State v. Linderman
| Decision Date | 17 February 2021 |
| Docket Number | No. 19-1336,19-1336 |
| Citation | 958 N.W.2d 211 |
| Parties | STATE of Iowa, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Randy Louis LINDERMAN, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Iowa Court of Appeals |
Christine E. Branstad and Nathan A. Olson of Branstad & Olson Law Office, Des Moines, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Kyle Hanson, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
Heard by May, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.
Randy Linderman appeals his conviction of first-degree murder following a jury trial in November 2018. He claims the district court erred in denying (1) his motion to strike a juror for cause; (2) his motion for judgment of acquittal on the basis there was insufficient evidence to convict; and (3) his motion for a new trial on the basis the jury's verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence. Linderman also contends newly discovered evidence requires remanding for a new trial. We find no abuse of discretion involving jury selection and substantial evidence supports the verdict. Linderman is not entitled to a new trial, and we affirm the conviction.
Jose Louis Ramirez-Berber (Berber) was discovered dead in his rural Jasper County home on March 6, 2017. After several calls to reach him, Berber's mother sent a relative to the home to check on Berber.1 Upon arrival at the home, the relative noticed all the lights were off and the door was wide open with a broken doorframe. This door was typically locked. As he entered, he found Berber lying on the floor with a plastic bag partially covering his face and Berber's body stiff and cold to the touch. Fearing the worst, he called 911. Paramedics responded and observed trauma to Berber's face and blood from his nose and ear pooled below his head. The paramedics confirmed Berber was deceased before contacting the Jasper County Medical Examiner and the sheriff's office.
Sheriff John Halferty responded to the scene in his capacity as the Jasper County Medical Examiner's investigator rather than as a law enforcement officer. However, upon observing the broken-in door, he suspected foul play and began investigating the home as a possible crime scene in his capacity as a law enforcement officer. Sheriff Halferty contacted the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) for assistance. A team of DCI agents and two DCI criminalists were dispatched to investigate, led by Special Agent Don Schnitker.
Because the cause of death appeared suspicious, the Iowa Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy of Berber's body. The state medical examiner ruled the manner of death a homicide and found it was caused by blunt-force trauma to the head
. The autopsy revealed DNA samples from an unknown individual in the form of sperm in Berber's underwear as well as seminal fluid obtained from a rectal swab.2 The DCI crime lab developed a DNA profile from these samples and later matched the DNA to a buccal swab collected from Linderman in an earlier criminal proceeding.
In the early stages of the investigation, before considering Linderman a suspect, investigators learned of video footage from a neighbor's home surveillance camera situated on a gravel road roughly two miles northeast of Berber's home. The camera recorded a white Buick sedan with a sunroof, spoked wheels, and curved headlights heading eastbound away from Berber's home at 11:41 a.m. on March 6. At 12:23 p.m. the camera recorded what appears to be the same vehicle heading westbound back toward Berber's home. Investigators later discovered Linderman drove a white Buick sedan, which appeared to match the vehicle recorded by the surveillance camera.
Having identified Linderman as a suspect following the DNA match, Special Agent Schnitker traveled to Charles City on July 5, 2017, and interviewed Linderman at his place of employment. Linderman stated he had previously lived in Newton with his wife for approximately one year. Special Agent Schnitker asked about friends and acquaintances in the Newton area, and Linderman volunteered he knew Berber from cutting trees at his property. Special Agent Schnitker had not mentioned Berber or the investigation before Linderman's reference to Berber. When pressed on the nature of his relationship with Berber, Linderman first said Berber was "kind of a friend" and he had only met him a few times. He also acted as if he was not sure Jose was Berber's "real" first name and called Berber "that Mexican guy." But Linderman changed his story later in the interview and admitted he had been to Berber's house dozens of times and had even met his mother four times.
Investigators knew Linderman was "in the area" on March 1 following a stint in jail, five days before Berber's body was discovered. So Special Agent Schnitker questioned Linderman about his whereabouts during that time frame and whether he had seen Berber before the discovery of the body on March 6. Linderman first responded he could not remember if he saw Berber and that he did not think he had before stating that he "might have" seen Berber during the time frame. He also stated that if he had seen Berber it would have been at Berber's home and he would have shown up unannounced. Linderman further volunteered that he learned of Berber's death shortly after returning to the Newton area.
Believing they might be helpful, Special Agent Schnitker obtained Linderman's March 2017 cell phone records.3 Through these records, he could determine tower 460, the closest cell tower to Berber's home, connected several incoming and outgoing phone calls from Linderman's phone on March 6. Special Agent Schnitker used specialized software to narrow down which 120 degree sector of tower 460 connected Linderman's calls on March 6. At 9:46 a.m. tower 460 connected an incoming call from Linderman's wife in the 120 degree sector where Berber's home was located. At 10:50 a.m. Linderman made an outgoing call, which connected through the same 120 degree sector. At 12:19 p.m. Linderman received another call from his wife that connected through tower 461, which was further from Berber's home, but the 120 degree sector still included Berber's home. Linderman's wife called again at 12:20 p.m., this call connected through tower 460 in the same 120 degree sector including Berber's home. After these four calls, the next calls on Linderman's phone were consistent with him driving north along Highway 14 toward his home in Allison.
On July 21, 2017, Linderman was charged with first-degree murder; the State alleged "on or about March 6, 2017 in Jasper County, Iowa, the defendant, having malice aforethought, did willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation kill Jose Ramirez Berber." Linderman pled not guilty.
Trial began on November 5, 2018. During voir dire, Linderman challenged prospective juror A4 for cause following an exchange with defense counsel. Juror A knew and attended church with Sheriff Halferty "for almost [his] whole life." Defense counsel asked if the prospective juror could remain open minded if the defense criticized Sheriff Halferty's work on the case during cross-examination. He responded, Defense counsel continued to probe the prospective juror:
Linderman then asked the court to dismiss prospective juror A for cause. Before ruling, the court also questioned the juror:
The district court, satisfied the prospective juror could remain fair and impartial, overruled Linderman's challenge.
Linderman exercised a peremptory strike to disqualify juror A and maintained juror A should have been struck for cause. After the parties exercised their peremptory strikes, but before the jury members were announced, Linderman asked the court to grant an additional peremptory strike as a remedy for rejecting his challenge for cause over juror A. Linderman identified juror B as a person he would strike if allowed an additional peremptory strike.6 The court denied his request. Ultimately, juror B, drawn as an alternate at the end of the trial, was excused after the record closed. Juror B did not deliberate.
After the close of the State's case, Linderman moved for judgment of acquittal, and he renewed his motion after all evidence was presented. The district court denied both motions. On November 14, the jury found Linderman guilty of murder in the first degree. Linderman next moved to continue sentencing and extend the post-trial motion deadlines, citing newly discovered evidence. In March 2019, Linderman moved for a new trial, again citing newly discovered evidence, while also claiming the jury verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence. After a contested hearing in August 2019, the court denied Linderman's motion for a new trial and entered judgment. Linderman timely appealed both the guilty verdict and the denial of his motion for a new trial.
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