State v. Goodwin
| Decision Date | 20 January 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-1187,97-1187 |
| Citation | 703 N.E.2d 1251,84 Ohio St.3d 331 |
| Parties | The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. GOODWIN, Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Supreme Court |
On September 13, 1994, appellant Michael Goodwin, James Padgett, and James Johnson robbed the Big Star Market at East 55th Street and Quimby Avenue in Cleveland. During the course of the robbery, Mustafa Sammour, a store clerk, was fatally shot.
Between 8:55 and 9:10 a.m. on the morning of the robbery, a milk truck driver, Lawrence Austin, saw two men exit the market and run down the street. Subsequently, Austin saw Goodwin, wearing a shirt with the number "7" on it, also exit the market. Austin observed that Goodwin dropped some money on the ground while trying to put the money in his pocket. Austin retrieved the dropped money and took it inside the market, giving it to one of the clerks. Once inside the market, Austin saw one clerk, Mustafa, lying on the floor. Almohannad Sammour, another clerk, stated to Austin, "[T]hey shot my cousin." Two bystanders also witnessed the three men running down the street from the market. Marilyn Rox, who knew Goodwin, identified him as one of the men running.
Later the same morning, Goodwin called Tyrone Griffin and asked him to dispose of a bag. Griffin retrieved a bag from Goodwin containing trousers and a shirt with the number "7" on it. Padgett testified that Goodwin's clothes were stained with blood. Griffin destroyed the clothing.
At the crime scene, the police found Mustafa's body behind a counter. Blood was splattered about the area near his body. On the counter, the police found twelve one-dollar bills. Detectives also discovered a copper-jacketed bullet in the refrigeration area of the store, near Mustafa's body. A forensics expert later concluded that the bullet had been fired from either a .357 Magnum or .38 caliber revolver. Near the floor by the safe, detectives found a bullet hole and fragments of a second bullet. About two weeks prior to the robbery, Jermaine Brown, a friend of the appellant, had sold the appellant a .357 Magnum revolver.
Dr. Martha Steinberg, a forensic pathologist, found that Mustafa Sammour died as a result of a gunshot wound to the left forehead. The wound was described as a "through and through" gunshot wound, causing such extensive injury to Mustafa's brain and skull that, in the words of Steinberg, "death was virtually immediate." Steinberg further stated that the impact of this type of wound would be so forceful that the shooter could possibly have had blood and remains of the victim's brain splattered onto him.
On September 14, the police arrested Goodwin. After advising him of his rights, he told police that he alone robbed the market and that Johnson and Padgett were customers. He stated that he pointed his gun at the "Arab clerk" and ordered him to take him, Goodwin, to the safe. Goodwin further stated that after Mustafa said something, "the gun just went off." Upon further questioning, Goodwin stated that he confronted the other clerk, Almohannad. Almohannad took him to the safe, where, according to Goodwin, the gun "just went off" again. Before he left the store, Goodwin took money from the safe and the cash register.
Two days later police again interviewed Goodwin. He changed his previous statement by naming Johnson and Padgett as accomplices. He claimed that Padgett was armed with the .357 Magnum revolver, that he had a .45 automatic handgun, and that Johnson was unarmed. Goodwin claimed that Padgett had shot the clerk. While in jail, however, Goodwin confided to Antoine Robinson, another inmate at the jail, that he had shot Mustafa. He also told Johnson that he would blame the killing on Padgett, as Padgett was the only one among the three robbers who did not have children.
Goodwin was charged with aggravated murder in violation of R.C. 2903.01(A), with felony murder and firearm specifications; aggravated murder in violation of R.C. 2903.01(B), with felony murder and firearm specifications; aggravated robbery in violation of R.C. 2911.01(A)(1); and with having a weapon while under disability in violation of R.C. 2923.13. Padgett and Johnson were both offered plea agreements in exchange for their testimony against Goodwin.
At trial, the following testimony was adduced. Derrick Flonnory, a friend of the appellant, testified that the appellant stopped at his house around 8:15 or 8:30 on the morning of the robbery. Goodwin wanted Flonnory to help him rob the market, but Flonnory declined. Padgett and Johnson testified that Goodwin suggested to them that they rob the market. Both Padgett and Johnson testified that Goodwin was carrying the .357 Magnum revolver prior to entering the store. When the three men arrived at the market, Goodwin went inside first. All three men wore hats pulled down over the faces.
After entering the market, Padgett and Johnson confronted Almohannad. Goodwin confronted Mustafa. Mustafa had his hands up. There was no testimony that he resisted in any way. While Mustafa stood with his arms raised above his head, Goodwin shot Mustafa in the head. After Goodwin shot Mustafa, he pointed the gun at Almohannad's head and ordered him to take Goodwin to the safe. Almohannad offered no resistance and pleaded with Goodwin not to shoot him. Almohannad then opened the safe and gave Goodwin the money. While Almohannad was giving Goodwin the money, Goodwin fired a shot into the floor, retrieved money from the cash register, and then exited the market with Johnson and Padgett.
Testimony by Almohannad, Mustafa's cousin, generally corroborated that of Johnson and Padgett. When the three men came into the store, Almohannad recognized Johnson and Goodwin as regular customers. Subsequently, Padgett grabbed Almohannad from behind. Almohannad stated that both Johnson and Goodwin were armed. However, Almohannad did not see who fired the shot that killed Mustafa.
Following the robbery, the three men went back to Goodwin's house, where Goodwin divided the money. Goodwin gave the men approximately one hundred thirty dollars each, and kept the rest for himself. In his statement to the police, Goodwin admitted stealing approximately five hundred dollars.
During cross-examination, Padgett and Johnson admitted that their testimony conflicted with their original sworn statements to authorities. For example, Johnson first told police that he had no gun, but, at trial, he testified that he was armed with a .45 caliber pistol. Also both Padgett and Johnson told police that they had never received any money from the robbery, when in fact Goodwin had split the proceeds with them.
The defense presented no evidence. Rather, the defense argued that a reasonable doubt existed as to whether Goodwin shot Mustafa.
The jury convicted Goodwin, as charged, of aggravated murder with prior calculation and design, aggravated felony-murder, aggravated robbery, and possession of a firearm while under a disability. Both murder counts contained a death penalty specification.
The defense presented no evidence at the penalty hearing. The jury recommended the death penalty. Prior to the trial court's passing sentence, Rosetta Goodwin, Goodwin's aunt, stated that Goodwin did not deserve the death penalty because he was born drug dependent and because his mother abandoned him when he was nine. Goodwin apologized to the victim's family. He stated that he did not intend to kill Mustafa, claiming that he hit Mustafa with the gun, and the gun went off. Goodwin also admitted to the trial judge that he took Mustafa's life, saying, "I did take the man's life, but I confess up to my crimes."
The trial judge sentenced Goodwin to death on the counts of aggravated murder. Goodwin received additional sentences of ten to twenty-five years on the count of aggravated robbery, and one and one-half years on the weapon disability count, with an additional three years imposed pursuant to a firearm specification. On appeal, the court of appeals affirmed the convictions and sentences.
The cause is now before this court pursuant to an appeal as of right.
George J. Sadd and Arthur A. Elkins, Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys, for appellee.
David H. Bodiker, Ohio Public Defender, Stephen A. Ferrell and J. Joseph Bodine, Jr., Assistant Public Defenders, for appellant.
Goodwin has raised fifteen propositions of law for our consideration. We have independently reviewed the record, weighed the aggravating circumstance against the mitigating factors, and examined the proportionality of the sentence of death imposed in this case. For the reasons that follow, we affirm Goodwin's convictions for aggravated felony-murder, aggravated murder with prior calculation and design, aggravated robbery, and possession of a firearm while under disability. We further affirm his sentencing, including the sentence of death.
In his first, third, and sixth propositions of law, Goodwin asserts that his counsel at trial were ineffective. To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must show, first, that "counsel's performance was deficient" and, second, that Strickland v. Washington (1984), 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674, 693. A Sixth Amendment violation does not occur "unless and until counsel's performance is proved to have fallen below an objective standard of reasonable representation and, in addition, prejudice arises from counsel's performance." State v. Bradley (1989), 42 Ohio St.3d 136, 142, 538 N.E.2d 373, 380. To establish prejudice, a defendant must show that "there exists a reasonable probability that, were it not for counsel's errors, the result of trial would have been different." Id. at...
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