State v. Moore
| Docket Number | WD 85834 |
| Decision Date | 13 February 2024 |
| Citation | 687 S.W.3d 1 |
| Parties | STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Sadiq Jamario MOORE, Appellant. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Randolph County, Missouri, The Honorable Scott Alan Hayes, Judge
Gregary L. Barnes, Jefferson City, MO, for respondent.
Ellen H. Flottman, Colubmia, MO, for appellant.
Before Special Division: Gary D. Witt, Chief Judge, Presiding, Cynthia Martin, Judge, and James E. Welsh, Special Judge
Sadiq Jamario Moore ("Moore") appeals from the trial court’s judgment convicting him of the class A felony of second-degree murder in violation of section 565.020;1 the class A felony of unlawful use of a weapon in violation of section 571.030; the class B felony of first-degree burglary in violation of section 569.160; and three counts of felony armed criminal action in violation of section 571.015. Moore contends that the trial court erred when it overruled his objections to the introduction of statements made by a coconspirator and when it overruled his request for a mistrial after a witness for the State testified that Moore had a probation and parole officer. Additionally, Moore argues the trial court erred in overruling his motion for judgment of acquittal because there was insufficient evidence from which a rational trier of fact could find Moore guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Finding no error, we affirm.
[1] Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict2 establishes that in the early morning of June 27, 2020, Moore, D.F. ("Co-conspirator 1"), and T.M. ("Co-conspirator 2") planned to rob Victim with Co-conspirator 1 serving as the driver for their escape. Around 4:00 a.m., Victim and his family heard two loud bangs at their front door followed by someone saying "police." Victim and his fiancé then heard their front door being kicked in and got out of bed to investigate. As soon as Victim opened his bedroom door he was shot by someone standing in his living room. After Victim had been shot, the shooter ran from the home. When Co-conspirator 1 heard gunshots, he fled the scene without Moore or Co-conspirator 2. Victim succumbed to his injuries, and died.
Co-conspirator 1 fled to an apartment occupied by D.W., K.H., and S.B. Co-conspirator 1 was frantic and told D.W., K.H., and S.B. that he had lost "[Moore] and [Co-conspirator 2]"3 and that they had to find them as soon as possible. Co-conspirator 1 told the group: "I took them to hit a lick4 when I heard gunshots [sic] I left." D.W., K.H., and S.B. then accompanied Co-conspirator 1 in his vehicle and searched Mexico, Missouri for Moore and Co-conspirator 2 before giving up and heading back to S.B.’s apartment. Shortly after arriving back at S.B.’s apartment, Co-conspirator 1 received a phone call and rushed out the door. Co-conspirator 1 returned to the apartment about fifteen minutes later with Moore and Co-conspirator 2. Moore, Co-conspirator 1, and Co-conspirator 2, presumably in reference to D.W., were overheard saying "I don’t think he’ll snitch."
Around midnight on July 16, 2020, Co-conspirator 2 was pulled over for a traffic stop in Quincy, Illinois. Moore was in the passenger seat. Co-conspirator 2 provided the officer with his Missouri driver’s license, while Moore gave the officer a false name and birthdate claiming that he did not have any physical identification. After the officer asked Moore to step out of the vehicle, Co-conspirator 2 and Moore fled. Co-conspirator 2 and Moore continued to evade police until their vehicle became stuck on railroad tracks after which they abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot into a wooded area, successfully avoiding police capture. The officer in pursuit searched the abandoned vehicle and found Co-conspirator 2’s driver’s license and a bank card belonging to Moore.
On July 31, 2020, Co-conspirator 1 was arrested in Quincy, Illinois. Next, Moore was arrested at the residence of M.T. in Columbia, Missouri on October 8, 2020. Finally, Co-conspirator 2 was arrested on November 21, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Moore was charged with the class A felonies of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon, the class B felony of first-degree burglary, and three counts of felony armed criminal action.
Before trial, the trial court granted Moore’s motion in limine restricting the State from referring to "[a]ny evidence that Defendant may have pled guilty to or been convicted of any criminal offense." Also, before trial the State and Moore stipulated that L.R., Moore’s probation and parole officer, would be removed from the State’s witness list once Moore stipulated to the phone number he used during June 2020.
At trial, the State presented evidence of Moore’s palm print collected from the front door knob of Victim’s home as well as evidence that Moore’s phone connected to a cell tower near Victim’s home on the morning of Victim’s death. M.T., a witness for the State, testified that Moore told her that he was at Victim’s home the night of the murder and that the plan was only to rob Victim and that "it was never supposed to happen like it did." Additionally, the statements made by Co-conspirator 1 at S.B.’s apartment were admitted over Moore’s objection through K.H.’s testimony, D.W.’s testimony, and D.W.’s written statement.
At the end of the second day of trial, the State called Officer W.J. and during his testimony, the following exchange ensued:
Moore objected to the statement and requested a mistrial arguing that the volunteered testimony that he had a probation and parole officer violated the trial court’s ruling on his motion in limine and his right to a fair trial. The trial court dismissed the jury for the day and allowed Moore and the State the opportunity to submit caselaw for the court’s consideration and to argue the request for a mistrial. The next morning, the trial court denied Moore’s request for a mistrial and instead informed the jury that the testimony of Officer W. J. from the preceding day was stricken from the record and that they should only consider his testimony moving forward.
The jury found Moore guilty of the class A felonies of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon, the class B felony of first-degree burglary, and three counts of felony armed criminal action. The trial court entered judgment ("Judgment") and sentenced Moore to imprisonment in the Missouri Department of Corrections for twenty-five years on the second-degree murder conviction; ten years on the unlawful use of a weapon conviction, to be served concurrently; ten years on the first-degree burglary conviction, to be served concurrently; and five years on each armed criminal action conviction, to be served concurrently with each other and consecutively to Moore’s sentence on the second-degree murder conviction. In total, Moore was sentenced to thirty years imprisonment.
Moore appeals.
[2–5] "We review the trial court’s decision to admit or exclude evidence at trial for abuse of discretion." State v. Morgan, 674 S.W.3d 497, 502 (Mo. App. W.D. 2023) (quoting State v. Bowman, 663 S.W.3d 916, 923 (Mo. App. W.D. 2023)). An abuse of discretion has occurred when the "decision to admit or exclude evidence is clearly against the logic of the circumstances then before the court and is so unreasonable and arbitrary that it shocks the sense of justice and indicates a lack of careful, deliberate consideration." State v. Coyle, 671 S.W.3d 702, 714 (Mo. App. W.D. 2023) (citation and internal quotations omitted). "On direct appeal, this Court reviews the trial court’s rulings on admission of evidence for prejudice, not mere error, and will reverse only if the error was so prejudicial that it deprived the defendant of a fair trial." State v. Perkins, 656 S.W.3d 285, 302 (Mo. App. E.D. 2022) (citation omitted). A trial court’s error in admitting evidence is prejudicial "if the error so influenced the jury that, when considered with and balanced against all of the evidence properly admitted, there is a reasonable probability that the jury would have reached a different conclusion without the error." Morgan, 674 S.W.3d at 502 (citation omitted).
[6–8] "We review the trial court’s refusal to grant a mistrial for abuse of discretion." State v. Russell, 656 S.W.3d 265, 278 (Mo. App. W.D. 2022) (citation omitted). "A trial court abuses its discretion when its ruling is clearly against the logic of the circumstances then before it and when the ruling is so arbitrary and unreasonable as to shock one’s sense of justice and indicate a lack of careful consideration." Id. "If reasonable minds could differ on the propriety of the ruling, no abuse of discretion has occurred." State v. Simrin, 384 S.W.3d 713, 721 (Mo. App. S.D. 2012).
Moore raises four points on appeal. Point One argues that the trial court abused its discretion by overruling Moore’s objections to the testimony and written statement of D.W. regarding out-of-court statements made by Co-conspirator 1 because the evidence was inadmissible hearsay that violated his right to confrontation. Point Two alleges that the trial court abused its discretion in overruling his objections to the testimony of K.H. regarding statements made by Co-conspirator 1 on the same grounds as Point One. Point Three asserts that the trial court abused its discretion in overruling Moore’s request for a mistrial after a witness for the State testified that Moore had a probation and parole officer because the testimony violated his due process rights to a fail-trial and the presumption of innocence. Point Four argues that the trial court erred...
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