State v. Gibbs
| Decision Date | 09 March 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. 16-0044, No. 15-1193,16-0044 |
| Citation | 797 S.E.2d 623 |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of West Virginia, Plaintiff Below, Respondent v. Antwyn D. GIBBS, Defendant Below, Petitioner and State of West Virginia, Plaintiff Below, Respondent v. Kevin Goodman, Jr., Defendant Below, Petitioner |
Steven K. Mancini, Esq., Beckley, West Virginia, Counsel for the Petitioner, Antwyn D. Gibbs
Crystal Walden, Esq., Director Appellate Advocacy Division, Public Defender Services, Charleston, West Virginia, Counsel for the Petitioner, Kevin Goodman, Jr.
Brian D. Parsons, Esq., Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Fayette County, Fayetteville, West Virginia, Counsel for the Respondent
Through these consolidated appeals, the petitioners, Antwyn D. Gibbs and Kevin Goodman, Jr., each seek a reversal of their convictions and sentencing from final orders entered by the Circuit Court of Fayette County. Following a joint jury trial, the petitioners were convicted of first degree robbery in violation of West Virginia Code § 61-2-12(a) (2014), entry of a dwelling in violation of West Virginia Code § 61-3-11(b) (2014), and conspiracy to commit a felony in violation of West Virginia Code § 61-10-31 (2014). Both were sentenced to consecutive terms of incarceration of one to five years for conspiracy, which was enhanced to two to five years for petitioner Gibbs pursuant to a recidivist conviction;1 one to ten years for entry of a dwelling; and fifty years for first degree robbery. Petitioner Gibbs challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to convict him of first degree robbery. Petitioner Goodman challenges (1) the proportionality of his sentencing, and (2) the trial court's denial of his motion to sever his trial, which he asserts resulted in the admission of irrelevant and prejudicial evidence. Both Gibbs and Goodman maintain that the trial court abused its discretion in denying their respective motions to sever their trials without addressing one of several bases for their motions: that they did not want the six peremptory jury challenges to which each would be entitled if tried separately to be reduced through sharing those challenges in a joint trial. Following a careful review of the briefs, the arguments of counsel, the appendix record submitted, and the applicable law, this Court finds no reversible error and affirms the petitioners' convictions and sentencing.
On May 12, 2015, a Fayette County grand jury returned an indictment jointly charging Kevin Goodman, Jr., Antwyn Gibbs, Radee Hill, Kentrell Goodman,3 and Rashod Wicker4 with the felony offenses of first degree robbery, entry of a dwelling, grand larceny, and conspiracy to commit these felonies. Kentrell G. and Wicker entered into plea agreements with the State pursuant to which each pled guilty to first degree robbery with all remaining charges being dismissed.5
Prior to trial, the petitioners and Hill each filed a motion under Rule 14(b) of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure seeking to sever his trial from that of his co-defendants. Following hearings on these motions, and through its order entered on August 31, 2015, the trial court denied all motions to sever.
The three-day joint trial of the petitioners and Hill began on September 9, 2015. The State's evidence included the testimony of eleven witnesses and numerous exhibits, including physical evidence of the crimes. Each of the defendants testified in his own defense, denying any culpability in the crimes, and petitioner Goodman also presented the testimony of an alibi witness.
The evidence at trial revealed that between midnight and 1:00 a.m. on January 9, 2015, Hill, Wicker, Kentrell G., and the petitioners departed South Carolina, traveling to Oak Hill, West Virginia, for the purpose of robbing Andrew Gunn. Kentrell G., who grew up in Oak Hill, was close friends with Gunn and knew that Gunn kept a safe containing approximately $10,000 in his bedroom in the home of his grandparents, Linda and Edward6 Knight. Kentrell G. conveyed this information to his brother, petitioner Goodman, who responded, "Let's go get money." The men traveled to Oak Hill in a car belonging to Kentrell G.'s girlfriend, Lindsey Hess. Wicker, who was the sole person in the group with a valid driver's license, was the driver.
Upon their arrival in Oak Hill around 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. on January 9, 2015, Wicker parked the car near a wooded area fifty to sixty feet from the Knights' residence. Wicker, who has cerebral palsy
, remained with the car. Mrs. Knight testified that she had let her dogs outside earlier that morning but had not fully closed the door to her home when she brought them back inside. Then, as she was sitting on the couch getting ready to do her granddaughter's hair for school,7 she happened to look over and saw a rifle or shotgun easing into her home through the door. Thereafter, four men, who had the majority of their faces covered but who appeared to be black,8 entered her home. According to Mrs. Knight, in addition to one man having a "long gun," another man had a pistol. Andrew Gunn described these weapons as a .38 special and a 12-gauge shotgun during his testimony.
Although Mrs. Knight was "really scared" for herself and her grandchildren, she refused to get on her knees as one of the men told her to do and, instead, remained seated on the couch.9 Her eighteen-year-old disabled grandson got on his knees and laid his head in her lap as he cried, while her five-year-old granddaughter was "squashed down" behind her on the couch, so afraid that she urinated on herself. When Mrs. Knight asked the men if she could get a heart pill because she was having chest pain, the man with the long gun told her "no."10
Trial testimony revealed that two of the four men went immediately to Gunn's bedroom, while the two armed men remained in the front of the home. Gunn made an in-court identification of petitioner Goodman as one of the men in the front of the house. Gunn further described that from his seated position in the living room, he looked down the hallway to his bedroom, where he observed two men11 throw his crossbow, two pairs of his athletic shoes, and his safe containing approximately $10,000 out of his bedroom window to Kentrell G.12 After being in the Knights' home approximately fifteen minutes, the perpetrators fled. Mrs. Knight immediately telephoned the Oak Hill police and reported the crime.
Oak Hill police officers responded to the scene and interviewed those present. Soon thereafter, the officers received a tip that the Goodmans were possibly involved in the robbery and that they lived in or near Newberry, South Carolina.13 Two Oak Hill police officers then traveled to South Carolina where search warrants were obtained through the assistance of local law enforcement officers. In executing the warrants, the officers searched the residence of Benita Wicker,14 who is co-defendant Rashod Wicker's mother and the Goodmans' paternal aunt. At that time, Kentrell G. and his girlfriend, Lindsey Hess, were residing in Ms. Wicker's home; petitioner Goodman frequently stayed there, sleeping on the living room couch; and Rashod Wicker also lived there. The officers recovered Gunn's crossbow and athletic shoes from inside Ms. Wicker's home, and his safe was found in Ms. Wicker's yard. These items were admitted into evidence at trial through the testimony of Garrett Lominack, Lieutenant of Investigations for the Newberry County Sheriff's Office in Newberry, South Carolina, and were identified by other witnesses, including Mrs. Knight and Gunn, as the items that had been stolen. The State also presented the testimony of other law enforcement officers concerning the results of their criminal investigation in this matter, including the statements given by Kentrell G. and Rashod Wicker in which they implicated themselves, Hill, and the petitioners in the robbery.15
During Kentrell G.'s trial testimony, he described the manner in which the decision was made to travel to West Virginia to steal the money in Gunn's safe; how he and his brother, petitioner Goodman, decided to use Ms. Hess's vehicle for that purpose; how the other men became involved; and how they went about executing the robbery. He testified that Gibbs was carrying the shotgun as the men approached the Knights' residence; that Gibbs and Hill were the first to enter the Knights' residence; and that he remained outside the residence, pointing the other men to the window of Gunn's bedroom where the safe was located.16 He identified the safe, crossbow, and athletic shoes as the items that were stolen from the Knights' residence and stated that he carried the crossbow and athletic shoes to the car where Wicker was waiting, while the petitioners carried the safe. Kentrell G. further testified that after the stolen items and the weapons were placed into the trunk of the car, he and the other men got into the car, and they returned to South Carolina that same day.
Kentrell G.'s girlfriend, Ms. Hess, testified that while she, Kentrell G., and petitioner Goodman were all in Aunt Benita's house during the evening of January 8, 2015, she overheard Kentrell G. and petitioner Goodman planning to rob Andrew Gunn and heard petitioner Goodman tell Kentrell G. that he could get guns and knew people who could help. Later, during the early hours of January 9, 2015, Ms. Hess realized her car was gone from the Wicker residence. Ms. Hess also confirmed the text messages she exchanged with petitioner Goodman's girlfriend, Courtney Curry, around 1:00 a.m. on January 9, 2015. Ms. Curry texted, inquiring as to petitioner Goodman's whereabouts. Ms. Hess texted a reply that petitioner Goodman was in West Virginia. Sometime around midday on January 9, 2015, Ms. Hess saw that her car, Kentrell G., petitioner Goodman, Wicker, and Gunn's safe were all at Ms. Wicker's house. Ms. Hess testified that a day or two...
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