Woodson v. State
| Decision Date | 01 September 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 61,61 |
| Parties | Shawn WOODSON v. STATE of Maryland. , |
| Court | Maryland Court of Appeals |
Nancy S. Forster, Asst. Public Defender and Mark Colvin, Asst. Public Defender (Stephen E. Harris, Public Defender, all on brief), Baltimore, for appellant.
Richard B. Rosenblatt, Asst. Atty. Gen. (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen., both on brief), Baltimore, for appellee.
Argued before MURPHY, C.J., ELDRIDGE, RODOWSKY, McAULIFFE, CHASANOW, KARWACKI, JJ., and EDWARD A. DeWATERS, Jr., Administrative Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit of Md., specially assigned.
Officer William J. Martin of the Baltimore City Police Department was shot to death in the early morning hours of October 10, 1989 while responding to an anonymous call reporting drug use in the stairwell of an apartment building at 1502 Pennsylvania Avenue. A second officer, Herman Brooks, was shot and wounded during the incident.
Shawn Woodson was arrested at the scene. He was subsequently indicted for the first degree murder of Officer Martin, the attempted murder of Officer Brooks, and related offenses. The State filed notice of its intention to seek the death penalty for the murder of Officer Martin.
At the trial before a jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Woodson was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, two counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, and two counts of carrying a handgun. After Woodson waived his right to be sentenced by the jury, the court (Mitchell, J.) sentenced Woodson to death for the first-degree murder of Officer Martin. The court also imposed consecutive sentences of thirty years for the attempted second-degree murder of Officer Brooks, and twenty years for each count of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. The case is now before us, pursuant to Woodson's notice of appeal. See Maryland Code (1957, 1987 Repl.Vol.), Article 27, § 414 and Maryland Rule 8-306(c).
According to testimony adduced at the trial, Woodson, in company with Tyrone McQueen, Taavon Hall, Dale Truly, and Shawn Hawkins, purchased some heroin in the early morning hours of October 10, 1989, after which they drove to the apartment house at 1502 Pennsylvania Avenue where Truly and his girlfriend resided. The men then snorted the heroin in the stairwell of the apartment building's first floor landing.
Observing lights from an approaching police vehicle, Truly and McQueen hurried down the steps and entered Truly's apartment. Hawkins also ran down the stairs, intending to leave the building. He encountered Officer Martin, as the officer was entering the building. Martin stopped and frisked Hawkins and allowed him to leave the building. The officer then proceeded up the stairs towards the first floor landing where Woodson and Hall remained.
Officer Brooks testified that, along with Officer Robin Johnson, he went to the apartment building as a back-up unit for Officer Martin. Brooks said that he entered the building, followed by Johnson, through the rear basement door. At that time, he heard a shot, a pause, and then two more shots. He observed Hall run out the front door, while Woodson ran down the stairs toward the rear door. According to Brooks, Woodson shot him in the hand, after which they exchanged gunfire. Brooks was hit again, this time in the chest area of his bulletproof vest, and he was knocked down. Woodson was struck in the groin area and continued toward the rear door where he encountered Officer Johnson. Woodson tripped over Johnson's foot and fell to the ground. Officer Johnson straddled Woodson, held him at gunpoint and, with assistance from other officers, handcuffed him. A handgun was recovered near the rear door.
Officers Seibert and Pedrick, who also responded to the scene, heard gunshots as they arrived at the building. Seibert said there was "one distinct gunshot" followed by a "couple of more shots and then a few more shots." Seibert testified that after the first gunshot, he observed Hall run from the apartment door. Pedrick said that he heard a "loud bang" and then a "volley of gunshots," after which Hall ran from the front door.
Pedrick found Officer Martin lying in a pool of blood on the first floor landing. His service revolver was snapped closed inside his holster and had not been fired. There was evidence that Officer Martin died as a result of two gunshot wounds to the head. No usable fingerprints were found on the handgun recovered by the police at the rear door entrance to the building through which Woodson attempted to flee. There was evidence, however, that the bullets removed from Officer Brooks's vest, and those taken from Officer Martin's head, came from this handgun. Swabs taken from Woodson's hands after his apprehension revealed residue of barium and antimony, indicating that he was in close proximity to a firearm when it was discharged.
Andre Spells testified as a State's witness that he was in a cell at the Baltimore City Jail when, on October 23, 1989, a man who identified himself as Shawn Woodson confessed to him that he had shot and killed Officer Martin. Woodson did not testify and called no witnesses.
Woodson argues that the trial court erred in allowing Andre Spells to testify concerning admissions allegedly made to Spells by his cellmate in the Baltimore City Jail on October 23, 1989. Spells testified that his cellmate was known to him as Shawn Woodson. 1 Specifically, Spells testified as follows:
"STATE'S ATTORNEY: After your first cell mate left, was anybody else brought to your cell?
A. Yes, Mr. Woodson.
Q. Do you know his first name?
A. Shawn
Q. And is Mr. Woodson in the courtroom today?
A. I don't see him.
Q. Look all the way around?
A. I don't see him.
Q. Have you turned around and looked at everybody? If you wish to stand up and walk around the courtroom you may, sir. Please look at all the faces in the courtroom.
A. I don't recognize him, no.
Q. You don't recognize him at all. This Mr. Woodson that you spoke to, Mr. Woodson that was put in your cell with you, how long was he in there with you?
A. One day, two nights.
Q. One day and two nights. During the time that he was there with you, did you have any conversations with him?
A. Oh, yes. We talked.
A. No.
Q. You said you spent two nights and one day there?
A. That's correct.
Q. And had you seen him since then?
A. No.
Q. And at the time that you spoke to him, did you know where he had been previous to coming to your section?
DEFENSE COUNSEL: Objection, Your Honor.
A. No.
. . . . .
(Whereupon, counsel returned to the trial table and proceedings resumed in open court.)
. . . . .
STATE'S ATTORNEY: Did the individual, Shawn Woodson, tell you where he had come from or what he was in Baltimore City Jail for?
. . . . .
A. --the first night he spoke vaguely about why he was there in the case and the second night we was there we spoke about it and I asked him a couple of questions.
Q. Before we go into that, did you get a chance to observe the physical condition of Shawn Woodson?
A. Yes.
Q. What, if anything, did you observe?
. . . . .
A. The way he presented himself you can tell he was hurt, injured.
. . . . .
Q. Where?
A. Somewhere in the mid body.
Q. And did you learn of any nickname for him, what he was called?
A. Yes, Buddy.
Q. Now, you mentioned that he spoke vaguely to you on the first night. What did he speak about vaguely?
A. Well, he didn't speak directly to me. He mentioned to other people in the cell area, you know, about why he was there.
Q. Did he say why he was there?
A. Yeah, in reference to the slain officer.
. . . . .
Q. In relation to...
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