State v. Hoffman
| Decision Date | 29 January 1993 |
| Docket Number | 18581,Nos. 18280,s. 18280 |
| Citation | 123 Idaho 638,851 P.2d 934 |
| Parties | STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Maxwell HOFFMAN, Defendant-Appellant. Maxwell HOFFMAN, Petitioner-Appellant, v. STATE of Idaho, Respondent. Boise, October 1992 Term |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
William H. Wellman, Nampa, for defendant-appellant.
Larry EchoHawk, Atty. Gen., Michael J. Kane, Deputy Atty. Gen. (argued), Boise, for plaintiff-respondent.
Maxwell Hoffman (Hoffman) was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death for the killing of Denise Williams. Following his sentencing, Hoffman filed a petition for post conviction relief which the district court denied. Hoffman has appealed from his conviction and sentence, and from the denial of his petition for post conviction relief. We affirm.
The evidence at Hoffman's trial disclosed that on September 10, 1987, Denise Williams (Williams), a confidential informant working for Nampa narcotic officers, made a controlled drug buy from Richard Holmes (Holmes) which resulted in the arrest of Holmes. During the arrest it became apparent that Williams was working for the police. Holmes was subsequently released from custody on bail.
Upon Holmes' release, Sam Longstreet, Jr. (Longstreet) and James Slawson (Slawson) arranged for a meeting with Holmes. Longstreet and Slawson, who were responsible for introducing Williams to Holmes for the purpose of purchasing drugs, testified that they met with Holmes in an effort to assure him that they had nothing to do with his arrest. They further testified that when they arrived at Holmes' residence two other men, defendant Hoffman and Ronald Wages (Wages), were present. Both Wages and Hoffman worked for Holmes as part of his drug operation, and both men were heavy drug users themselves. During this meeting, outside the presence of Hoffman and Wages, Holmes asked Longstreet and Slawson if they would kill Williams for her involvement in his arrest and to prevent her from testifying at Holmes' preliminary hearing on the drug charges. Longstreet and Slawson stated that they were incapable of killing Williams but would help in other ways. In response, Holmes' stated that if it were up to him he would cut Williams' throat and "let her bleed like an animal."
The next day, Longstreet and Slawson returned to Holmes' house. Hoffman and Wages were again present. Holmes had Hoffman conduct a strip search of Longstreet and Slawson to ensure that they were not wired and working for the police. During this meeting, an agreement was reached between Holmes, Longstreet and Slawson wherein Longstreet and Slawson were to kidnap Williams and take her to a spot in Owyhee County known as the Boy Scout Camp. Holmes, Wages, Longstreet and Slawson then drove to the Boy Scout Camp where they planned the details of the kidnapping. It was agreed that Longstreet and Slawson would call Holmes once they had kidnapped Williams and that Wages would be waiting at the camp when they arrived. It was also agreed that Williams was to be tied up to a tree in the area until Holmes arrived.
The following evening, Holmes and Hoffman took Wages to the Boy Scout Camp where they all ingested drugs. Holmes and Hoffman then left, leaving Wages at the Camp. Longstreet and Slawson arrived at the camp sometime later with Williams. Longstreet testified that he and Slawson tricked Williams into going with them by telling her that they would take her to buy alcohol. The three drove around drinking and ingesting drugs, stopping only once to allow Longstreet to call Holmes and leave a message that he had Williams. Longstreet and Slawson then pretended to get lost and eventually made their way to the Boy Scout Camp as was earlier planned. Upon their arrival at the camp, Wages, who was wearing a bandanna and carrying a sawed off shotgun, ordered Longstreet and Slawson to strip Williams of her clothes and to tie her up. The two men complied with Wages' order. Longstreet and Slawson then left the camp, leaving Williams with Wages.
Hoffman arrived at the camp a short time later. Hoffman and Wages loaded Williams into a car and met Holmes at the old ION highway cutoff. Holmes kicked Williams in the head and told her she was "a dead bitch." Holmes left and subsequently returned in a brown Nissan four-wheel drive and told Hoffman and Wages, "You know what to do." Holmes then left again.
Hoffman and Wages then took Williams in the Nissan. After driving around for several hours, they stopped the vehicle in Delamar, Idaho. Wages and Hoffman instructed Williams to write two letters to the press, which were intended to exonerate Holmes of the drug charges. After the letters were written, Williams was taken to a cave outside of Silver City, Idaho. Hoffman took Williams into the cave and slashed her throat with a knife. As Hoffman was returning to the vehicle, Wages spotted Williams crawling up an embankment near the cave. Wages then pursued Williams and stabbed her under the arm with Hoffman's knife. Thinking Williams was dead, both men buried her with rocks. It would later be determined that the cause of death was a crushing blow by a rock to William's head.
Upon William's disappearance, a police investigation ensued. Eventually, Longstreet and Slawson agreed to provide the police with information regarding William's disappearance in exchange for a recommendation of a year in jail for kidnapping. Based on this information, Holmes and Wages were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit murder. In an effort to secure a plea agreement, Holmes led the police to Williams' body. The conspiracy charges against Holmes were vacated, but Holmes was subsequently charged with aiding and abetting first degree murder on August 22, 1988.
After Williams' body was found, Wages confessed to the killing and became a cooperative witness for the state and agreed to give a full account of how it occurred. Wages and Hoffman were then charged with first degree murder in Owyhee County. Hoffman went to preliminary hearing on September 14, 1988, where Wages was the principal witness for the State. Hoffman called Holmes as a witness, but Holmes refused to testify, claiming the fifth amendment right against self incrimination. 1
Hoffman's case proceeded to trial where a jury found him guilty of first degree murder.
Prior to the sentencing Hoffman filed a motion for jury sentencing or, in the alternative, to have an advisory jury empaneled. The trial court denied this motion. Hoffman also filed a motion requesting an examination by a psychologist or psychiatrist. The trial court granted this motion and ordered the appointment of a psychologist, Dr. Sanford, who evaluated Hoffman and supplied a report to Hoffman and his attorney. However, Hoffman did not disclose this report at sentencing or make any use of the psychological findings.
The sentencing hearing was held on June 9, 1989, and Hoffman was sentenced to death.
After sentencing, Hoffman petitioned the trial court for post-conviction relief and filed another motion for appointment of a psychiatrist, asserting that further examination was necessary in order to determine whether he was competent to understand the proceedings against him. The trial court denied Hoffman's second motion for appointment of a psychiatrist for lack of an adequate showing. The court then denied his petition for post-conviction relief.
Hoffman has appealed from his conviction, his sentence, and the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. Additionally, we review the death sentence under I.C. § 19-2827.
Hoffman's first assignment of error concerns the trial court's admission of various out-of-court statements made by Holmes. The trial court admitted the statements under I.R.E. 801(d)(2)(E) 2 on the basis that Holmes, Wages, Longstreet, Slawson and Hoffman were co-conspirators in the killing of Williams.
At trial, the prosecution called Longstreet to testify regarding his meetings with Holmes. Hoffman objected to any testimony by Longstreet concerning statements made by Holmes during the meetings, arguing that at that point in time in the trial there was insufficient evidence to establish that a conspiracy existed or, if there was evidence of a conspiracy, the evidence did not include Hoffman. The trial court admitted the statements after finding that the evidence given up to that point at trial, as well as other evidence proffered by the prosecution, established a sufficient indicia of a conspiracy which included Hoffman.
On appeal, Hoffman again maintains that the evidence given at trial did not support a finding of a conspiracy that included Hoffman. However, a review of the record discloses sufficient evidence to support a finding that Hoffman was a member of a conspiracy to kill Williams. At the time of Hoffman's objection, there was evidence that Holmes was Hoffman's leader and that Hoffman lived at Holmes' residence and worked in Holmes' drug operation. There was also testimony at that time that Hoffman was with Holmes when Wages was dropped off at the Boy Scout Camp. Later testimony established that, acting for Holmes, Hoffman conducted a strip search of Longstreet and Slawson to protect Holmes. It was also established that Hoffman drove Williams to Holmes after she had been kidnapped and that Holmes told Hoffman, "You know what to do," when it came time to take Williams away. Hoffman had Williams prepare letters exonerating Holmes. Finally, there was evidence that Hoffman told other inmates while he was in jail that he and Holmes had planned to get rid of Williams and that Holmes had offered him $10,000 and some property to kill her.
In order to be admissible under I.R.E. 801(d)(2)(E), it is not necessary that the statements were made in the presence of, or with the knowledge of, the other conspirators. See State v. So, 71 Idaho 324, 231 P.2d 734 (1951); State v. Hernandez, 120 Idaho 785, 820 P.2d 380 (Ct...
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