State v. Green
| Decision Date | 10 August 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. A05-336.,A05-336. |
| Citation | 719 N.W.2d 664 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. James Michael GREEN, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Mike Hatch, Minnesota Attorney General, Susan Gaertner, Jeanne L. Schleh, Assistant Ramsey County Attorneys, Saint Paul, MN, for Respondent.
Suzanne M. Senecal-Hill, Assistant State Public Defender, Minneapolis, MN, for Appellant.
Heard, considered, and decided by the court en banc.
Appellant James Green appeals from his first and second-degree murder and attempted murder convictions arising out of the shooting of three people during the course of a robbery. Green argues that the district court's submission of two pattern jury instructions—CRIMJIG 4.01 (accomplice liability) and CRIMJIG 4.04 ()—denied him a fair trial. Green raises several other pro se arguments. We affirm.
On January 11, 2004, Green was spending the day with his friend, Daniel Valtierra, who was visiting from Seattle, Washington. While they were sleeping early in the morning of the 12th, an acquaintance of Green's, Michael Medal-Mendoza, called Green asking to buy an ounce of methamphetamine and some ecstasy for a group of unknown women who were from out of town. Green was acquainted with Medal-Mendoza through several prior drug deals. Valtierra and Medal-Mendoza did not know each other.
Green had the ecstasy but not enough methamphetamine to fill the order so he decided to connect Medal-Mendoza with another drug dealer to make some money for himself. Green called Wayne Costilla and asked if he had an ounce of methamphetamine to sell. Costilla did not have that amount, but he was with friends, Andria Crosby and Ron Glasgow, who did. Glasgow agreed to sell the methamphetamine to Costilla, who would sell it to Green, who would sell it to Medal-Mendoza, who would sell it to the out-of-town women.
Green and Costilla remained as the contact persons for the two groups and arranged to meet at a gas station in Saint Paul to complete the transaction. Crosby, Glasgow, and Costilla drove to the gas station and waited for a few minutes. Green called them back and told them that he, Valtierra, and Medal-Mendoza were delayed at a Perkins restaurant. Costilla changed the plan and told Green to meet them at Costilla's house in Saint Paul.
Crosby, Glasgow, and Costilla arrived at Costilla's house between 3:00 and 3:30 a.m. After about twenty minutes, Green arrived at Costilla's house and went inside alone. Valtierra and Medal-Mendoza stayed in the car. Glasgow gave Green a sample of the methamphetamine and he brought it out to Medal-Mendoza. Medal-Mendoza confirmed its quality. Costilla came outside shortly thereafter and invited all three in.
While inside, Medal-Mendoza began talking on the phone to the out-of-town women and Valtierra sat on the couch next to Glasgow. Green testified that he overheard Medal-Mendoza's conversation and realized that the out-of-town women were hesitant about the price and seemed to have found another source. Medal-Mendoza ended the conversation by telling the women that he would get them a lower price.
Green testified that he, Medal-Mendoza, and Valtierra went back out to the car and Medal-Mendoza called the women back. The women cancelled their order and Medal-Mendoza became upset. Green testified that Medal-Mendoza said he was going to buy the drugs anyway and asked Green if he would request that Glasgow either drop the price or loan him the drugs. Green acknowledged that it would be "very rare" for a drug seller to loan a stranger such a large quantity of drugs.
In the trial testimony, there were three versions of how the shooting took place. Crosby testified that after about thirty minutes Medal-Mendoza, Valtierra, and Green kicked open the door and "rushed through the doors like Charlie's Angels with their guns flying." She said she saw a gun in each person's hand and specifically identified Green as having a black gun. She said Medal-Mendoza was the leader and that Green and Valtierra stood behind him. Crosby testified that the following conversation took place while Medal-Mendoza pointed a gun at Glasgow:
Medal-Mendoza:
Glasgow: "Motherf* * * * *, you are not going to rob me."
Medal-Mendoza: "I will shoot you."
Glasgow: "It looks like you are going to have to shoot me then because you sure aren't robbing me."
Crosby testified that Medal-Mendoza then shot Glasgow and Costilla in the head and Crosby in the leg. The three men then fled the house. Crosby testified that after being shot she fell to the floor and pretended that she was dead. A short time later someone came back inside, "nudged" her in the ribs, took her purse, and fled again.
Valtierra testified that he decided to go inside with Green and Medal-Mendoza but went in a few seconds behind them. He said, Valtierra said that Green brushed past him as he fled from the house as soon as the first shot was fired. Valtierra then fled as well. Valtierra also testified that neither he nor Green had a gun and that Medal-Mendoza did not tell them that he was going to rob or kill anyone.
Green testified that after going back inside, Medal-Mendoza started an argument with Glasgow. Glasgow asked Medal-Mendoza if he was crazy for asking him to loan the drugs to him and Medal-Mendoza took offense at that. Green testified that Medal-Mendoza "tried to pull a gun out on him and said, `I will take your drugs.'" Glasgow said to Medal-Mendoza, Green said Glasgow began taunting Medal-Mendoza which prompted Medal-Mendoza to start shooting. Green said he did not see if Medal-Mendoza hit anything because he immediately turned and ran out of the house after the first shot was fired. Green denied having a gun and said that he was holding a cell phone in his hands. Green said Medal-Mendoza took the drugs with him when he fled.
Crosby testified that after the shooters had left, she screamed for help, deadbolted the door, and called 911. When the police arrived at around 4:20 a.m. Crosby could not unlock the door so they kicked it in. An officer asked Crosby who did the shooting and she said "Two Mexicans and one mulatto." Crosby told the police that she thought she recognized one of the suspects and she later identified Green from a picture out of her high school yearbook. Police also retrieved the surveillance tape from Perkins and observed Green, Valtierra, and Medal-Mendoza leaving about the same time that Crosby said the suspects reported that they were delayed at the restaurant.
Police determined that a total of six shots were fired in the apartment. Each of the three victims was shot twice at close range. Crosby was hit in the leg and in the chest. Glasgow was shot in the head and in the chest and died at the scene. Costilla was shot in the head and in the neck and died later at the hospital. Police later found $560 in cash in Glasgow's pocket. Police recovered fragments from four of the six bullets that were fired in the apartment, but no bullet casings. Later forensic testing revealed that all four fragments were fired from the same .38 caliber handgun. There was no evidence or suggestion that anyone other than Medal-Mendoza fired any of the shots. The firearm was never recovered.
Green and Valtierra testified that after the shooting, they fled on foot to Green's girlfriend's house a few miles away. Green said he got into an argument with Medal-Mendoza over the phone about why he "messed up everything" and said he did not want to talk to Medal-Mendoza. Medal-Mendoza showed up at Green's girlfriend's house a short time later. Green testified that he was not sure how Medal-Mendoza found out where he was.
Valtierra went to the airport that morning, as previously planned, but there was a problem with his ticket and he could not get on the plane. The three then agreed to leave town together that morning with the intent to go to Florida or New York. Green testified that he only went along because he was afraid of Medal-Mendoza, and that he wanted Medal-Mendoza to think that he was not going to turn him in. After driving several hours the three stopped in Milwaukee and stayed in a motel. Green testified that he learned for the first time that people died in the shooting so he called a Saint Paul police officer to turn himself in because he felt he did nothing wrong. Green arranged to meet with the officer and the officer wired him some money so he could get home.
Green and Valtierra also provided testimony suggesting an alternate reason for wanting to go back to Saint Paul. They testified that they became concerned that Medal-Mendoza was going to kill them so they agreed to try to convince him to take them back. Green said that Medal-Mendoza agreed to drive back to Saint Paul after Green told him he needed to pick up some money and drugs that people owed him.
On the drive back, Medal-Mendoza drove at speeds of around 130 miles per hour while under the influence of alcohol and methamphetamine. He caused an accident in Elk Mound, Wisconsin, that Green thought was either a suicide attempt or an attempt at killing Green and Valtierra. The three flagged down help from the driver of a pickup, but the driver sensed that something was wrong and waved down a police officer. The officer testified that upon his arrival Green was trying to hide behind the pickup. Green denied hiding from the officer but said he was only bending over because his back hurt. Green also hid his wallet in the pickup and gave the officer his cousin's name and date of birth as his own. Green said he...
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