State v. McDonald-Richards, A11–1449.
| Decision Date | 23 January 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. A11–1449.,A11–1449. |
| Citation | 840 N.W.2d 9 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Rosalyn McDONALD–RICHARDS, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Syllabus by the Court
Because intervening circumstances did not break the causal connection between appellant's illegal arrest and her statement to police, admission of the statement was erroneous. But admission of the statement was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because the statement was used only for impeachment purposes and was cumulative of other impeachment evidence, the State did not focus on the statement in closing argument, and appellant had the opportunity to counter the statement.
Lori Swanson, Attorney General, Saint Paul, MN; Michael O. Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney, Michael Richardson, Assistant County Attorney, Minneapolis, MN, for respondent.
David W. Merchant, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Rochelle P. Winn, Assistant State Public Defender, Saint Paul, MN, for appellant.
Appellant Rosalyn McDonald–Richards was convicted of one count of aiding and abetting first-degree murder, in violation of Minn.Stat. §§ 609.185(a)(3), 609.05 (2012), and one count of aiding and abetting attempted first-degree murder, in violation of Minn.Stat. §§ 609.185(a)(3), 609.05, 609.17 (2012). In this direct appeal, McDonald–Richards argues that her convictions must be reversed because of the erroneous admission of a statement she made to police. We agree with McDonald–Richards that the statement was admitted in error. But, because we conclude that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, we affirm.
This case arises from a robbery and shooting that took place on the evening of September 28, 2009, at Avi's Pawn & Jewelry (“Avi's”) in Richfield. The State presented evidence at trial that McDonald–Richards drove her boyfriend, Calvin Anderson, and Anderson's friend, Johnny Perry, to Avi's that evening. McDonald–Richards parked her car in a parking lot across the street from Avi's. Anderson and Perry exited the car; McDonald–Richards did not. Anderson and Perry proceeded to rob Avi's. During the course of the robbery, Perry fired a shot from a nine millimeter handgun in the direction of Malcolm Cowens, a customer shopping at Avi's, and an Avi's clerk, as Cowens and the clerk were attempting to flee through Avi's front door. The bullet from Perry's gun struck the clerk in the arm and Cowens in the back.
After Perry shot the clerk and Cowens, Anderson instructed a second Avi's employee to turn over the cash drawer and open the jewelry cases. Anderson took the cash drawer. Anderson and Perry then fled Avi's and ran across the street to McDonald–Richards' car. McDonald–Richards unlocked the doors of her car so that Anderson and Perry could get in, and then she drove away.
The victims of the shooting were transported by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center. The clerk was treated and released. But Cowens lost consciousness on the way to the hospital. He experienced significant blood loss and kidney damage, and was pronounced dead at 11:51 p.m. that night. The Assistant Hennepin County Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on Cowens, recovering a bullet that matched a nine millimeter handgun later recovered from Perry's residence. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
As part of the investigation into the robbery and shooting, Richfield police released to the local media images taken from surveillance cameras installed at Avi's. A member of the public contacted police after seeing the images and identified Anderson as one of the men involved in the crime. Police confirmed Anderson's identification with his probation officer. The probation officer also told police that Anderson lived in Fridley with his girlfriend, McDonald–Richards.
On September 29, 2009, one day after the robbery and shooting at Avi's, police observed McDonald–Richards leave her Fridley residence, drive to north Minneapolis, and pick up Anderson. Police followed McDonald–Richards and Anderson for a few blocks before stopping the car at gunpoint at approximately 2:30 p.m. The car was surrounded by six to ten police officers with drawn weapons and several marked and unmarked squad cars. McDonald–Richards was ordered out of the car at gunpoint, handcuffed, and placed in a police squad car for transportation to the Richfield police station. McDonald–Richards' car was towed to the Richfield police station pursuant to a search warrant.
After arriving at the police station with McDonald–Richards, police placed her in a locked holding cell. Approximately two hours later, McDonald–Richards was taken to an interview room where Detective Ogren interviewed her. Officer Peterson was also present. In response to a question from McDonald–Richards near the beginning of the interview, police told her that she was under arrest and not free to leave. When McDonald–Richards stated that she had not been read her Miranda rights, Detective Ogren advised her of her Miranda rights.
Detective Ogren interviewed McDonald–Richards for approximately 40 minutes. McDonald–Richards said that she was not at Avi's on the evening of September 28, 2009. She told police that her car was missing that evening until Anderson returned home around 10:30 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. McDonald–Richards identified Anderson in the still images from Avi's robbery. When asked whether she could identify the man pictured in surveillance footage with Anderson, McDonald–Richards responded that she may have previously seen him, but that she did not know him. Finally, McDonald–Richards said that Anderson told her to tell anyone who asked that he had been fishing all day on the day of the robbery.
At no point during the interview did McDonald–Richards indicate her unwillingness to speak to officers or request to terminate the interview. McDonald–Richards also did not request an attorney at any point during the interview. McDonald–Richards affirmed that her statements were truthful, voluntary, and given of her own free will. Police released McDonald–Richards at approximately 6:20 p.m. on the same day that she was arrested.
Police also questioned Anderson. Based on information they received from Anderson, police arrested Perry at approximately 10:30 p.m. on September 29, 2009. Police questioned Perry, who admitted shooting the clerk and Cowens. Perry also stated that McDonald–Richards had been at Avi's the morning of the robbery and had observed a high-dollar transaction. Additionally, Perry claimed that McDonald–Richards helped plan the robbery, drew a diagram of the store's floor plan, encouraged Perry to participate, and saw both of the handguns that he and Anderson carried during the robbery. Perry stated that McDonald–Richards drove Anderson and him to Avi's, waited outside, and drove them away. Perry also claimed that McDonald–Richards heard him say that he may have shot someone. Finally, Perry told police that McDonald–Richards assisted Anderson and him in robbing Diamonds & Gold in Robbinsdale approximately two weeks before the Avi's robbery.
On October 1, 2009, McDonald–Richards called the Richfield Police Department to ask about her car and some jewelry in her possession. Police picked up McDonald–Richards and transported her to the police station, where she spoke with Detective Ogren and Officer Peterson. At the beginning of this interview, McDonald–Richards was again read her Miranda rights and indicated she understood them. Initially, McDonald–Richards affirmed the statements she made in the first interview. She also admitted for the first time that she had visited Avi's on the morning of the robbery to pawn a ring. McDonald–Richards said that Anderson was not with her when she visited Avi's that morning. McDonald–Richards also told police she suspected the jewelry Anderson had recently given her came from the robbery of a jewelry store in Robbinsdale that she had heard about on the news two weeks earlier. Aside from what she heard about the robbery on the news, McDonald–Richards denied knowledge of the robbery in Robbinsdale and stated she was not with Anderson when it occurred.
Based on information obtained from Perry, police questioned McDonald–Richards more aggressively in the second interview. McDonald–Richards initially denied all involvement but then revealed that she drove Anderson and Perry to and from Avi's on the evening of September 28, knew Perry by the nickname “O,” and observed Anderson and Perry running back to the car from Avi's with items stuffed under their jackets. McDonald–Richards denied Perry's allegations that she had drawn a diagram of Avi's floor plan, encouraged Perry to participate in the robbery, or heard Anderson and Perry discuss shooting someone. McDonald–Richards also told police that she lied during the first interview because she was afraid.
Following the investigation, McDonald–Richards was indicted on one count of aiding and abetting the first-degree murder of Cowens in violation of Minn.Stat. §§ 609.185(a)(3), 609.05, and one count of aiding and abetting the attempted first-degree murder of the clerk in violation of Minn.Stat. §§ 609.185(a)(3), 609.05, 609.17. Before trial, McDonald–Richards moved to suppress her statements to police on September 29, 2009 (“first statement”) and October 1, 2009 (“second statement”) on the ground the statements were the fruit of her unlawful arrest during the September 29 traffic stop.1 The district court denied McDonald–Richards' motion. The State introduced both of McDonald–Richards' statements to police during its case-in-chief and played the recording of each statement for the jury.
At trial, McDonald–Richards did not contest the State's presentation of evidence concerning the events at Avi's on the evening of September 28, 2009. Further, McDonald–Richards did not dispute that by driving Anderson and Perry to and from the robbery, she physically assisted them. The only...
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