Smith v. State
| Citation | 913 A.2d 1197 |
| Decision Date | 27 April 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 112, 2005.,112, 2005. |
| Parties | Michael R. SMITH, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE of Delaware, Plaintiff Below, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Delaware |
Court Below: Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for Sussex County, Cr. ID No. 0304013081.
Upon appeal from the Superior Court. AFFIRMED.
Edward C. Gill (argued) and Michael R. Abram, Law Office of Edward C. Gill, P.A., Georgetown, Delaware, for appellant.
Kim Ayvazian, Department of Justice, Georgetown, Delaware, for appellee.
Before STEELE, Chief Justice, BERGER and RIDGELY, Justices.
On April 17, 2003, Michael R. Smith participated in a robbery that resulted in the death of George Coverdale. A Superior Court jury convicted Smith of Second Degree Murder, First Degree Murder, two counts of First Degree Robbery, Second Degree Conspiracy, and several counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. The trial judge sentenced him to life in prison. Smith now appeals his convictions. He raises nine issues on appeal. Because we find that the trial judge did not err, acted within his discretion, adequately cured errors about which Smith now complains, and that any uncured errors were harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, we affirm the trial judge's rulings and Smith's convictions.
The State presented two eyewitnesses to George Coverdale's murder, Shane DeShields and DeShawn Blackwell. Each told a slightly different story. Both stories, however, implicated Smith in the events that resulted in Coverdale's death. Smith testified in his own defense and related a dramatically different version of events. Because the issues primarily focus on the detail of these witnesses' testimony, it is necessary to set forth the three different versions of the events of April 17, 2003.
On the morning of April 17, 2003, Shane DeShields contacted Michael Smith. Although Smith and DeShields were not related, they shared the same half-sister. DeShields informed Smith that he "had a quick way [they] could get some money" by robbing a guy nicknamed "Champ," DeShields's cousin, George Coverdale. Smith agreed to join with DeShields in the planned robbery. During the conversation, DeShields informed Smith that he did not have any guns and asked Smith to bring guns. They made plans to meet at DeShields's aunt's house. Later in the day, Smith met DeShields there. As requested, Smith brought two guns.
When Smith arrived, DeShields got in Smith's car and saw the guns for the first time. DeShields took a .357 Magnum revolver loaded with .38 bullets. Smith took a .32 automatic. Smith and DeShields then drove to the Cock & Bull lounge where they bought a bottle of Hennessey. They then went to the De-Lux Dairy Market, where DeShields made a call to Coverdale. Smith and DeShields drove over to DeShields's grandmother's house where DeShields again called Coverdale.
DeShields testified that he made the calls to Coverdale because he wanted to purchase some crack cocaine from Coverdale. Coverdale ultimately agreed to meet DeShields at DeShields's grandmother's residence for the purpose of selling him the drugs. Smith was not with DeShields when DeShields made the phone calls to Coverdale. Smith, however, knew that DeShields was going to entice Coverdale to come over by calling and saying that he wanted to buy drugs. Smith also knew that the plan, as previously discussed, was that he and DeShields would use the guns to rob Coverdale when Coverdale arrived.
After DeShields made the phone call to Coverdale from his grandmother's house, he went outside and joined Smith, who was sitting on the front steps of the housing facing the road. Sometime later, while it was still light outside, Coverdale arrived driving a burgundy Ford Aerostar van with DeShawn Blackwell in the passenger seat. After Coverdale pulled up to the house, Smith and DeShields got into the van. DeShields sat in the backseat behind Coverdale and Smith sat behind Blackwell.
Shortly thereafter, DeShields and Blackwell started arguing. While DeShields and Blackwell were arguing, DeShields's grandmother came out of the house and Coverdale started backing the van out towards the road. Apparently, Blackwell and DeShields had been in a high speed chase two or three days earlier. DeShields eluded the police, but Blackwell did not. DeShields, therefore, assumed that Blackwell "snitched" on him by telling the police that DeShields was driving. During the argument, DeShields took his gun and placed it on his lap. At some point before the shooting, DeShields obtained the drugs. DeShields did not pay for the drugs and admitted that he and Smith robbed Coverdale of the drugs.
Immediately after DeShields got the drugs, Coverdale grabbed his gun from the console side of the seat, and jumped out of the van. Smith then fired the first shot at the fleeing Coverdale from his .32 automatic, hitting the driver's side door of the van. Coverdale, who by that time was out of the van with both feet on the ground and away from the open door, shot back at the van. Then DeShields shot at Coverdale with the .357 and hit Coverdale in the chest. At trial, the parties stipulated that DeShields fired the bullet that killed Coverdale. The three shots were so close together that it seemed like "everybody [was] shooting at once." DeShields testified that he knew that there were .38 caliber bullets in the .357 because after the "stuff happened" Smith said to DeShields "you're lucky you put the .38 in him ... because you didn't want the .357 bullets in the gun." During the commotion, everybody jumped out of the van.
After the shots were fired, Smith chased after Coverdale, who was heading towards the back of DeShields's grandmother's house. DeShields ordered Blackwell back into the van. Once Blackwell was back inside, DeShields drove behind an abandoned house on his grandmother's property. DeShields got out of the van to check on Coverdale and observed Smith pistol-whipping Coverdale in the face with the .32 automatic. DeShields pulled Smith off Coverdale.
DeShields then ran to check on Blackwell, who by then had escaped and was getting into a passing car. Finding Blackwell gone, DeShields returned to Smith and Coverdale, and again pulled Smith off Coverdale. DeShields testified that he did not know whether Smith took money or jewelry off Coverdale that day. DeShields also testified that he could not see what Smith was doing with Coverdale at the time he was moving the van and checking on Blackwell.
At some point shortly after these events, DeShields's grandmother came outside and warned him that she had called the police. DeShields and Smith got into the Smith's car and drove away.
In the afternoon of April 17, 2003, Blackwell and Coverdale were at Coverdale's girlfriend's (Shawntay Corsey) apartment watching a DVD. At some point, Coverdale received a phone call on his cell phone. About ten minutes after Coverdale received the call, he and Blackwell left the apartment in a burgundy van. Coverdale drove. Blackwell sat in the passenger seat. They headed to the Concord De-Lux.
On the way, Coverdale received a phone call from DeShields. DeShields told Coverdale to meet him at his grandmother's house. Coverdale and Blackwell changed destinations and went to DeShields's grandmother's house. They stopped when they reached the driveway.
DeShields and Smith were sitting on the front porch. When the van arrived, they walked over and got in via the side door. DeShields sat behind Coverdale while Smith sat behind Blackwell. As the occupants of the van were getting ready to smoke a blunt, DeShields pulled his gun out and put the gun to Blackwell's head. All the while, DeShields was calling Blackwell derogatory names, saying that Blackwell was a snitch for "telling on" him in Laurel when DeShields got in a high-speed chase. DeShields also made statements like, "[Blackwell] you are a snitch, man, I should kill you."
Coverdale asked DeShields to calm down. At that point, Smith pulled his gun out and put it to Coverdale's head and said "Drive."2 Coverdale "wasn't trying to drive." Instead, Coverdale reached for the floor, grabbed a paper bag, jumped out of the driver's door, and started to run on the side of the van. As soon as Coverdale jumped out of the van and was "two, three steps out of the door," Smith fired a shot at Coverdale out of the side window of the van, shattering the window. Then DeShields fired. Blackwell then heard what sounded like shots from Coverdale.
During cross-examination, as defense counsel was attempting to impeach Blackwell with earlier inconsistent statements, Blackwell testified that Smith had a gray or chrome revolver while DeShields had a long black gun. On redirect, Blackwell described DeShields's gun as a .357 Magnum revolver.
When the shooting started, Blackwell got out of the van and laid down on the ground on the side of the van. When Blackwell got off the ground, Smith was behind the van and Coverdale had already been shot, but Blackwell could not tell where. Blackwell testified that he saw Smith kicking Coverdale, beating him, and hitting him with the gun. The first time Blackwell saw Smith beating Coverdale, they were behind the van.
After Blackwell got off the ground, DeShields told him to get back in the van. DeShields then drove the van behind the abandoned house. Blackwell again saw Smith beating Coverdale, only this time behind the abandoned house. Blackwell also observed Smith taking Coverdale's "[white gold] chain and stuff, snatching his chain [from around his neck] and digging in his pockets and saying: You fat, stinking MF'er, going in his pockets." As he was being beaten, Coverdale...
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