) for appellee. Argued before HOLLANDER, SALMON, PAUL E. ALPERT (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.
This case has its roots in the brutal murder of fourteen-year-old Jacoby ("Coaster") Fagan. A jury sitting in the Circuit Court for Harford County convicted Akil Jabari Roebuck, appellant, of the first degree murder of Fagan, as well as the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony or crime of violence. Upon conviction, the court sentenced appellant to life imprisonment as to the murder charge, and imposed a consecutive five-year sentence for the handgun offense.
On appeal, we have been asked to decide whether the circuit court erred in barring appellant from introducing into evidence a statement made by appellant's cousin, Rolston James, Jr., a co-defendant who was tried separately for Fagan's murder. Appellant claimed that James's statement, which was incriminating as to James and arguably exculpatory as to appellant, constituted a declaration against penal interest. Although the State had already relied on James's statement at James's murder trial, it objected to appellant's use of the statement. Finding the statement unreliable, the trial court sustained the State's objection.
Roebuck presents three questions to the Court, which we have reordered and reworded:
I. Under Maryland Rule 5-804(b)(3), did the trial court err in barring defense counsel from introducing a declaration against penal interest that was made by an unavailable co-defendant, which was exculpatory as to appellant?
II. Did the trial court err in admitting into evidence enlarged color autopsy photographs depicting the victim's injuries?
III. Notwithstanding appellant's consent and waiver of any conflict, did the trial court err in allowing an attorney to represent appellant when that same lawyer previously represented an alleged accomplice in the murder, who testified for the State in exchange for a nol pros of the charges against him.
For the reasons that follow, we answer "yes" to Question I. Therefore, we shall vacate the judgment of conviction and remand for further proceedings. For the benefit of the parties and the court on remand, we shall also address Question II. Despite the interesting issue raised by appellant in Question III, we decline to address it, because it surely will not resurface on remand.
Fagan was savagely murdered on January 27, 2000. Early that morning, a group of young men spotted Fagan on Magnolia Road in Harford County, with blood in the snow around him. The victim was transported to Shock Trauma, where he died from massive injuries that included thirty-one stab wounds, eighteen cutting wounds, and three gunshot wounds to the head.
John Miller, Jr., Rolston James, Jr. ("Bible"), and appellant were charged with Fagan's murder. All three were friends, and James and appellant are also cousins. At the time of the murder, appellant was nineteen years old. In exchange for Miller's cooperation, the State subsequently nol prossed the charges against him. James was tried separately; by the time of appellant's trial, he had been convicted of Fagan's murder.
Following appellant's arrest on February 7, 2000, Roebuck gave a recorded statement to Sergeant Jason Merson of the Maryland State Police. In the statement, Roebuck said that he entered the woods with James and the victim, while Miller remained behind in the car. According to Roebuck, James cut Fagan's throat and stabbed him repeatedly. Although Roebuck admitted that he handed the gun to James at James's request, appellant claimed that James was the one who shot the victim.1
On February 8, 2000, Sergeant Merson also took a custodial statement from James. According to James, on the night of Fagan's murder, appellant, Fagan, and Miller were all at his house when "sparks start[ed]" between Fagan and James. Fagan got up and sat by his coat, which "concerned" James because James knew that Fagan had a gun in his coat. James recounted: "I went over in his face and got close and [said] do not sit beside your coat in my house disrespecting me like that when I know what you got in your coat." James claimed that he (i.e., James) was "high and drunk" at the time. To clear his mind, James suggested that the four "go out" to "have fun," and so the group left to see some girls. James recalled that, at some point, he "just snapped, just snapped and got real tired of it."
According to James, he told Miller to stop the car near a wooded area. Then, James and the victim exited the vehicle. James also stated:
The following colloquy during James's interrogation is also relevant:
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By the time of appellant's trial in August 2001, James had already been convicted of Fagan's murder, and James's case was pending on appeal. As a result, by letter dated August 13, 2001, James's attorney advised appellant's counsel that, "if called to testify, [James] will invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege," because James's conviction was pending on appeal. Therefore, it is undisputed that James was not available as a witness at appellant's trial.
As anticipated, Miller testified for the State at appellant's trial. He recounted that he was with Fagan and appellant at James's home on the evening of January 26, 2000, drinking and smoking marijuana. Later that evening, they left in a car to "see girls." Miller, who was the driver, recalled that James and Fagan disagreed about who was going to sit in the front seat, but Fagan prevailed. According to Miller, as he was driving, James "reached up in front of him, had a knife in his hand, put the knife to Fagan's throat and took [Fagan's] gun." Miller also stated that James asked Fagan, "How does it feel to know that this is the last night that you have on earth?" Then, at James's direction, Miller stopped the car in a wooded area. At that point, James exited the car, pulling Fagan with him. James also told appellant to join him. As James, Fagan, and appellant headed towards the wooded area, Miller lost sight of them. About five to ten minutes later, appellant and James returned, without Fagan. According to Miller, James had the gun and his hand was bleeding. When Miller inquired about Fagan, James replied: "He's gone." During the ride to James's apartment, Miller noted that appellant did not say anything.
Miller also said that, a few days later, James asked him to "get the gun," and told him where to find it. Miller and appellant retrieved the weapon and decided to "get rid of the gun." Accordingly, they gave the gun to Miller's friend, from whom it was later recovered by Sergeant Merson.
At trial, the State introduced appellant's statement through Sergeant Merson. Then, during the cross-examination of Merson, defense counsel sought to elicit James's statement, claiming that James was unavailable and that his statement constituted a declaration against penal interest, admissible under Maryland Rule 5-804(b)(3). Following the State's objection, a bench conference ensued at which defense counsel argued vigorously that James's statement was admissible. Pointing to the fact that James's statement was a recorded, custodial statement provided after James had been advised of his constitutional rights, appellant maintained that the trustworthiness of James's statement had been sufficiently established.
The State countered that James's statement was inadmissible because it was a constitutionally protected statement. The prosecutor reasoned that because James properly invoked his constitutional right not to testify at appellant's trial, James...
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