State v. Brown
| Decision Date | 03 October 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 2005-0749.,2005-0749. |
| Citation | 115 Ohio St.3d 55,873 N.E.2d 858,2007 Ohio 4837 |
| Parties | The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. BROWN, Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Supreme Court |
William D. Mason, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and Jon W. Oebker and A. Steven Dever, Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys, for appellee.
John P. Parker, Cleveland, and Thomas Rein, for appellant.
{¶ 1} This is an appeal as of right filed by Vernon Brown, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the aggravated murder with prior calculation and design of Duane Roan. Brown was also convicted of the murder of Tearle Toeran, aggravated robbery with firearm specifications, and two weapons violations.
{¶ 2} Among 21 assignments of error, Brown argues that trial counsel was ineffective by failing to challenge the competency to testify of his alleged wife, Jillian Wright, who was the main witness against him. He also argues that the state violated Brady v. Maryland (1963), 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215, by failing to disclose evidence favorable to him. We agree that for these two reasons, we must vacate the conviction and remand for a new trial.
{¶ 3} The state's theory during jury trial was that on the evening of January 1, 2004, Brown, a.k.a. "Broadway," met with Duane Roan and Tearle Toeran on a west side Cleveland street to buy drugs. During the transaction, Brown pulled a gun, shot and killed both men, and then fled the scene in the victims' car. In support of its case, the state presented the testimony of 26 witnesses over ten days of trial.
{¶ 4} The defendant did not call witnesses during the guilt phase, nor did he present any evidence following the close of the state's case. The defense's theory of the case acknowledged that Brown was involved in the deaths of Toeran and Roan, but contested whether he had acted with the level of intent required to support the charges of aggravated murder with prior calculation and design. Although the defense did introduce five exhibits, they were all presented during cross-examination of the state's witnesses, and most were related to the status of the relationship between Brown and Jillian Wright.
{¶ 5} Wright, who was a key witness for the prosecution, testified that Brown often stayed with her at her apartment on West 54th Street in Cleveland during December 2003 and January 2004.1 She said that on January 1, 2004, Brown had her drive him to an apartment on West 52nd Street, where a man she identified as "Jay" or "Capone," later identified as James Donley, lived and sold drugs.2 Wright testified that she took Brown's Cadillac Escalade and dropped him off at Donley's around 8:30 p.m. She said that sometime after 9:00 p.m., she received a call from Brown requesting that she return and give him a ride home.
{¶ 6} When she arrived to pick up Brown, Wright testified that he told her that his plans had not gone through. Wright said that while she and Brown were talking, two men whom she did not know but later identified at trial as Roan and Toeran, arrived at Donley's apartment in a Mitsubishi sedan. According to Wright, Brown got into the back seat of that car, and after two or three minutes, returned to the Escalade and told her to go home. She said Brown then returned to the back seat of the Mitsubishi.
{¶ 7} Rather than going home as Brown had instructed, Wright drove around the block and returned to the street in front of Donley's apartment. She parked behind the Mitsubishi, which had not moved, and followed as the car moved slowly down the street.
{¶ 8} Wright said that after moving slightly down West 52nd Street, the driver pulled his car over to the curb. Two men left the car with their hands in the air. Brown pointed a gun at both of the men as he followed them out of the car and motioned them toward the sidewalk. According to Wright, the three men were talking, and the talking got louder and louder. Wright testified that when the passenger "reached for something in his back pocket," Brown shot him in the back of the head. Wright said that the other man started running toward a vacant lot, and Brown chased him and shot him three times. That man fell to the ground and turned over on his back. Wright testified that Brown then walked over to him and shot him in the face.
{¶ 9} Wright testified that after the shooting, Brown drove away in the Mitsubishi. She also left the area but did not follow Brown. Shortly thereafter, Brown called her on her cell phone and asked her to meet him at his mother's rental property on Superior Avenue in East Cleveland. Brown parked the Mitsubishi in the garage at the rental property, got into the Escalade, and drove to Wright's apartment on West 54th Street.
{¶ 10} Wright and Brown returned to Donley's apartment later that evening, and while she remained there, Brown left the apartment for about five minutes. When the two were leaving Donley's apartment, Wright asked Brown where he had gone. She testified that Brown told her that he "went to go make sure the boys were dead." Wright said they returned to her apartment. She testified that sometime over the course of the evening, she and Brown discussed the murders. She told Brown, He responded by showing her a Biblical passage that says "[W]hatever sin you commit, it can be forgiven if you ask for forgiveness."
{¶ 11} One of the state's other key witnesses was Donley, who also testified about events that took place on the night of the murders, as well as statements that Brown later made to him. Much of Donley's testimony at trial conflicted with previous statements he had made to the police regarding the case.
{¶ 12} Donley testified that Brown and Roan met at his house in the morning of January 1 to discuss a drug transaction. Donley said that he thought Roan did not have any drugs with him at the time, so the deal was postponed until later.
{¶ 13} Sometime after 9:00 p.m., Donley left his house with his girlfriend, Emily Stewart, and an occasional roommate, Leon Jackson, to buy food at Top's Supermarket. He said that when he left, Brown was outside. Donley thought that Brown was preparing to leave and get into the Escalade driven by Wright. Donley said that before he left, he told Brown to "be careful." When they returned from the grocery store, Donley saw fire trucks and a couple of police cars about half a block from his house. He said he was unable to see what was going on because the fire engines were blocking his view. He also testified that neither he nor anyone he was with approached the scene to find out what was going on.
{¶ 14} Donley testified that Brown came to his house later that evening, after 11 p.m., and told Donley that he Donley testified that at that point, he did not know that Roan had been killed, and so he warned Brown that Roan "is not really the type of guy that you can play with." According to Donley, Brown responded to this warning by saying,
{¶ 15} Donley testified that he did not find out about Brown's role in the murders until one or two days later. On January 3, while Brown was giving Donley, Donley's daughter Capri, and Leon Jackson a ride in the Escalade, they passed a memorial to Roan and Toeran. According to Donley, Brown said "bye" and waved at the memorial.
{¶ 16} Brown then pulled out his pistol, which he called "Mike Tyson." According to Donley's account, Brown imitated the voice of the boxer, Mike Tyson, and talked "like he was asking the gun questions." Donley said Brown described how he had shot the two victims. He claimed that Brown said that after he shot Toeran, According to Donley, Brown said that Roan was pleading for his life before he shot him and that he
{¶ 17} Leon Jackson, who was riding in the Escalade with Donley and Brown when they passed the memorial to Roan and Toeran, also testified at trial. His account of the conversation that occurred in the car conflicts with Donley's. According to Jackson's testimony, when the car passed the memorial to Toeran and Roan, Brown said "F____ the mother f____s," but did not say anything further regarding the shootings at the time.
{¶ 18} Jackson testified that later, while at Donley's house, Brown discussed the murders with him. He recounted a conversation with Brown in which Brown told him, "I Tysoned them n____s," which Jackson said he understood to mean that Brown had shot Roan and Toeran. Jackson said Brown described how he had shot one man in the back of the head and had shot the other while standing over him.
{¶ 19} Jackson also testified that he had accompanied Donley and Stewart to the supermarket on the night of the murders. He said that when they returned from the store and the police cars were parked down the street, he went to investigate and found out that a shooting had occurred. Jackson remained at Donley's house and was there when Brown returned twice that evening, first alone and a second time with Wright. Contrary to Donley's testimony that he was unaware until several days later that Toeran and Roan had been killed, Jackson testified that after Brown left the first time, Donley told Jackson that the two men were dead.
{¶ 20} The state presented testimony from several police officers involved in the investigation of the two murders. These officers testified about the physical evidence in the case as well as...
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