State v. Edwards
| Decision Date | 10 December 2019 |
| Docket Number | 51174-6-II |
| Court | Washington Court of Appeals |
| Parties | STATE OF WASHINGTON, Respondent, v. JOSEPH L. EDWARDS, Appellant. |
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
After a guilty verdict from the jury trial, the trial court convicted Joseph Edwards with seven crimes: two counts of robbery in the first degree, three counts of burglary in the first degree, and two counts of assault in the second degree. On appeal, this court affirms all but two of Joseph Edwards' seven convictions. We remand for the trial court to vacate count 3, the burglary conviction for entering the Salzman home, and either count 4 or 5, the burglary convictions stemming from the entry of the Collazo house. We also remand for the trial court to strike challenged fees.
This appeal involves two discrete October 28, 2016 home invasions that occurred hours apart in Kelso. The first home trespass occurred at the Salzman residence, while a second occurred at the Collazo house.
Alexander and Heather Salzman slept at their home in Kelso during the early morning of October 28, 2016. Alexander's mother slept in a motor home outside of the residence with the couple's three-year-old child. At 3 a.m., Alexander awoke to his dog growling and a knock at the front door. Before answering the door, he pushed a curtain aside and viewed a woman he did not recognize. The woman was Mescha Johnson. Alexander asked Johnson if she needed help, and she replied that someone tried to injure her. Alexander let Johnson inside, closed the door, and locked it. Thereafter, Heather entered the dining room and allowed Johnson to use her cell phone to make a call.
Another woman came to the door. Heather assumed the new woman at the door was Mescha Johnson's friend, so Heather let her inside the residence. Seconds later, two masked men barged into the house. One of the two masked men, a Caucasian, wore red shoes, baggy pants, a hoodie, and a red bandanna across his face. This man secreted his hands underneath his sweatshirt simulating as if he held a pistol in his waistband. The second masked man, a tall and thin African-American, wore a hoodie, a Seahawks hat, and a black ski mask with the eyes and mouth exposed. The State claimed this second masked man to be Joseph Edwards. Mescha Johnson and Joseph Edwards, nicknamed New York, shared a child together.
Alexander Salzman noticed that the taller African-American man had metal dental work. He wielded a bright yellow and gray crowbar type object, which appeared to be a nail puller. At first, the man held the weapon in a threatening manner. He later concealed the bar under his sleeve. Salzman could discern the intruder's skin tone. The two masked intruders demanded to see a man named Michael Woods, who apparently owed them $10, 000. Alexander denied knowing anyone by that name and explained to the intruders that he did not have $10, 000. The taller man with the gloves saw Alexander's wallet on a nearby cabinet and pocketed it. Alexander offered the burglars his iPhone. Both of the masked men accompanied Alexander into the bedroom to retrieve his cell phone. All four intruders left the residence seconds later with Alexander's cellphone and wallet, as well as Heather's cellphone.
Law enforcement officers went to the Salzman residence. Police collected a latex glove discarded on the side of the road near the Salzman home.
Jessica Collazo, her husband Alexander Collazo, and their five children also lived in Kelso. On October 28, 2016, Alexander and Jessica awoke to find three masked intruders, two women and one man, rushing into the bedroom. One burglar struck Jessica in the head, causing her to bleed.
The male intruder stood at the foot of the Collazos' bed and repeatedly struck Alexander with a crowbar. The attacker repeated: "Give me everything; give me everything." Report of Proceedings (RP) (July 12, 2017) at 156. Jessica rushed toward one of the women and grabbed her arms. She ripped the mask off the woman and recognized her as Mescha Johnson. Johnson previously lived with the Collazos. Johnson was familiar with the contents of the Collazo household and therefore knew a firearm rested in the closet. As the struggle continued, Johnson entered the closet. Johnson grabbed the gun, and Jessica and Johnson tussled over the weapon. Johnson yelled: "New York," and the masked man bashed Jessica again with the crowbar. When the man turned to hit her, his mask fell to his neck, and Jessica recognized him as New York. She also recognized the man's voice.
Alexander unlatched their bedroom window and jumped through the window. The man and the other woman followed Alexander out the window, while Johnson remained behind. Emergency providers rushed Alexander to the hospital by ambulance, where he remained for one month. Jessica later discovered two of her laptops and other electronics to be missing from the house.
Heather Delagasse lived directly across the street from the Collazo family. After bidding her children goodbye for school Delagasse saw one male and two females, running from the alley behind the Collazo's house and onto the Collazo's front porch. RP 172-73. Delagasse recognized one of the women as Mescha Johnson and the lone man as "Joe" Edwards, both of whom she had previously met. When Edwards spoke to Johnson, Delagasse noticed that Edwards had gold teeth.
Heather Delagasse went inside her house to call Alexander Collazo. He did not answer. When Delagasse returned outside, she saw a bloody Alexander stumbling in the middle of the street and heard him yelling for help. Delagasse called the police.
Kelso Police Department Detective Craig Christianson responded to the Collazo home on October 28, 2016. He saw both Alexander and Jessica Collazo covered in blood. Detective Christianson detained Mescha Johnson, who remained at the residence. While on his way to the Kelso Police Department with Johnson for questioning, Johnson showed Christianson her parked car and gave him consent to search it. Police collected latex gloves from the vehicle's backseat and the door pockets. Two gloves found in the backseat of Johnson's car contained Joseph Edwards' DNA. Detective Christianson found, inside the car, an identification card belonging to Kelsie Lee in a backpack. Kelsie Lee was Edwards' recent girlfriend. Police seized other latex gloves located on the Collazo lawn and inside the home.
On October 31, 2016, a Washington court issued arrest warrants for Joseph Edwards and Kelsie Lee. On November 9, 2016, Ohio State Trooper Joshua Smith stopped a car driven by Edwards for going 103 m.p.h. in a 70 m.p.h. speed zone. Lee was a passenger in the vehicle. Edwards initially gave Trooper Smith a false name, but later admitted to providing false information because he wanted to avoid going to jail on outstanding warrants. Trooper Smith arrested Edwards pursuant to the outstanding Washington State warrant. Washington extradited Edwards and Lee back to Washington.
The State of Washington charged Joseph Edwards with seven crimes two counts of robbery in the first degree, three counts of burglary in the first degree, and two counts of assault in the second degree. The State charged deadly weapon enhancements for all seven charges. Count one of the information alleged robbery by reason of taking Alexander Salzman's wallet and cellphone by force. Count two alleged robbery by reason of taking Heather Salzman's cellphone by force. Count three alleged burglary of the Salzman home. Count 1 and count 2 of the information, the first degree robbery charges, contained identical language and alleged only the alternative that the defendant or an accomplice "was armed with a deadly weapon other than a firearm," while citing RCW 9A.56.200(1)(a)(i). Clerk's Papers (CP) at 11. The information did not allege alternatively that Edwards displayed what appeared to be a deadly weapon.
Count four in the information alleged that Joseph Edwards committed burglary of the Collazo home while assaulting Alexander Collazo. Count five alleged burglary of the Collazo home while assaulting Jessica Collazo. Count six alleged an assault on Jessica Collazo, while count seven alleged an assault on Alexander Collazo.
Before trial, the State moved in limine, under ER 801(d)(2)(v), for admission of statements by Kelsie Lee uttered to Mescha Johnson after both women were arrested and incarcerated. The State also sought to admit two letters Lee purportedly wrote to Joseph Edwards while both sat in jail. Joseph Edwards objected to the admission of the oral statements and the letters. The State argued that Lee's statements and letters did not constitute hearsay because Lee rendered the comments as a co-conspirator during the course and in furtherance of conspiracy.
The trial court ruled admissible Kelsie Lee's oral comments to Mescha Johnson and her letters to Joseph Edwards. The court found Lee to be a co-conspirator and reasoned that the conspiracy in this case continued after the commission of any alleged crime. The trial court noted that Lee spoke to Johnson about refusing to cooperate with the State and refusing to speak to law enforcement in order to avoid convictions.
During jury selection, counsel and the trial court questioned prospective jurors on the record in the courtroom. The trial court reserved for-cause challenges until a sidebar conference at the end of voir dire. On completion of jury questioning, the court invited the attorneys to the bench to exercise juror challenges. The court did not dismiss the jury from the courtroom. The parties exercised juror challenges at a sidebar for twenty-two minutes. The sidebar was not contemporaneously recorded or reported on the record. Following the...
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