State v. Williams, M2019-02307-CCA-R3-CD
| Decision Date | 22 September 2021 |
| Docket Number | M2019-02307-CCA-R3-CD |
| Parties | STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JALEAN ROBERT WILLIAMS AND MARKEIL LINSKEY WILLIAMS |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals |
Session August 11, 2021
Appeal from the Criminal Court for Davidson County No. 2017-A-296 Cheryl A. Blackburn, Judge
After a jury trial and subsequent retrial on two of the charges, the defendants, Jalean Robert Williams and Markeil Linskey Williams, [1] were convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, possession of Alprazolam with intent to sell or deliver, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus fourteen years on each defendant. On appeal, both defendants assert the evidence is insufficient to sustain their convictions. In addition, Defendant Markeil argues the trial court erred in allowing the State to ask leading questions, and the trial court's imposition of consecutive sentences violates the prohibition against double jeopardy. Upon our review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
Tenn R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Criminal Court Affirmed
Jay A Umerley, Nashville, Tennessee (on appeal) and Jack Byrd Nashville, Tennessee (at trial), for the appellant, Jalean Robert Williams.
David A. Collins, Nashville, Tennessee (at trial and on appeal), for the appellant, Markeil Linskey Williams.
Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Sophia S. Lee, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Glenn Funk, District Attorney General; and Megan King and Doug Thurman, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
J. ROSS DYER, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR. and CAMILLE R. MCMULLEN, JJ., joined.
J. ROSS DYER, JUDGE
This case arises out of the shooting death of the victim, Kevin Ibarra, during an apparent drug deal or robbery gone bad. Brothers and co-defendants, Jalean and Markeil Williams, were indicted for first-degree premeditated murder (Count 1) felony murder (Count 2), possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver (Count 3), possession of Alprazolam with intent to sell or deliver (Count 5), two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony corresponding to each of the two drug charges (Counts 4 and 6), and unlawful possession of a weapon (Count 8). Defendant Jalean was additionally charged with evading arrest (Count 9). Another co-defendant, Shirin Khwaga, was also charged with the above offenses, including evading arrest (Count 7), but her case was severed from the co-defendants, and she was a witness for the State. The case against the co-defendants proceeded to trial on Counts 1-6 because Counts 8 and 9 were dismissed, and only Ms. Khwaga had been charged in Count 7.
At the first trial, the jury returned a partial verdict finding both defendants guilty on the drugs and weapons charges in Counts 3-6. The jury, however, was unable to reach a verdict on the murder charges in Counts 1 and 2. The trial court declared a mistrial on the murder charges, but, after a second trial with the same witnesses, the jury found both defendants guilty on the murder charges. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed on both defendants mandatory life sentences for the murder convictions, which merged, and an effective consecutive sentence of fourteen years for the other convictions.
The witnesses' testimony at the two trials was essentially the same; therefore, we summarize the testimony in tandem.
Shirin Khwaga acknowledged that she was charged along with the defendants and that her case was still pending. She had not been promised anything in exchange for her testimony but was hoping she would receive some leniency if she testified truthfully. Ms. Khwaga said she had been in an intimate relationship with Defendant Markeil for three or four weeks at the time of the crime, but she had known both defendants for years. She recalled Defendant Markeil's nickname was "Flocka," and Defendant Jalean's nicknames were "JJ" and "Lul Rambo." Ms. Khwaga moved in with the defendants about two weeks before the incident because she had been kicked out of her parents' house because her mother did not approve of her relationship with the defendants.
Ms. Khwaga testified that around noon on September 4, 2015, she and the defendants went to the victim's home to buy Xanax. She had a blue cast on her left arm at the time. She said all three of them wanted to buy Xanax, but it was Defendant Jalean's idea to buy it from the victim. Defendant Jalean directed her to the victim's house as she drove them in her "silver, tannish" four-door Honda Civic with a temporary tag in the back window. Ms. Khwaga recalled both defendants were armed with handguns.
The group alerted the victim when they arrived at his house but, before the victim got into Ms. Khwaga's car, Defendant Jalean instructed Defendant Markeil to pretend to be asleep. Ms. Khwaga was in the driver's seat, Defendant Markeil was in the front passenger seat, Defendant Jalean was in the back seat behind his brother, and the victim got into the back seat behind Ms. Khwaga. The victim and Defendant Jalean discussed Defendant Jalean's desire to purchase drugs from the victim. During their interaction, Defendant Jalean and the victim showed each other their guns but not in a threatening manner.
According to Ms. Khwaga, the victim asked Defendant Jalean if he had money for the drugs he wished to purchase and asked to see it. After Defendant Jalean showed the victim some money, the two men got out of the car to go inside the victim's house. Defendant Jalean grabbed one of Ms. Khwaga's socks, a "colorful sock with polka dots," from her backpack before heading inside, which he later brought out full of pills. Defendant Markeil entered the victim's home about three or four minutes after the victim and Defendant Jalean. After five to seven minutes, Ms. Khwaga, who had been waiting in the car, heard four to six gunshots. She recalled hearing a pause between the series of shots. Ms. Khwaga panicked and ran into the house. The home alarm was sounding, and she started yelling.
Ms. Khwaga testified that Defendant Markeil came down the stairs and asked why she was in the house. He told her not to touch anything and ran back upstairs. Ms. Khwaga walked toward the kitchen and had "barely made it there" when she saw the victim's body. She "freaked out" and yelled she was leaving "with or without them." By the time she turned around to leave, Defendant Jalean was standing at the bottom of the stairs and then Defendant Markeil ran down and followed him out. Ms. Khwaga did not see anyone else inside the victim's home.
The three of them returned to the car, and Ms. Khwaga drove away. However, as she was leaving the neighborhood, the defendants realized they forgot something and insisted she drive back to the victim's house. She initially replied there was "no way" she was going back, but she nevertheless turned around, stopped at a stop sign near the victim's house, and told them to get out of the car there. The defendants ran back to the victim's house, while Ms. Khwaga turned her car around and pulled in front of the victim's house. She yelled to the defendants to hurry, and they emerged about a minute later. When they did, Defendant Jalean was carrying two, eight-inch plastic containers of marijuana, and Defendant Markeil was carrying a gray and black rifle.
Ms. Khwaga asked the defendants why they killed the victim, and "they were just saying that they had to do it, and [Defendant Jalean] said if he didn't, [the victim] would have retaliated." Neither defendant appeared upset, sad, nervous or scared, and neither indicated the victim had threatened or pulled a gun on them. Ms. Khwaga said she took the defendants back to the victim's house the second time because she was "scared" and had not "processed anything at the time." She did not call the police for the same reasons. She maintained she did not go with the defendants to the victim's home that day knowing they would rob and kill him. Ms. Khwaga said that although she had used Xanax, cocaine, and marijuana that day, she had a clear recollection of what occurred.
Ms. Khwaga testified the three of them immediately began "popping Xanax and getting high" as they fled the victim's home the second time. She drove to Antioch High School to pick up a student in whom Defendant Jalean was interested, and then went to a nearby lake where the group smoked marijuana.[2] Defendant Markeil had passed out by that time and did not partake. After reading on her Facebook newsfeed that the police were on the lookout for her vehicle, Ms. Khwaga went to her parents' house to gather some belongings because Defendant Jalean told her she had to leave town otherwise she would "spend the rest of [her] life in the penitentiary." Defendant Markeil was still passed out in the car.
Ms. Khwaga parked down the street from her parents' house so as not to be seen, ran inside, and packed a backpack of clothes. She threw the backpack in the trunk and drove off. Ms. Khwaga said she took back roads to avoid detection but nevertheless encountered a police car. Instead of stopping, she "took off" and was soon pursued by a number of police cars. Ms. Khwaga crashed into a pole after she took a sharp left and hit the brakes. Ms. Khwaga remained in the car, surrounded by police, but Defendant Jalean grabbed "some guns or whatever was in the back seat" and ran.
Ms Khwaga admitted she was not completely...
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