Sirkaneo v. State
| Decision Date | 02 June 2022 |
| Docket Number | CR-21-425 |
| Citation | 2022 Ark. 124,644 S.W.3d 392 |
| Parties | Qa'Tonious SIRKANEO a/k/a Walter Allen Brooks, Appellant v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Qa'Tonious Lee Sirkaneo, pro se appellant.
Leslie Rutledge, Att'y Gen., by: Christopher R. Warthen, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.
Qa'Tonious Lee Sirkaneo, also known as Walter Allen Brooks, appeals from the trial court's denial of his petition for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Rule 37.1 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure (2020). Sirkaneo also filed motions for a hearing and appointment of counsel. The trial court denied Sirkaneo's motions and denied the Rule 37.1 petition without a hearing. On appeal, Sirkaneo contends that the trial court erred when it denied his motions; reasserts some, but not all, claims raised below; and raises new claims for the first time on appeal. On January 10, 2022, Sirkaneo filed in this court a motion to file a belated reply brief that was due on December 22, 2021. Because Sirkaneo fails to demonstrate entitlement to Rule 37.1 relief, we affirm the trial court's denial of the petition. Sirkaneo's motion to file a belated reply brief is therefore moot.
Sirkaneo was charged with capital murder in the death of Anna Mae Banks and the attempted capital murder of Nathaniel Banks. After a jury trial, he was convicted of the lesser-included offenses of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to consecutive terms of eighty and fifty years’ imprisonment, respectively. The Arkansas Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding that the trial court erred when it refused a request from the defense to submit the issue of accomplice liability to the jury. Brooks v. State , 2014 Ark. App. 84, 2014 WL 580144.
In his second jury trial, Sirkaneo represented himself but was appointed standby counsel. The jury convicted him of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement. Sirkaneo was sentenced as a habitual offender to life imprisonment for first-degree murder, thirty years’ imprisonment for attempted first-degree murder, and fifteen years’ imprisonment on the firearm enhancement, all to run consecutively. On direct appeal, Sirkaneo was represented by the attorney who acted as standby counsel during the trial. The sole issue raised on appeal concerned the trial court's failure to declare a mistrial after a witness commented on Sirkaneo's right to remain silent. The convictions and sentences were affirmed. Sirkaneo v. State , 2019 Ark. 308, 586 S.W.3d 606.
Because Sirkaneo alleges that his appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence on direct appeal, a review of the direct-appeal trial record is necessary.1 The evidence adduced at trial demonstrated that at the time of the crime, Sirkaneo was in a relationship with Tammy Bernard, who lived in Widener, Arkansas. Bernard was a close neighbor of the two victims and lived with her sister, Marika Tiggs-Robinson, in a trailer that was located two houses down from the Bankses’ residence.
Nathaniel Britt, the victims’ son, had been Bernard's previous boyfriend and had dated her for four years before she began dating Sirkaneo. Britt remained friends with Tiggs-Robinson and continued to visit the residence of the two sisters. Britt testified that he had attempted to visit Tiggs-Robinson the day before his mother's death and had spoken with Sirkaneo. According to Britt, the exchange with Sirkaneo was uncomfortable to such an extent that Britt called Bernard the following morning and complained about Sirkaneo's behavior toward him. Britt's comments led to an argument with Bernard, and she called Sirkaneo and told Sirkaneo about the argument and related Britt's criticism of him. Sometime after speaking with Bernard, Sirkaneo called Britt and asked if he was at home, and Britt replied that he was on his way to pick up supplies for work and would not be home for another several hours. Sirkaneo told Britt that he would be there when Britt got off work.
Britt's father, Nathaniel Banks, testified that he and his wife, Anna Mae Banks, lived in Widener and that they returned to their house in their red van that morning after going to town for hog feed. Mr. Banks stated that as he and Anna Mae unloaded the bags of feed from their van, Anna Mae was shot and fell to the ground. Mr. Banks turned around and found a man standing there who put a pistol in his face and pulled the trigger twice, but the gun misfired. The assailant then took off, turned around, pointed the gun at Mr. Banks, and pulled the trigger a third time, but it again misfired. Anna Mae was killed instantly. Mr. Banks called 911 but was unable to identify the shooter other than to say he was wearing a "do-rag" and sunglasses. A passerby who had witnessed the incident approached Mr. Banks as he was talking to the 911 dispatcher and described both the automobile and the direction the vehicle was traveling as it fled the scene. Mr. Banks further testified that he discovered a shell casing in the van the following day, and he called police who came and retrieved it.
Tiggs-Robinson testified that she was at home the morning of the crime. During that time, she received multiple calls from Sirkaneo that she ignored, but when she saw him run across her yard and jump into a car parked in her driveway, she answered the phone whereupon Sirkaneo asked her if the police were outside. Tiggs-Robinson testified that Sirkaneo's question about police prompted her to leave her home where she discovered that her neighbor, Anna Mae, had been shot.
The description provided in the 911 call of the vehicle and the direction it was traveling led to an investigation that quickly resulted in the apprehension of Sirkaneo and three other men in a vehicle traveling from Widener toward Hughes, Arkansas. The occupants of the vehicle were Earl Smith, the driver; Robert Brooks, Sirkaneo's brother; and Kipp Doolittle.
Smith and Doolittle testified at trial that Sirkaneo had paid them to take him to Widener. Smith testified that he understood the purpose of the trip was to allow Sirkaneo to pick up some clothes from Bernard's house. Smith stated that when they arrived in Widener, Sirkaneo directed them to park in front of Bernard and Tiggs-Robinson's home. Smith stated that Sirkaneo exited the car, made a call, and then returned to the vehicle and asked Smith to wait a couple of hours before returning home, but Smith refused to wait that long. According to Smith, Sirkaneo then stated that he would settle the matter with the "momma and daddy" and proceeded to clean bullets. Shortly after Sirkaneo was seen heading toward the Bankses’ residence, Smith heard a gunshot. Upon his return, Sirkaneo told Smith, "I just execute style the momma and tried to kill his daddy, but the gun jam, I guess this was his lucky day." Smith testified that while he was driving away from Widener, Sirkaneo threw his sunglasses out of the window. Smith further testified that when his vehicle was being stopped by police, Sirkaneo attempted to persuade the other passengers in the car to take possession of his gun, and when no one would take the gun, Sirkaneo hid it under the passenger seat. The gun and several bullets were seized from the car. Furthermore, the sunglasses were found with the assistance of Smith. A firearms expert testified that the cartridge recovered by Mr. Banks from inside the van matched the gun found in Smith's car. All witnesses testified that the gun seen in Sirkaneo's possession looked like the gun recovered from Smith's car and introduced as evidence at trial. Doolittle testified and described the same events that Smith had described, including Sirkaneo's admission that he had shot the momma and tried to kill the daddy. In addition to the gun and bullets, gloves and a head covering were recovered from Smith's vehicle.
We will not reverse the trial court's ruling on a petition for postconviction relief under Rule 37.1 unless it is clearly erroneous. Wesley v. State , 2019 Ark. 270, 585 S.W.3d 156. A finding is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support it, the appellate court, after reviewing the entire evidence, is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. Id.
Our standard for ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims is the two-prong analysis set forth in Strickland v. Washington , 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Reynolds v. State , 2020 Ark. 174, 599 S.W.3d 120. Under the Strickland standard, to prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the petitioner must show that (1) counsel's performance was deficient and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced his defense. Id. Unless a petitioner makes both showings, the allegations do not meet the benchmark on review for granting relief on a claim of ineffective assistance. Id. To demonstrate prejudice, the petitioner must show there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's errors, the fact-finder would have had a reasonable doubt respecting guilt. Id. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of the trial. Id.
Sirkaneo raised the following claims in the petition filed in the trial court that are reasserted on appeal: (1) that he was not allowed to confront his accuser in violation of the Confrontation Clause; (2) that appellate counsel was ineffective by failing to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction; (3) that pretrial counsel was ineffective by failing to investigate the DNA found on the clothing seized from Sirkaneo and the other passengers in Smith's car; (4) that he was subject to an unlawful arrest, which invalidates the evidence seized from the vehicle and the statements...
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