State v. Blom
| Decision Date | 01 July 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. C2-00-1994, No. C3-02-1829. |
| Citation | 682 N.W.2d 578 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Donald Albin BLOM, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Charles A. Ramsay, Rebecca Rhoda Fisher, Ramsay, Devore & Olson, P.A., Roseville, MN, for Appellant.
Mike Hatch, Attorney General, John B. Galus, Assistant Attorney General, Thomas Ragatz, Assistant Attorney General, St. Paul, MN, Marvin E. Ketola, Carlton County Attorney, Carlton, MN, for Respondent.
Heard, considered, and decided by the court en banc.
ANDERSON, PAUL H., Justice.
On August 16, 2000, a Saint Louis County jury found Donald Albin Blom guilty of murdering Kathlyn "Katie" Poirier. Specifically, Blom was convicted for causing "the death of a human being with intent to effect the death of the person * * *, while committing or attempting to commit * * * kidnapping." Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(3) (2002). The district court sentenced Blom to life in prison, without the possibility of parole. On appeal, Blom raises several issues as to why his conviction should be overturned. He claims that the court erred when it (1) denied numerous motions to change venue, continue the trial, and sequester the jury; (2) failed to prevent extra-judicial statements about his case; (3) failed to control the courtroom; (4) denied his self-representation motion, (5) admitted Spreigl evidence; (6) admitted his statement to law enforcement authorities; and (7) excluded alternative-perpetrator evidence. He also claims that he was denied effective assistance of trial counsel. We affirm the conviction.
At about 11:38 on the evening of May 26, 1999, 19-year-old Kathlyn Poirier was abducted while working at DJ's Expressway, a convenience store located near Interstate 35 on the outskirts of Moose Lake, Minnesota. The abduction was recorded on the store's videotape surveillance system, but the poor resolution of the images on the video did not allow the police to determine the abductor's identity with any certainty. The video did show that the abductor was a white male who was wearing a T-shirt with a New York Yankees insignia on the front and the number 23 on the back.
An extensive search and investigation were conducted, accompanied by extensive local and statewide news coverage. As part of the investigation, the police interviewed Kathryn Hanek, who, on the night of the abduction, was working at the Subway sandwich store adjacent to DJ's Expressway. The two stores are connected by an internal door. Hanek told the police that shortly before closing the Subway store at about 10:00 p.m., she saw a man in and around the Subway store who was behaving strangely. After closing, Hanek drove home toward downtown Moose Lake and, coincidentally, followed the man, who was leaving the convenience store property at the same time. She noted that the man was driving a black Ford F150 extended cab pickup truck with white markings on the side and a license plate that read in part, 557 __ __Y. The pickup truck weaved a number of times and after entering Moose Lake, pulled into the parking lot of a local cafe. Hanek stated that when she left work, Poirier's vehicle was still at DJ's Expressway.
On June 18, after seeing a composite sketch of Poirier's abductor, one of appellant Donald Albin Blom's coworkers contacted the police to report Blom as a possible suspect based on his belief that Blom had behaved suspiciously during the week of the abduction. Upon investigating this report, the police determined that Blom drove a black Ford F150 extended cab pickup truck with license plate number 557 HDY. The police then attempted to locate Blom. The police also learned that Blom had property near Kerrick, less than 10 miles from DJ's Expressway. They secured this property the evening of June 18 and conducted a 12-hour search of the property on June 19. An examination of a fire pit on the property resulted in the discovery of a number of bone fragments, including what appeared to be part of a jaw bone and a human tooth. The bone fragments were collected for evaluation by a forensic anthropologist. This property was searched again on June 29.
Police located Blom after midnight on June 20 at a campground near Alexandria, Minnesota. The police questioned him about Poirier's abduction and he denied any involvement. He said he had been at his property near Moose Lake on May 14 or 15 and again on June 12. Blom said that on May 26 he left work early and went fishing on the Kettle River, a mile or two south of Sandstone, but claimed he was home in Richfield by between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Later on June 20, the police arrested Blom. At a police line-up the day following Blom's arrest, Hanek positively identified Blom as the man she had seen on the convenience store property the night of May 26. On June 23, Blom was charged by complaint with kidnapping, in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.25, subd. 1(2) and (3) and subd. 2(2) (2002). He was confined at the Carlton County Jail and bail was set at $285,000. He was arraigned on July 1. He first retained private counsel, but on July 23, a public defender was appointed after private counsel received permission from the district court to withdraw.
On August 10, Blom began sending notes to Carlton County Sheriff David Seboe. Blom sent Seboe approximately six to eight notes in August and early September. In a note sent on September 3, Blom requested to speak to Seboe. Suspecting that Blom was about to confess to Poirier's murder, Seboe proceeded to arrange a meeting for that evening with Blom, Blom's counsel, and law enforcement officials. Blom's lead state defense counsel could not be reached, but his federal public defender and the chief public defender for the Sixth Judicial District were able to attend the meeting.1 At the meeting, Blom was advised by his counsel not to speak. Counsel warned him that no "offers" had been made and that anything he said could be used against him. In response to these warnings, Blom stated, "I wanta accept an offer cause I'm tired of this." Nevertheless, the meeting ended without Blom making a statement.2 Blom then met with his counsel over the next several days regarding whether he should make a statement and what, if any, concessions to seek. On September 7 and 8, both the state and federal prosecuting attorneys sent letters to Blom's state and federal defense counsel outlining the terms of a proposed agreement with Blom. The state's September 7 letter, which made reference to a "plea agreement," stated that Blom was to provide "a complete, a detailed, statement regarding the abduction and murder of Ms. Katie Poirier," as well as plead guilty to both the state and federal charges.3
The state noted in its letter that it intended to convene a grand jury for the purpose of obtaining an indictment as soon as Blom gave his statement. Further, as a result of his plea, Blom would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, his federal and state sentences would run concurrently and he would be imprisoned in a state prison in North Dakota. Blom had previously requested that he be imprisoned outside Minnesota for safety reasons. He specifically requested either North Dakota or South Dakota because he wanted to remain close enough to Minnesota so that his family could maintain contact with him.
The state also represented in its letter that it would not bring criminal charges against Blom's wife or bring forfeiture proceedings against property owned by her, and that forfeiture proceedings would be dropped against Blom's truck. The state agreed that personal property lacking evidentiary value would be returned to Blom's family, Blom would be permitted to wear street clothes rather than jail fatigues when he pleaded guilty, and, as long as he followed jail rules, he would be granted more time outside of his jail cell and additional phone privileges while housed in the Carlton County Jail. Blom initialed every page of the state's letter except the last page where he signed his full name.
The conditions outlined by the federal government were that Blom provide a detailed and complete account of Poirier's abduction and murder, plead guilty to the state and federal charges, agree to a life sentence without the possibility of parole, waive all rights to appeal, and forfeit all rights to firearms seized on his property.4 While Blom did not sign this letter, his federal defense counsel explained at a September 23 hearing that the letter accurately reflected the oral agreement between counsel and the federal government.
On September 8, Blom gave a statement to the police regarding his involvement in Poirier's abduction and murder. Before Blom started his interview with the police, his lead state defense counsel had an extended conversation with him in order to verify that Blom understood the consequences of what he was about to do. Blom verified on the record that his counsel had met with him for several hours between September 6 and September 8 and that he intended to give a statement, but that he first wanted his counsel to negotiate some terms on his behalf. Blom indicated that these terms were contained in the September 7 letter from the state and acknowledged that his counsel negotiated these terms on his behalf. He affirmed that his counsel advised him not to give a statement.5 Later during the statement, Blom's federal defense counsel arrived and also verified with Blom that he was going through with this "plea negotiation" against his counsel's advice.
In his statement, Blom admitted abducting Poirier by forcing her to leave DJ's Expressway and that he "pushed" her into his truck. He said he then drove Poirier to his property near Kerrick where he "choked" her to death. Blom stated that he "threw" Poirier's body in a fire pit on his property and burned the body using fence boards, but did not use an...
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