State Of Minn. v. Jenkins

• Decision Date: 20 May 2010
• Docket Number: No. A08-1269.,A08-1269.
• Citation: 782 N.W.2d 211
• Parties: STATE of Minnesota, Respondent,v.Philander Dermont JENKINS, Appellant.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

782 N.W.2d 211

STATE of Minnesota, Respondent,v.Philander Dermont JENKINS, Appellant.

No. A08-1269.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

May 20, 2010.

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Syllabus by the Court

1. The district court correctly determined that defendant's arrest and resulting seizure of his clothing was lawful, and the search warrant for defendant's room was supported by probable cause.

2. The district court properly excluded alternative-perpetrator evidence regarding four individuals because defendant failed to lay the proper evidentiary foundation.

3. The district court properly excluded evidence that the State reported a witness to child protective services a year before trial because it was only marginally useful for showing bias.

4. Defendant is not entitled to an acquittal for police or prosecutorial misconduct when he fails to prove that the police or prosecutor engaged in any prejudicial misconduct. Statements by the prosecution that defense attorneys were “dangerous and bulldogs” and “hounds” were improper, but not prejudicial.

5. Defendant is not entitled a new trial based on newly discovered evidence when the evidence was known during trial, could have been discovered before trial, and the evidence is not likely to produce a more favorable result.

6. The imposition of two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of release does not violate Minnesota Statutes § 609.035, subdivision 1, in cases involving multiple victims.

Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, MN; and Michael O. Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney, Linda M. Freyer, Assistant County Attorney, Minneapolis, MN, for respondent.

Jill Clark, Golden Valley, MN; and Jill M. Waite, Minneapolis, MN, for appellant.

OPINION

PAGE, Justice.

Appellant Philander Dermont Jenkins was indicted on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder and two counts of first-degree felony murder for the shooting deaths of Lorenzo Porter and Eugene Curry and, after a jury trial, was found guilty on all counts. The district court entered convictions on the two first-degree premeditated murder counts and imposed consecutive sentences of life in prison without the possibility of release. In this direct appeal, Jenkins raises the following issues: (1) whether his arrest pursuant to a Crow Wing County bench warrant was unlawful and, if so, whether his arrest was otherwise supported by probable cause; (2) whether the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from his person incident to his arrest; (3) whether the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from the room where he lived; (4) whether the district court erred in excluding alternative-perpetrator evidence; (5) whether the district court erred in excluding certain bias evidence; (6) whether Jenkins' right to due process was violated by police; (7) whether his right to due process was violated by prosecutorial misconduct; (8) whether he is entitled to a new trial based on newly discovered evidence; and (9) whether the district court erred in imposing consecutive life sentences. We affirm Jenkins' convictions and sentences.

Background

Between 2:00 and 2:30 a.m. on March 14, 2007, Porter and Curry were shot to death in the first-floor unit of a North Minneapolis triplex. The unit, located at 2922 Dupont, was the home of Cassandra Simms, who lived there with her children. Simms, along with three of her children, 12-year-old S.F. and 5-year-old twins J.F. and D.F., and a friend, Patricia Walker, were present in the home during the hours leading up to and at the time of the shootings. Shortly after the shootings, Simms called the police from a neighbor's telephone. Upon their arrival, the police found Porter's body in the kitchen on the floor and Curry's body in a bedroom off the kitchen. There was cocaine, baking powder, plastic bags, and a scale on the kitchen table and a footprint in the blood on the floor next to Porter's body. The pants worn by both Porter and Curry were pulled down with the pockets turned inside out. The police investigation proceeded quickly after their arrival.

Through interviews with Simms and Walker, the police learned that in the late afternoon hours on March 13, 2007, Porter, Curry, and Jenkins visited Simms' home. At the time, Jenkins was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black tennis shoes, and blue jeans. Porter, Curry, and Jenkins left the unit around 8 p.m. and at some point later that night Porter and Curry returned to the unit without Jenkins. Around midnight, Simms, who had been in bed sleeping since about 5 p.m., awoke and went to the kitchen to take some medication. Before going back to bed, Simms had a conversation with Jenkins, who by then had returned to Simms' unit. Sometime later, Jackie Mack and Marvin White stopped by and an argument ensued between Mack and Curry. During this argument, Mack threatened that she was going to send someone to shoot Curry. After the argument, Mack and White left.

Around 2:25 a.m., Simms, Walker, and the three children, who were all sleeping, were awakened by the sound of gunshots and gathered in the doorway to the unit's middle bedroom. According to Simms, she saw a taller man, who was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black shoes and pants walk toward the front door and leave the unit. Having gotten a glimpse of the man's clothing, Simms identified him as possibly Jenkins. At trial, she additionally testified that she saw the man's face and it was Jenkins. According to Walker, she saw two men leave. One was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, light jeans, and white shoes, and the other wore a black hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans, and black shoes. Walker recognized Jenkins' voice when one of the men yelled to the other to get going.

The police learned from Porter's brother that Porter had called his brother earlier that evening using a cell phone Porter owned. The cell phone, however, was not in the holster Porter was wearing and could not be found in the unit. As a result, the police sought and obtained the call log for the phone from Porter's cell phone service provider. The call log indicated that a number of calls were made on the phone after Porter's death. One of those calls was to a taxicab company. From the taxicab company, the police learned that a male and female passenger were picked up at 1714 Broadway in North Minneapolis and taken to the intersection of 18-1/2 Street and Quincy in Northeast Minneapolis.

Around 5:20 a.m. that morning, the police interviewed an occupant of the upstairs unit of the triplex at 2922 Dupont who indicated that a person the occupant knew as “Kill” or “Phil” had been shot a couple of days earlier and that “Phil” had recently tried to sell a gun to the occupant's brother. Viewing a photo of Jenkins, the occupant identified Jenkins as the person she knew as “Phil.”

At some point that morning the police learned that Jenkins lived in a rooming house at 1811 Quincy in Northeast Minneapolis. They also learned that there was an outstanding Crow Wing County bench warrant for Jenkins' arrest. Based on all the information they had obtained, the police began the application process for a warrant to search 1811 Quincy and dispatched the Violent Criminal Apprehension Team to that address. Upon their arrival, several officers approached the front door of 1811 Quincy and knocked. After several minutes, Jenkins answered the door, but lied about his identity. After determining that the man who answered the door was Jenkins, the officers placed him under arrest.

According to the arresting officers, once arrested, Jenkins, accompanied by officers, was allowed to retrieve shoes and a coat from his room. Before entering the room, Jenkins indicated that an unclothed woman was in the room. A female officer entered the room to verify that there was a woman inside and to allow her to get dressed. While in the room, the officer noticed two cell phones in plain view on a dresser. Information about the cell phones was forwarded to the officers applying for the search warrant. Once the woman, later identified as Lillian Blount, was clothed, the officer escorted her from the room and Jenkins briefly entered the room to retrieve his shoes and coat. Both Jenkins and Blount were then transported to the police department for questioning. When Jenkins arrived at the homicide unit, the police observed what appeared to be blood on Jenkins' clothing. As a result, the clothing was photographed and subsequently seized.

After Jenkins and Blount were taken to the homicide unit, several officers remained at the rooming house to “freeze” the scene to ensure that no one went in or came out of Jenkins' room before the search warrant could be procured. Two officers remained inside the room for about ten minutes after Jenkins was removed. One of those officers saw what appeared to be the barrel of a handgun sticking out from under clothing near a chair in the room and that information was forwarded to the officers seeking the warrant. A warrant was subsequently issued, the room was searched, and a number of items were seized, including the two cell phones and the gun seen earlier by the officers.

Jenkins' version of his arrest was markedly different. At the suppression hearing, Jenkins testified that he never asked to retrieve any clothing from his room because he was wearing his coat and shoes at the time of his arrest. He further testified that, upon arrest, he was immediately escorted outside to a police vehicle and never returned to his room.

I.

First, Jenkins argues that his arrest pursuant to the Crow Wing County bench warrant was unlawful because the warrant was used as a pretext for probable cause to arrest him for the murders of Porter and Curry. He further contends the police did not otherwise have probable cause to arrest him for those...