State v. Medeiros
| Decision Date | 20 November 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-410-C,90-410-C |
| Parties | STATE v. Joseph MEDEIROS. A. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
A Newport County grand jury returned a three-count indictment charging Joseph Medeiros (Medeiros) with the commission of the crimes of murder, burglary, and conspiring with one Antonio Correia (Correia) to commit burglary. On July 1, 1986, a Superior Court jury, after a five-day trial, found Medeiros guilty of first-degree felony murder and conspiring to commit burglary. Consequently Medeiros is before us on appeal in which he alleges that the trial justice erred when he denied Medeiros's motion for a new trial and when he instructed the jury. The murder victim was an eighty-nine-year-old woman. Hereafter we shall refer to the victim as Helen. The facts of the case are as follows.
On August 15, 1985, Medeiros and Correia, a casual acquaintance with whom Medeiros had worked for a few weeks, made plans to go out for a night on the town. After making adequate preparations, Correia proceeded to Medeiros's residence in Fall River, Massachusetts, and arrived there between 4:30 and 5 p.m. Correia played the role of chauffeur as the two then drove to meet their dates. However, the enterprise came to an end when they discovered that the women had apparently made other arrangements and were nowhere to be found. Lacking any meaningful plan for the evening, Medeiros and Correia embarked on a course of action that would end in tragedy.
Whiling away time cruising the streets of Fall River in search of their dates, Medeiros and Correia bought and inhaled mescaline. They also purchased two six-packs of beer and smoked marijuana. When the search for female companionship proved fruitless, they obtained two additional six-packs and headed for Horseneck Beach. There, with the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop, Medeiros and Correia talked, smoked more marijuana, and imbibed the contents of several containers of beer.
Despite having been paid that afternoon, Medeiros and Correia were apparently not satisfied with their earnings as they engaged in conversation regarding antique coins and housebreaks. Upon leaving
Horseneck Beach, Medeiros and Correia drove toward the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island, and parked Correia's vehicle on the side of Old Stafford Road, which abuts Stafford Pond. Correia testified at trial that he used to swim in Stafford Pond and was familiar with this area.
At trial Correia testified that while parked by the side of the road, the two agreed that Correia would go through the woods, gain entry into Helen's home, and open the front door to afford Medeiros access to the residence. Correia maintained that Medeiros wished to remain with the vehicle for a few minutes before proceeding to Helen's residence so as to avoid appearing suspicious to a couple who were parked in a nearby car.
Correia stated that he entered the dwelling through an open window in the rear of the house and then provided access to Medeiros by unlocking the front door. Correia explained that upon entering the master bedroom, Helen threw a sheet over him and struck him a few times with a club. Correia said he wrestled the club away from Helen and hit her with it "a couple of times" until he realized she was a woman, at which time he attempted to retreat. Correia testified that Helen held him by the arm as he tried to leave and managed to strip him of a ring and a watch. Correia told the jury that Helen was still standing when he escaped her grip and that before leaving the area, he saw Medeiros come through the unlocked front door.
Correia also testified that while en route to his car, he disposed of the club with which he had struck Helen. He also told the jury that he waited in the car for some five to six minutes, after which elapsed time Medeiros returned. Correia claimed that on the return trip to Fall River, Medeiros threatened to kill him if he said "anything to anybody."
At trial a statement given by Medeiros to the Tiverton police was admitted into evidence. This document was consistent with Correia's testimony up until the time the two men arrived in the vicinity of Helen's home. Medeiros's statement confirms that he had discussed a house with antique coins in it, but when Correia asked him if he wanted "to do a house with him," Medeiros informed him that he "didn't want anything to do with it." Medeiros's statement indicates that he refused to take part in the break and that he simply remained in Correia's car to await the return of his companion. Medeiros insisted that Correia returned to the car approximately one-half hour after his departure and that as they sped back to Fall River, Correia informed him that he had struck a woman with a bat and hurt her.
On August 17, 1985, Sergeant Gilbert A. Pavao, Jr., of the Tiverton police department, was called to Helen's residence in Tiverton by neighbors who were concerned about her recent unexplained absence and uncollected newspapers at her dwelling. Sergeant Pavao entered the premises through an open window in the rear of the house. In the master bedroom he discovered Helen's partially nude body covered by a rug. Sergeant Mark Pelletier, the second officer to arrive on the scene, testified at trial that he discovered several open drawers and cabinets in Helen's residence. Sergeant Pelletier also stated that two telephone cords had been ripped from their receptacles and another had been unplugged. He also noted that blood was splattered on the television, a wall, and the ceiling in the master bedroom where Helen was found.
At trial Dr. Arthur C. Burns, chief medical examiner for the State of Rhode Island, testified that Helen suffered multiple lacerations of the scalp with underlying open fractures of the skull in addition to four fractured ribs on the right side. Doctor Burns concluded at trial that Helen's death was caused by her being struck with a blunt object in excess of a dozen times.
In Helen's home the detectives found a camouflage watch and a ring, which were later identified as belonging to Correia. Fingerprints taken at the scene were matched to Correia's prints by the Fall River police in September 1985, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Subsequently Correia implicated Medeiros in the homicide of Helen and testified against him as state's witness at trial.
Medeiros raises several issues on appeal, the first being that the trial justice erred in denying his motion for a new trial. Medeiros contends that in deciding the motion for a new trial, the trial justice "did not independently assess the credibility of the state's chief witness, Antonio Correia." Medeiros claims that the court failed to take into account the improbability of Correia's testimony, noting that only Correia's fingerprints, watch, and ring were found in Helen's residence and that Correia was the one familiar with the area around Helen's home.
In addressing the first issue raised by Medeiros, we believe it appropriate to note that in State v. Dame, 560 A.2d 330, 332-33 (R.I.1989), this court stated that "a trial justice's ruling on a motion for a new trial is entitled to great weight and will be disturbed only when the trial justice overlooked or misconceived material evidence or was otherwise clearly wrong." See also State v. Henshaw, 557 A.2d 1204, 1207 (R.I.1989).
When considering a motion for a new trial, the trial justice
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