State v. Onyelobi
| Decision Date | 18 May 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. A15–0267.,A15–0267. |
| Citation | 879 N.W.2d 334 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Maureen Ndidiamaka ONYELOBI, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Lori Swanson, Attorney General, Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Michael O. Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney, Lee W. Barry, Assistant Hennepin County Attorney, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for respondent.
Cathryn Middlebrook, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Davi E. Axelson, Assistant State Public Defender, Saint Paul, Minnesota, for appellant.
Following a jury trial, appellant Maureen Ndidiamaka Onyelobi was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder on an accomplice-liability theory, see Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(1) (2014). On appeal, Onyelobi submits several claims of error. First, Onyelobi argues that her arrest was not supported by probable cause and therefore evidence seized as a result of her arrest should have been suppressed. Second, Onyelobi argues that the district court erroneously denied her jury selection challenges under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). Third, Onyelobi contends the district court erroneously instructed the jury regarding accomplice liability. Finally, Onyelobi raises various contentions in a pro se supplemental brief. Because Onyelobi's arrest was supported by probable cause, the district court did not clearly error when it rejected Onyelobi's Batson challenges or abuse its discretion when instructing the jury on accomplice liability, and Onyelobi's pro se contentions lack merit, we affirm.
This case arises from the murder of Anthony Fairbanks. The State's theory was that Fairbanks, his sister, and their mother were all heroin addicts at the time of Fairbanks's death. The State contended that a syndicate consisting of Onyelobi, her boyfriend Maurice Wilson, and David Johnson supplied heroin to Fairbanks and his family.
In order to arrange a heroin purchase, Fairbanks and his sister would call a designated phone number (the 208 phone number). Wilson, Onyelobi, and Johnson each answered calls at the 208 phone number on behalf of the syndicate. The 208 phone number was linked to a white Samsung Galaxy cell phone that Wilson, the apparent leader of the syndicate, had acquired from Fairbanks in exchange for heroin. After the necessary arrangements had been made, Onyelobi, Wilson, and Johnson would arrive at the designated meeting place in a “two-tone van,” with “an extra part on top” (the two-tone van). Either Onyelobi or Wilson was generally the driver of the two-tone van. Because the van had darkly tinted rear windows, it was not always apparent whether Johnson was present with Wilson and Onyelobi during the drug deals. The van was registered in Onyelobi's name.
Prior to his death, Fairbanks was indicted in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin. Wilson was listed as the co-defendant on the indictment, and he was in custody in Cass County on these charges at the time of Fairbanks's death. But authorities had not yet apprehended Fairbanks.
At 7:34 p.m. on March 8, 2014, the day of Fairbanks's death, Wilson called Onyelobi at the 208 phone number from the Cass County jail.1 The relevant portion of the call began with Wilson asking Onyelobi if she and Johnson had “take[n] care of that,” referring to Fairbanks. After Onyelobi indicated that she and Johnson had not, Wilson replied, Wilson continued: Onyelobi then explained that she and Johnson could not “catch [Fairbanks] [b]y himself.” Wilson responded that it was the “first thing” that Onyelobi and Johnson should have “t[aken] care [of],” and that they were “acting like they want[ed] [him] to stay in [jail].” Onyelobi replied: Wilson repeated that if police caught Fairbanks, “[Wilson would be] done for the rest of [his] life”; that all police had to do was “pull [Fairbanks] over and run his name,” and that “[Fairbanks is] in the f* * *ing projects doing dope every f* * *ing day.” Onyelobi then reassured Wilson, stating
Johnson then requested to speak with Wilson. Wilson told Johnson that “[this] s* *t [is] critical” and that he needed Johnson to “be on top of that ... ASAP.” Wilson further stated: Johnson stated: Wilson, in response, told Johnson:
Earlier that same day, Onyelobi rented a storage unit in Plymouth and received a personalized entrance code to the facility. Surveillance video at the storage facility depicted Onyelobi accessing her unit for the first time around 4:15 p.m. She arrived in the two-tone van, carried a duffel bag and cardboard box to the unit, returned to her vehicle, and drove away. At 9:02 p.m., Onyelobi returned to her storage unit in the two-tone van, this time as a passenger. After about 6 minutes, Onyelobi got back into the van, and the van departed.
Around 9:30 p.m. that same day, Fairbanks arrived at his mother's apartment building in Little Earth Housing. Shortly thereafter, Fairbanks informed his sister that he was leaving to purchase heroin from Onyelobi. Immediately before departing, Fairbanks's mother overheard Fairbanks tell someone on the phone: Fairbanks's mother did not know with whom Fairbanks was speaking. After he left around 9:50 p.m., Little Earth Housing surveillance video showed Fairbanks walking southbound toward the location where his body was later discovered.
Shortly before 10:00 p.m., M.C., a resident of a housing complex approximately two blocks away from Little Earth Housing, heard three gunshots from his second-floor room. M.C. went to his window and observed a body lying in front of a snowbank on the side of the road. M.C. further observed a running van stopped near the body for approximately 5 to 10 seconds; the van then began driving north.3 M.C. was unable to see how many people were inside the van because the van was “dark.” But M.C. was later able to identify the two-tone van as the vehicle he saw that night. At 10:04 p.m., M.C. called 911 to report his observations.
Police soon arrived and discovered Fairbanks's body lying in a large pool of blood. Fairbanks had been shot in the head four times from a relatively close distance. Police found four discharged bullet casings at the scene. EMTs pronounced Fairbanks dead. The cause and manner of Fairbanks's death was ruled a homicide. Autopsy results revealed that Fairbanks had heroin in his system at the time of death.
At 10:24 p.m. that same day, surveillance video showed Onyelobi's two-tone van returning to her storage facility. At that time, a male wearing a white jacket with a decal on the back exited the passenger side of the van and attempted to enter a passcode to the facility. Facility records confirmed that this male attempted to enter the personalized code Onyelobi had received. Access was denied because the facility closed for business at 10:00 p.m. As a result, the male reentered the passenger side of the van and the van departed.
That same evening, between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m., Fairbanks's sister, S.F., met with Onyelobi and Johnson to acquire heroin. S.F. later told police that Onyelobi and Johnson arrived together in the two-tone van, but that she was unable to recall who was driving.
The next morning, Onyelobi returned to her storage facility in the two-tone van. Onyelobi gained access to her unit, and after a few minutes, she returned to the van. Video surveillance then showed the van departing.
During the investigation into Fairbanks's death, police located an Electronic–Benefits–Transfer card belonging to J.V. on Fairbanks's body. Police contacted J.V. and learned that the decedent was Fairbanks and that J.V. was his girlfriend. Police then contacted Fairbanks's mother and learned about the call Fairbanks received shortly before he was killed. Police subsequently determined that the call was received at 9:50 p.m. from the 208 phone number. Cell tower data further confirmed that the call from the 208 phone number was made in the area where police found Fairbanks's body.
On March 11, 2014, after discovering that S.F. frequently contacted the 208 phone number, police brought S.F. in for questioning. Contemporaneous with this questioning, police received word of Fairbanks's and Wilson's indictment in North Dakota. From this information, police learned that Wilson was in custody, that Onyelobi was his girlfriend, and that the two-tone van registered in Onyelobi's name matched the description of the vehicle seen leaving the scene of Fairbanks's death. Police subsequently printed a picture of Onyelobi and showed it to S.F., who identified Onyelobi as the person she knew as “Black,” one of the three individuals from whom she purchased heroin and the person to whom the 208 phone number belonged. S.F. indicated that her other two drug dealers were male, but that she did not know their real identities. The Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (“VCAT”) was tasked with locating Onyelobi and bringing her in for questioning.
That same day, VCAT, using cellular data connected to the 208 phone number, determined that Onyelobi was staying at the Red Roof Inn in Plymouth. Hotel records confirmed that...
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