State v. Penkaty, No. A04-1315.
| Decision Date | 10 January 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. A04-1315. |
| Citation | 708 N.W.2d 185 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Paul PENKATY, Sr., Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
ANDERSON, PAUL H., Justice.
A Watonwan County jury found appellant Paul Penkaty, Sr. guilty of first-degree premeditated murder for the March 8, 2003 death of Christopher Knight. The district court convicted Penkaty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison. Penkaty appeals his conviction, arguing that (1) the court erred when it denied his motion to dismiss the grand jury indictment based on alleged prosecutorial misconduct; (2) the court erred when it prohibited him from calling witnesses to corroborate his testimony regarding prior acts of violence by Knight; (3) the court erred when it allowed Penkaty's wife to testify at trial without his consent; (4) the court erred when it denied Penkaty's requested instruction on second-degree manslaughter; (5) the court erred in the manner in which it instructed the jury on self-defense, defense of others, and defense of dwelling; (6) the court erred when it failed to sua sponte give an instruction on first-degree manslaughter; (7) the court erred when it reserved its ruling on his motion for judgment of acquittal until the end of the presentation of Penkaty's case; and (8) the evidence of premeditation was insufficient to support a conviction for first-degree premeditated murder. We reverse.
At the time of his death, Christopher Knight lived in Truman, Minnesota with his fiancée, Kimberly Penkaty, their three-month-old daughter, and Kimberly's three- and four-year-old sons from previous relationships. The house where Knight and Kimberly lived was owned by Kimberly's parents, appellant Paul Penkaty, Sr. (Penkaty) and his wife Beverly. Penkaty and Beverly lived seven miles away in Lewisville.
On March 8, 2003, Penkaty and Ben Davis spent the afternoon together. Before becoming involved with Knight, Kimberly had a six-year relationship with Davis. Davis was the father of one of Kimberly's sons, and her other son also knew Davis as his father. Penkaty and Davis remained friends after Davis's relationship with Kimberly had ended approximately two years earlier. Penkaty was also friends with Knight, but the two men had not spoken for at least a month before Knight's death because of a dispute over $100 that Knight had loaned Penkaty to buy a Christmas present.
On March 8, Penkaty picked Davis up in Fairmont around noon, and the two men drove to Winnebago to check out a car Davis was planning to buy from a friend. After looking at the car, they stopped at a nearby liquor store, where they purchased a 12-pack of beer. Penkaty and Davis began drinking the beer on the way to their next stop, Blue Earth, where Penkaty picked up two Great Dane puppies that a friend had asked him to nurse back to health. The two men drank the rest of the 12-pack in Blue Earth and as they drove back to Lewisville. Davis testified that he drank about half of the beers.
Meanwhile, Tonya Rhoda, a friend of Kimberly and her mother, called and offered to pick up Kimberly and the children and take them to the Penkaty home. Knight objected to the trip. Knight could not accompany Kimberly because he was under pretrial house arrest for burglary charges and could not leave the house except for emergencies. As a condition of his house arrest, Knight wore a GPS1 ankle bracelet to monitor his location. Kimberly's parents had paid for the GPS monitor so that Knight could be released from jail. As Kimberly was leaving around 4:00 p.m., Knight yelled that if she left, she could not come back. Kimberly left anyway.
Back at the Penkaty home in Lewisville, Penkaty and Davis were in Penkaty's car, which was parked in the driveway, when Kimberly, Rhoda, and the children arrived. Around 5:00 p.m., Michael Whitehead dropped by for a visit, and a six-year-old Penkaty grandson also came to the Penkaty home sometime in the early evening. From approximately 5:00 until 6:30 p.m., the children played with the Great Dane puppies while the adults socialized, listened to music, and drank beer in the living room. Beverly, who was not drinking, testified that Penkaty drank four or five beers. Rhoda testified that she drank between four and seven beers, and that Penkaty was keeping pace with her. Penkaty testified that he nursed one beer over the course of the evening. Kimberly could not recall whether she or her father had been drinking, but remembered opening some beers upon her arrival. Davis testified that he had three or four beers at the Penkaty home. Penkaty, Davis, and Rhoda also shared at least one bowl of marijuana.2
Between 5:00 and 6:30 p.m., Knight telephoned Kimberly between three to eight times, telling her he wanted her to come home. As a result of Knight's repeated calls, Penkaty connected the computer to the internet so that when Knight called, he would receive a busy signal. Shortly after 6:30 p.m., Knight contacted the GPS monitoring agency and falsely reported that there was a medical emergency involving his daughter. At 6:44 p.m., Knight left his home in Truman and drove the seven miles to the Penkaty home in Lewisville, arriving at 6:52 p.m. Some witnesses said Knight knocked on the front door, and others said he pounded on the door. At the time Knight arrived, Penkaty and Whitehead were playing a videogame in the living room.
Beverly answered the door, after which Kimberly stepped outside to speak with Knight. It was a cold evening, but Kimberly neither took a jacket with her nor invited Knight into the house. Back inside the house, Beverly told Davis that he should remain in the bedroom until Knight left because Knight would be upset to see Davis at the house during Kimberly's visit. Beverly then went outside to check on Kimberly.
Knight told Kimberly that he wanted her to leave with him. Accounts of Knight's demeanor during this exchange vary. Kimberly testified that Knight was "[n]ot really yelling, but upset and saying it with authority that he wanted it to be done." Whitehead said Knight was shouting. Rhoda said Knight was "barking orders at Kim." Beverly described Knight's demeanor as both a "funny, strange calm" and "agitated." After talking with Knight, Kimberly agreed to leave with him, but then went into the house. Once inside, Kimberly attempted to lock the door to keep Knight outside, but Knight forced open the door and stepped into the living room, pushing Kimberly with the door in the process.
When Knight entered the room, Penkaty looked up from the videogame and ordered Knight to leave. There was conflicting testimony about how many times Penkaty told Knight to leave, and whether Beverly also told Knight to leave. Davis testified that at this point, "drinking beer" caused him to emerge from hiding and say something to Knight. It is unclear whether Davis told Knight to leave the house, or provoked him, or both. Several witnesses said Knight charged Davis upon seeing him. Davis, who was two inches shorter and 60 pounds lighter than Knight, testified that Knight motioned to him that they should "take it outside." Davis also testified that when Knight turned to leave, Davis tried to tackle Knight, and that Knight apparently heard Davis coming, turned around, and punched Davis in the face, splitting his lip.
Regardless of who started the Knight/Davis altercation, all witnesses agreed that Knight threw the first punch, and the two men wrestled in the living room. Kimberly and Rhoda gathered up the children and took them to a bedroom. Penkaty testified that he dialed 911 and then handed the telephone to Beverly. Beverly's testimony conflicted with Penkaty's on this point. She testified that she called 911 herself, but not until later. Knight and Davis continued to fight, knocking over a lamp and a recliner. Davis testified that Whitehead — who was standing by the front door — restrained Knight, and Davis then took this opportunity to punch Knight. Davis and Whitehead then pushed Knight out onto the front deck.
Witnesses disagreed about the seriousness of the fight, and Beverly, Kimberly, and Rhoda denied seeing any of the fight once it left the interior of the house. Kimberly testified that Knight did kick Davis in the head, that Davis did not stand a chance in the fight, and that Knight was "beating the sh * * out of Ben." Penkaty testified that Knight pounded Davis, stomped him in the head, and dangled Davis by the collar in preparation for hitting him again. But Davis and Whitehead testified that Davis was neither kicked nor stomped, and Whitehead also testified that Davis and Knight were both upright during the struggle outside.
At some point during the fight, Penkaty went to the kitchen, picked up two large knives, and headed for the front door, holding the knives in front of his body with the blades pointed upward. Testimony conflicted as to whether Penkaty paused in the living room, but it is undisputed that Kimberly and Beverly grabbed Penkaty's shirt and tried to stop him from going outside. Penkaty testified that he said to his wife and daughter, "[h]e's killing him * * * why won't you let me help him?" and then Penkaty's shirt ripped and he kept going. No one else testified that Penkaty said anything on his way out the door, but several people heard Kimberly yell, "not in front of the kids!"
Whitehead, still in the front doorway, also tried to stop Penkaty, but was unsuccessful in this effort. Whitehead suffered a cut on his knuckle in the process....
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