State v. McDaniel, No. A07-2160.

• Decision Date: 21 January 2010
• Docket Number: No. A07-2160.
• Citation: 777 N.W.2d 739
• Parties: STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Jonard Brandon McDANIEL, Appellant.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

777 N.W.2d 739

STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Jonard Brandon McDANIEL, Appellant.

No. A07-2160.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

January 21, 2010.

Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, MN, Michael O. Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney, Linda K. Jenny, Assistant County Attorney, Minneapolis, MN, for respondent.

Bradford Colbert, Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners, St. Paul, MN, for appellant.

OPINION

MAGNUSON, Chief Justice.

Appellant Jonard Brandon McDaniel was indicted in Hennepin County District Court for aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated murder, under Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(1) (2008) and Minn.Stat. § 609.05, subd. 1 (2008), and committing a crime for the benefit of a gang, under Minn.Stat. § 609.229 (2008). The State alleged that McDaniel aided and abetted Cornelius Jackson and LaMonte Martin in killing Christopher Lynch. A Hennepin County jury found McDaniel guilty of both counts. Judgment of conviction was entered for aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated murder and crime committed for the benefit of a gang, and McDaniel was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. We affirm.

During the evening of May 3, 2006, 19-year-old Christopher Lynch was shot and killed in a residential neighborhood in North Minneapolis. He was shot 11 to 13 times.

Jermaine Mack-Lynch, Lynch's cousin, is a former member of the Tre Tre Crips gang. Mack-Lynch testified for the State and described the rivalry between the Tre Tres and the "One-Nines," also known as the "Nineteen Block Dipset," which included "shootouts back and forth." Mack-Lynch knew McDaniel, Jackson, and Martin as members of the One-Nines.

Mack-Lynch testified that on May 3, he and Lynch were going to the house of Charles Pettis—Mack-Lynch's brother— in Minneapolis. As they were walking, Mack-Lynch saw McDaniel, Martin, and Jackson go by in a white Chevy Malibu, which Martin was driving. Jackson was in the back seat, and McDaniel was in the front passenger seat. The car stopped and Martin and Jackson got out with guns in their hands. Mack-Lynch and Lynch then started running because they "knew who they were and they had guns in their hands."

Mack-Lynch and Lynch ran down the alley between Upton and Thomas Avenues, while Jackson and Martin ran toward the alley between Sheridan and Thomas Avenues. When Mack-Lynch and Lynch got to the end of the alley, Mack-Lynch saw the white Malibu "fl[ying] back" and "fl[ying] on this way." He also saw Jackson and Martin coming from behind a house with guns in their possession. When Mack-Lynch and Lynch got to the alley between Seventh and Thomas, Lynch, who had asthma and was heavyset, said that he was tired and wanted to cut through a yard. Mack-Lynch told Lynch that he would continue down the alley in an attempt to have Martin and Jackson follow him, so that Lynch could safely cut through the yard to Pettis's house.

Mack-Lynch ran down the alley and continued to the front door of Pettis's house. When he entered, he told his brother that "One Nines" were chasing him and asked if Lynch was in the house. Pettis responded that he was not. As Mack-Lynch and Pettis went outside to look for Lynch, they heard shots. Mack-Lynch saw Jackson and Martin "shooting at something" in the backyard across the street. As Mack-Lynch and Pettis approached, Jackson and Martin got into the Chevy Malibu and drove off. Mack-Lynch could not identify the driver of the car, but said that the driver was an African-American male. McDaniel is African American.

Mack-Lynch and Pettis discovered Lynch lying in the backyard where the shots had been fired. When the police arrived, Mack-Lynch told them that Jackson, Martin and McDaniel were the three people in the car. He subsequently identified the three in a photo lineup.

Several other witnesses testified about the events of May 3. Pettis told the jury that on May 3, Mack-Lynch came running into the house, saying "One-Nine chasing me and Chris." When Pettis went outside the house to look for Lynch, Pettis saw Jackson and Martin standing in the yard across the street with guns. Pettis saw Lynch lying on the ground and Jackson and Martin jump into a white car. Pettis identified the driver of the car as an African-American male.

Ten-year-old S.H., who lived next door, testified that he saw two men chase Lynch, and then saw Lynch stop and put his hands up "saying I quit, I quit" before one of the men shot him six or seven times. S.H. also saw the two men get into a white car after the shooting.

The State also called 19-year-old Paris Patton as a witness. Patton was in federal custody for selling drugs and possessing a firearm, and had entered a plea agreement with the federal government that called for a possible reduction of his sentence in exchange for his testimony. Patton testified that he was a One-Nine for approximately 2 years, that McDaniel, Martin and Jackson were also One-Nines, and that McDaniel started the group. He also testified that the rivalry between the Tre Tres and the One-Nines sometimes involved "gunfights."

Patton spoke with McDaniel a few days after the shooting. McDaniel asked Patton if he had a gun because McDaniel had to get rid of his gun. Patton recounted the conversation where McDaniel initially said, "we killed that little boy." McDaniel told Patton that he had tried to box in Mack-Lynch and Lynch and as a result, crashed the car. McDaniel also told Patton that Lynch was "on his knees begging for his life" when Jackson shot him and that Lynch was shot because "they couldn't get to Jermaine [Mack-Lynch]." According to Patton, Mack-Lynch was the target because he was a member of the Tre Tres.

McDaniel testified that on May 3, he was shooting dice with ten to fifteen people in Lincoln Park. Jackson, Martin and a third man, Marcus White, pulled up in an "off white" car, and McDaniel got into the car with them. They were smoking "blunts," cigars in which the tobacco is removed and replaced with marijuana. McDaniel testified that they went to a store to buy more cigars, Martin driving, Jackson in the front passenger seat, and McDaniel in the back next to White. While they were driving, Jackson pointed out Mack-Lynch, but McDaniel denied knowing who Mack-Lynch was. Later on cross-examination, McDaniel admitted that he knew Jackson was referring to "Tre Tre Jermaine." McDaniel testified that after Jackson saw Mack-Lynch, Martin, Jackson, and White then dropped McDaniel off in Lincoln Park and he immediately left with a friend.

Renardo Smith, a member of the Conservative Vice Lords gang, also testified for the State. He entered a plea agreement with the government to testify in exchange for a possible reduced sentence for drug charges. Smith testified that McDaniel was a member of both the One-Nines and the Conservative Vice Lords. On May 17, he told McDaniel that the police had just left McDaniel's cousin's house and they were looking for McDaniel. According to Smith, McDaniel responded that he knew that the police were looking for him, but "that he didn't even do nothing, it was Monte [Martin] and Corn [Jackson] who did it, he was just driving."

Officer Cheri Petersen from the Minneapolis Police Department testified about the steps that she and other officers took to locate McDaniel following Lynch's murder. Officer Petersen stated that after the May 3 shooting, she spoke with McDaniel's mother, girlfriend, cousin, and friend on four separate occasions. During each encounter, she told them that a warrant had been issued for McDaniel's arrest, left business cards with all four, and asked them to have McDaniel call Officer Petersen. A few hours after Officer Petersen's visit to McDaniel's girlfriend's apartment, McDaniel called Officer Petersen and told her that he was not going to turn himself in. Officer Petersen asked Minneapolis police officer Gerald Wallerich to talk to McDaniel because Officer Wallerich had spoken with McDaniel in the past.

The police arrested McDaniel on May 23 at a home in South Minneapolis. A resident of the house testified that she was initially in the basement, and then went upstairs to wake her sister when she heard the police arrive. When the woman went back downstairs, she saw McDaniel come down and hide under the bed. The police came downstairs and found McDaniel hiding under the bed.

McDaniel testified in his own defense. He denied being a leader of the One-Nines, but upon cross-examination, admitted that he used to be the "chief" and had "some say-so" with the gang. He also testified that the Tre Tres are "not good friends of mine" since a member of the Tre Tres had shot him in the neck, and when the two gangs met, there would often be shootouts.

On rebuttal, Officer Gerald Wallerich testified for the State. He spoke with McDaniel on May 23 and told McDaniel that this was McDaniel's opportunity to tell his side of the story. However, McDaniel did not tell Officer Wallerich about his claimed activities leading up to the shooting—shooting dice at Lincoln Park, being picked up by Martin, Jackson and White, or about meeting a friend and leaving the park.

Several other Minneapolis police officers testified regarding the activities of the One-Nine gang in 2003 and 2004, involving the sale of narcotics. In January, April, and August 2005, McDaniel told the police that he was a member of the One-Nine gang. In addition, a Tre Tre gang member testified that on May 8, 2004, a group of One-Nines, including McDaniel, approached him, McDaniel tried to punch him, and when he tried to leave, another member of the One-Nines shot his car.

Captain Michael Martin, a police officer from the Minneapolis Police Department, testified as a "gang expert." He testified as to the role of fear, respect, and retaliation in gang culture generally to explain why a gang member would retaliate against a non-gang member. Specifically, Martin testified that when respect-challenging incidents occur, gangs retaliate to...