Washington v. State
| Decision Date | 07 February 2023 |
| Docket Number | 2021-KA-01041-COA |
| Parties | GINO WASHINGTON, JR. A/K/A GINO WASHINGTON APPELLANT v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 07/19/2021
HINDS COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT HON. ADRIENNE ANNETT HOOPER- WOOTEN TRIAL JUDGE
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT:
OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER
BY GEORGE T. HOLMES
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE:
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
ROBERT SHULER SMITH
BEFORE BARNES, C.J., GREENLEE AND WESTBROOKS, JJ.
¶1. Gino Washington Jr. was indicted by a Hinds County grand jury for capital murder in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-19 (Supp. 2017) and armed robbery in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-79 (Rev. 2014). Following a jury trial, Washington was convicted on both counts and sentenced to life imprisonment for capital murder and thirty years for armed robbery to run consecutively. Washington filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, in the alternative, a new trial, which the trial court denied. Washington appeals and asserts that (1) the trial court erred by improperly commenting on the evidence; (2) Washington's due process rights were violated when the State failed to preserve evidence; (3) the trial court erred by admitting evidence of Washington's prior convictions and other bad acts; and (4) the trial court erred by admitting irrelevant evidence. After a review of the record, we find no error and affirm.
¶2. On July 8, 2018, Aaron Hancock and his girlfriend Kayla Gilmore picked up Washington in an attempt to purchase ten dollars' worth of marijuana from Washington. According to testimony given by Gilmore, the night ended when "Little G," the nickname Gilmore knew Washington by, robbed the couple at gunpoint and shot and killed Hancock.
¶3. Gilmore testified that she and Hancock met Washington approximately four months prior at a laundromat in Pearl. She said that Washington approached them and attempted to sell them marijuana. Gilmore recalled that it was daytime during that initial meeting and testified that she had a clear view of Washington at that time as they chatted. Although the couple did not buy any drugs from Washington that day, Gilmore testified that Hancock retained Washington's phone number and bought marijuana from him at a later date.
¶4. Around 9:00 pm on the evening of July 8, 2018, Hancock wanted to buy marijuana from Washington again. Gilmore testified that Hancock called Washington, and after agreeing to purchase ten dollars' worth of marijuana over the phone, Washington directed the couple to pick him up in Jackson on Bailey Avenue.
¶5. After pulling alongside Washington as he walked down the road, Washington first came up to the passenger-side window of the car and "stared in the window for a few seconds or so" before he realized Gilmore was sitting in the front seat. After realizing the front seat was taken, Washington got into the back seat of the car.
¶6. Washington directed the couple to a home approximately five to ten minutes away. They parked and Washington went into the house to retrieve the marijuana. Gilmore said that as they waited, they began to get nervous, and she and Aaron each took half of a pair of broken scissors, which they hid on their persons "in case anything happened." Washington came back to the car after approximately fifteen minutes inside the house, and showed the couple a bag of marijuana. After re-entering the back seat of the couple's car, Washington directed them to "drop him off where we picked him up." As they approached the area where they picked up Washington, he instructed them to pull into the driveway of an abandoned house nearby.
¶7. After parking in the driveway, Washington, who was still seated in the back seat, pulled out a gun and pointed it at Hancock and then Gilmore. He ordered them out of the car. As they exited the car Gilmore stopped walking and, facing Washington, pleaded with him in disbelief, telling him repeatedly "you're not doing this." Washington threatened to shoot Hancock if she did not comply, so Gilmore sat down where Washington directed her to sit. After she sat, Washington demanded the couple's keys, phone, and money. Neither Hancock nor Gilmore had any money on their person (as they had left their wallets in the car), so Hancock threw the phone the couple shared and the keys to their shared car onto the ground.
¶8. After this, Gilmore moved from a seated position to her hands and knees, "pretending as if I was hyperventilating" and requesting her inhaler. According to Gilmore, as Hancock attempted to console her, Washington started shooting at them. She testified that she "felt the heat and wind of the bullets" as she tried to get away. After the incident she realized she had a bullet hole straight through her baggy shirt, an indication of how close she came to death or serious injury that night.
¶9. As the shooting stopped, Gilmore testified that she heard Hancock scream. She looked toward Hancock and saw him fall to his knees. She testified that she saw Washington grab the keys and cell phone that Hancock threw on the ground. She said she saw Washington get in the couple's car and shut the door. Gilmore said that she then grabbed the half-pair of scissors that was in the waistline of her pants and tried to stab Washington through the car window that was cracked open. She testified that Washington reversed the car so quickly that he hit the abandoned house behind him, dragging her along with the car because her arm was stuck in the window. Indeed, photographs from when the stolen car was found showed red paint from the abandoned house on the rear bumper, corroborating Gilmore's story. Gilmore testified that she freed her arm and chased Washington down Bailey Avenue as he drove away, while she called for help. Gilmore found a pedestrian and borrowed his phone to call 911. She testified that she then returned to Hancock in time to see him take his last breath.
¶10. Corporal Corry Jenkins interviewed Gilmore at the scene. While on scene Corporal Jenkins learned that the suspect went by the name of "Little G." He also took a general description of the suspect from Gilmore and learned that a vehicle, a cell phone, and money inside the vehicle were stolen. Jenkins testified that he later learned from a fellow detective that "Little G" was a nickname for Gino Washington. After learning this information Jenkins prepared "a six-man non-suggestive photo lineup."[1] He showed the lineup to Gilmore on July 13, 2018, five days after the murder and armed robbery. Both Gilmore and Jenkins testified that Gilmore circled Washington's photograph and crossed out the others, indicating he was her assailant. She also wrote on the original, "this man killed Aaron Hancock, tried to kill me, and stole Aaron's car." Gilmore signed and dated her statement.
¶11. Washington was arrested on July 17, 2018, nine days after the murder and robbery. At the time of his arrest, Washington had a 9-millimeter gun in his possession. After his arrest, Washington was interviewed by Corporal Jenkins and two FBI agents. During Washington's recorded interview, Washington denied having the nickname "Little G" and denied knowing about the murder.
¶12. During Gilmore's July 13, 2018 interview, Gilmore gave Corporal Jenkins the serial number to the cell phone that was stolen. On July 18, 2018, using the serial number provided by Gilmore, Corporal Jenkins used a program available to law enforcement agencies to trace serial numbers from stolen items to locate the stolen cell phone. Corporal Jenkins testified that using this program, he found that the stolen cell phone was sold to an Eco ATM by Washington at 1:25 p.m. on July 9, 2018, approximately fifteen hours after the robbery and murder occurred. An Eco ATM representative explained that an Eco ATM is a kiosk where consumers can bring unwanted electronic devices in exchange for payment. Each Eco ATM transaction requires a valid government-issued ID, scanned by the machine. It imports the information from the ID and takes multiple photographs of the seller. This information is added to the description and photographs of the product sold to create a report. The Eco ATM report for this transaction contained photographs of Washington from the kiosk, a copy of his ID information, and photographs and data from the stolen cell phone.
¶13. Washington's trial was held from July 7-9, 2021. Testimony from investigators at the scene determined that fingerprints and DNA recovered from the stolen car were insufficient to test against Washington's fingerprints and DNA. One investigator established that a spent .40-caliber shell casing was found at the scene. According to the crime scene photos, this casing was found in the yard on the other side of a gravel driveway, not near the abandoned house where Hancock's body lay. No additional projectiles or casings were found at the scene or were recovered from Hancock's body. But half of a pair of broken scissors was recovered by investigators at the scene.
¶14. Outside of the jury's presence, a major discussion took place over the contents of the recorded interview between Washington, Corporal Jenkins, and the FBI agents. The State wanted to play the interview for the jury, and the defense requested that some portions of the interview be redacted. The State and defense agreed that references to Washington's prior crimes should be redacted. The trial court determined, over the State's objections, that mentions of Washington's drug use should be redacted as well. The trial court allowed...
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