Wilson v. United States
| Decision Date | 06 January 2022 |
| Docket Number | No. 19-CF-464,19-CF-464 |
| Citation | 266 A.3d 228 |
| Parties | Steven WILSON, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES, Appellee. |
| Court | D.C. Court of Appeals |
Cecily E. Baskir for appellant.
Patricia A. Heffernan, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Michael R. Sherwin, Acting United States Attorney at the time, Elizabeth Trosman, John P. Mannarino, Nicole E. McClain, and Gregory P. Rosen, Assistant United States Attorneys, were on the brief for appellee.
Before Glickman, Associate Judge, Thompson,* Associate Judge, and Greene, Senior Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia.**
I. Introduction
Appellant, Steven Wilson, was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to commit burglary, unarmed kidnapping, unarmed first-degree burglary with the intent to assault and commit theft, assault with a dangerous weapon, threat to kidnap or injure, and unlawful entry. On appeal he argues that ( 1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions for conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary, (2) the trial court erroneously refused to instruct the jury on a claim of right defense, (3) the trial court abused its discretion by improperly admitting a witness's prior consistent statements and text messages, and (4) his unlawful entry conviction should have been merged with his burglary conviction. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and vacate in part.
II. Background
The evidence at trial disclosed that Hunion Henderson, the complainant was a fifty-five-year-old man with a long addiction to crack cocaine who lived alone in a one-bedroom apartment in the northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. Lori Fitzgerald (also known as Zakiya Ahmed) was Henderson's crack dealer, and he invited her to live in his home but did not think she was planning to sell drugs there. While Henderson was in the hospital, Ahmed brought her boyfriend, "Fanbone," to live at Henderson's apartment and moved her television, food, and other items into the apartment, whereupon the two began selling drugs out of the apartment.
After Henderson returned home from the hospital, he allowed Ahmed and Fanbone to stay for a while, and they took over his bedroom while he slept on the couch. Henderson said he never gave them permission to sell drugs out of the apartment, but they sold him crack in exchange for his monitoring the door and not "putting them out or calling the police." Eventually, when Henderson asked Fanbone and Ahmed to either leave or stay but to cease selling drugs out of the apartment, they refused to do either.
When Henderson visited his family for Thanksgiving in 2016, his family noticed he did not look well and decided he should not return to his apartment. They contacted their cousin, a retired police officer, who in turn contacted Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Sergeant Curt Sloan.
Henderson thereafter entered a rehab program and met Larry Kimbrugh. Kimbrugh was kicked out of the rehab program for using drugs, and Henderson let him stay at his apartment. Meanwhile, Sergeant Sloan called Henderson while Henderson was still in rehab; Henderson told him that there were guns in his apartment and people selling drugs there, and he wanted those people to leave.
When Henderson returned from rehab, Kimbrugh had become "close" with Ahmed and Fanbone. Henderson relapsed after moving back into his apartment. On January 1, 2017, Henderson met appellant Wilson there when appellant came to the apartment to spend time with Ahmed and others for appellant's birthday party.
On January 4, 2017, Sergeant Sloan and fellow officers burst into the apartment to execute a search warrant. The officers removed Ahmed, Fanbone, Kimbrugh, and others from the apartment, while Henderson stayed inside.1 Sergeant Sloan asked Henderson if he was willing to cooperate with the United States Attorney's Office so they could help him get Ahmed and the others out of his home, and Henderson agreed. At one point while Sergeant Sloan was still at the apartment, Ahmed called Henderson and asked to pick up her clothes and other items from the apartment. Henderson gave the phone to Sergeant Sloan who told Ahmed she could not return to the apartment and would be arrested if she did.
Henderson and Ahmed began texting later that night. Ahmed repeatedly texted Henderson asking to retrieve her things. He told her she could not come back. Ahmed texted Henderson asking whether she should send Henderson interpreted Ahmed's reference to her "protector" to mean someone who would retrieve her property by force or "any means necessary." Henderson eventually heard India Frazier, Ahmed's friend, banging on the door saying that she knew he was in there. He did not respond and instead called the police, but the police did not respond.
Frazier testified that Ahmed asked her to help move Ahmed's belongings out of Henderson's apartment because the police ejected her and Henderson would not return her things. She further testified that when they arrived and Henderson did not answer the door, Ahmed called appellant Wilson and told him that she needed him to do something for her. Ahmed directed appellant to meet them on Taylor Street and "to bring his friend," which Frazier testified that she understood to mean a knife or a gun. Ahmed picked up appellant with Frazier, and Ahmed explained that Henderson called the police on her and her boyfriend and now would not let Frazier in to pick up Ahmed's things. Frazier said they did not discuss violence in the car, but she understood appellant's role was to be the "strong arm" and that Henderson "was the type of person you could holler at and [he would] do what he was told."
When they arrived back outside Henderson's apartment, they met Kimbrugh who agreed to help them get into the apartment. After using drugs, Kimbrugh, Frazier, and appellant went to Henderson's door. Frazier saw appellant holding a black gun the size of a "Glock." Kimbrugh knocked and said "open the door." When Henderson opened the door, appellant pushed Frazier, Frazier pushed Kimbrugh, and they all "fell into the apartment." Frazier immediately took two phones from Henderson's person and called him a snitch. Frazier testified that appellant then pistol-whipped Henderson in the face, made him get on the ground, and hit him as she and Kimbrugh removed items from the apartment.
Henderson testified to the same sequence of events, and he further testified that appellant stomped on his face, covered his face with a cloth, and told him, "[Y]ou f****t motherf****r, I should shoot you." Meanwhile, Henderson saw Frazier and Kimbrugh taking items out of the apartment, only some of which belonged to Ahmed. Appellant ordered Frazier to "take everything else out of [Henderson's] pocket," whereupon Frazier and Kimbrugh then took Henderson's chain, ring, and money from his pocket and his boots from his room. They also took two televisions, only one of which belonged to Ahmed.
While the others were removing property from the apartment, appellant guarded Henderson, accusing him of "g[etting] his friend locked up," and called him a "snitch." Ahmed then arrived and whispered to Henderson "in an evil tone" saying, "[Y]ou thought you got away with it, you thought I wasn't gonna get my stuff," and, "[Y]ou got my nephew locked up and you got my friend locked up." When appellant stated, "Let me shoot this n***, Sis," Ahmed replied, "Beat him up, but don't shoot him."
After the group left, Henderson called 911 twice. On the first call he stated, "They just got done beating me up and pistol-whipped me," and "I'm in a daze right now ..., please hurry up." On the second call he said, "I told you I got pistol-whipped"; "I just got whupped"; and "my eye is messed up."
Police and an ambulance arrived and took Henderson to the hospital. MPD Officer Darren Reaves's body camera captured multiple conversations between himself and Henderson on the way to the hospital and at the hospital about the events. These videos were all entered into evidence. Officer Christian Glynn was also present at the hospital when the officers questioned Henderson.
Henderson described appellant to Officer Glynn as a sixty-year-old Black man with a beard and short hair who weighed just under 200 pounds. Henderson said he knew appellant because appellant came to Henderson's apartment on January 1, on appellant's birthday a few days prior to the incident. Appellant told the officers that appellant, Ahmed, Kimbrugh, and Frazier removed items from his apartment and that appellant struck him in the face with a gun, causing injuries to his forehead and his eye.
Frazier, Henderson, Officer Christian Glynn, Sergeant Sloan, and Officer Tara Tindall testified on behalf of the government, describing the foregoing events.2 Ronetta Johnson, the defense's criminal investigator, and Officer Reaves testified on behalf of the defense. The defense's focus was on the impeachment of the government's two key witnesses, Henderson and Frazier.
On September 26, 2018, the jury found appellant not guilty of armed kidnapping, armed first-degree burglary, armed robbery, obstruction of justice, and three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. However, they found him guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary, unarmed kidnapping, unarmed first-degree burglary, assault with a dangerous weapon, threat to kidnap or injure, and unlawful entry. Appellant was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment and timely appealed.
III. Analysis
Appellant argues that the evidence at trial was not sufficient to sustain his convictions for conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary. The burden is on appellant when he is attacking the sufficiency of the evidence. Olafisoye v. United States , 857 A.2d 1078, 1086 (D.C. 2004). This court "must deem proof of guilt sufficient if, ‘after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the...
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