Dickerson v. State

DAQUAN CARTIER DICKERSON v. STATE OF MARYLAND

No. 2195

COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND

September Term, 2017

January 25, 2019

Circuit Court for Wicomico County

Case No. 22-K-16-0669

UNREPORTED

Fader, C.J., Beachley, Thieme, Raymond G., Jr. (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.

Opinion by Fader, C.J.

*This is an unreported opinion, and it may not be cited in any paper, brief, motion, or other document filed in this Court or any other Maryland Court as either precedent within the rule of stare decisis or as persuasive authority. Md. Rule 1-104.

A jury in the Circuit Court for Wicomico County convicted Daquan Dickerson, the appellant, of a variety of offenses arising out of the murder of Keonte Gaskins. Those convictions include second-degree murder, various assault and firearms offenses, and, most relevant to this appeal, attempted armed robbery, attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery. The court sentenced Mr. Dickerson to a total of 100 years' imprisonment.¹ Mr. Dickerson now argues: (1) that the evidence at trial was insufficient to convict him of the four robbery counts because the State failed to show that he intended to rob the victim or that he made an agreement to do so; and (2) that the trial court erred in admitting testimony that Mr. Dickerson had interacted with someone regarding drugs. We conclude that the evidence is sufficient and that the court did not err. Accordingly, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

In the afternoon hours of May 10, 2016, an individual later identified as "Little Boogie" robbed Mr. Dickerson at gunpoint outside of a residential home in Wicomico County. At the time of the robbery, Mr. Dickerson was in a car with his cousin, Gerald Savage. Following the robbery, Mr. Savage and Mr. Dickerson picked up a friend, Josh Perry. The three men then drove around for some time, making multiple stops. At one stop, Mr. Dickerson recovered some money. At another, Mr. Perry and Mr. Dickerson, both of whom were armed, exited the vehicle and walked into the stairwell of an apartment complex, where they encountered Keonte Gaskins, a close friend of Little Boogie. Mr.Dickerson then fatally shot Mr. Gaskins multiple times. Mr. Dickerson and Mr. Perry then returned to the vehicle and Mr. Savage drove them all away.

At trial, Mr. Savage and Mr. Perry both testified as witnesses for the State. As the issues Mr. Dickerson now raises turn on their testimony, we review the relevant portions in some detail.

Testimony of Gerald Savage

Mr. Savage testified that on the day of the shooting, he picked up Mr. Dickerson and they drove together to Price Check, a local store, where he parked and waited "on somebody to call." After Mr. Dickerson received a call from a woman Mr. Savage did not know, Mr. Savage drove the car to a nearby location where Mr. Dickerson got out and walked around to the back of a house.

Approximately two minutes later, Mr. Dickerson returned to the vehicle. Shortly thereafter, a woman approached and threw a clear bag containing a substance that was unknown to Mr. Savage through an open window and onto the passenger's side floor of the car. As the woman walked away, an unidentified man armed with an "M16 style rifle" approached the car from the rear, put his rifle through the window, and robbed Mr. Dickerson of the clear plastic bag (and its contents), his cellular phone, some money, and the gold chain off Mr. Dickerson's neck. Mr. Savage then drove away.

Mr. Savage testified that Mr. Dickerson was "angry" and "frustrated" and stated that "he needed a gun" and that "they going to die." Mr. Dickerson then directed Mr. Savage to make several different stops. At one stop, they picked up Mr. Perry "[b]ecause he hada weapon." Messrs. Savage and Dickerson also discussed getting a gun for Mr. Dickerson to use "[f]or protection." Mr. Savage believed that Mr. Dickerson obtained such a firearm from an unidentified individual at one of their stops.

At another stop, Mr. Dickerson got out of the vehicle and met a different unidentified individual. Mr. Savage initially testified that the individual gave Mr. Dickerson "back some of his money," but later clarified that he was not sure whether it was the same money that had been taken or other money. In any event, Mr. Dickerson was "upset" that he had not also recovered his other possessions and, with "[b]uilding frustration," asked the unidentified individual about "my phone, my other stuff, my wallet."

The three men continued driving at Mr. Dickerson's direction and returned to the area where the robbery had occurred. Mr. Savage testified that the mood in the car was "tense" and that Mr. Dickerson was "[s]till frustrated." Although there was no "talk in the car" about what they "were up to," Mr. Savage inferred that they were trying "to find the person who robbed us." Eventually, still at Mr. Dickerson's direction, Mr. Savage drove to a nearby apartment complex, backed into a spot near a dumpster, and left the vehicle running. Mr. Perry and Mr. Dickerson, both dressed in black hoodies with hoods pulled up, then got out of the car and walked straight into the complex with their hands in the pockets of their hoodies. A short time later, Mr. Savage heard "[g]unshots" and saw Messrs. Dickerson and Perry "running" toward him. When the two men got back into the car, Mr. Savage drove away. As he was pulling out, Mr. Dickerson stated, "I got that n****r." When Mr. Savage asked who, Mr. Dickerson responded, "Keno."

The three men went somewhere "[t]o get rid of the weapons" and then traveled to Mr. Dickerson's girlfriend's house, where they spent the night. At some point during their stay, Mr. Savage gathered the clothes that Mr. Dickerson and Mr. Perry were wearing and "took them to another location and dumped them off." In the morning, the three men all went their separate ways.

Testimony of Josh Perry

Mr. Perry testified that on the day of the shooting he received a call from Mr. Dickerson, who stated that some "bitch ass n****rs just robbed him." Mr. Dickerson also told Mr. Perry that Little Boogie had robbed him and that a woman he called "Pootney" had "set him up." Mr. Dickerson then asked Mr. Perry to "load the guns up" and meet him.

A short time later, Messrs. Savage and Dickerson picked up Mr. Perry, who was armed with a .38 caliber handgun. When Mr. Perry entered the vehicle, Mr. Dickerson asked him if his gun was loaded. The three men then traveled to another location, where Mr. Dickerson exited the vehicle and returned with "a Glock" with "a laser on it." At yet another stop, Mr. Dickerson had a conversation with an unidentified individual from whom he recovered "his phone and some money." Mr. Dickerson was not "happy with that" because "it wasn't all the money."

The three men then drove back to the area where the robbery occurred "to find out who robbed [Mr. Dickerson]." At the time, Mr. Dickerson was "[s]till mad" and stated, "this bitch ass n****r is going to die." At some point, Mr. Dickerson directed Mr. Savage to drive to "Waterside," an apartment complex in Salisbury. Mr. Perry "guess[ed]" thatthey went to Waterside because that was where "Little Boogie and his people hang out at." After Mr. Savage parked, Mr. Dickerson told Mr. Perry to "get out," which he did. Mr. Perry believed that he and Mr. Dickerson were going to find the person who robbed Mr. Dickerson and "[r]ob him, rob it back."

Messrs. Perry and Dickerson walked up to the exterior stairwell of the apartment complex, where they encountered an individual later identified as Mr. Gaskins. After Mr. Dickerson identified Mr. Gaskins as "one of them bitch ass n****rs," Mr. Perry fired a shot in the air to scare him. Around the same time, Mr. Dickerson started shooting at Mr. Gaskins, firing approximately ten rounds in quick succession. Messrs. Dickerson and Perry then returned to Mr. Savage's car and the three men drove away. They then disposed of their weapons and traveled to Mr. Dickerson's girlfriend's house, where they stayed the night. Mr. Perry originally thought that the victim was Little Boogie, but he later learned that his name was Keno.

DISCUSSION

I. THE EVIDENCE IS LEGALLY SUFFICIENT TO SUSTAIN MR. DICKERSON'S CONVICTIONS.

Mr. Dickerson first argues that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his robbery convictions. He maintains that the evidence, in particular the testimony of Messrs. Savage and Perry, was that he intended to shoot someone, not to rob anyone, when he encountered Mr. Gaskins.

The State argues that a reasonable fact-finder could infer that Mr. Dickerson, "having just been robbed, intended to respond in kind" and that he "was upset andattempted to locate his assailant" when "not all of his property was returned." The State further argues that a reasonable fact-finder could infer that Mr. Dickerson and Mr. Perry, "armed with loaded guns," got out of Mr. Savage's vehicle intending to find Little Boogie and retrieve Mr. Dickerson's stolen property, and that they instead encountered Mr. Gaskins and killed him.

"The test of appellate review of evidentiary sufficiency is whether, 'after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.'" Donati v. State, 215 Md. App. 686, 718 (2014) (quoting State v. Coleman, 423 Md. 666, 672 (2011)). That same "standard applies to all criminal cases, including those resting upon circumstantial evidence, since, generally, proof of guilt based in whole or in part on circumstantial evidence is no different from proof of guilt based on direct eyewitnesses accounts." Neal v. State, 191 Md. App. 297, 314 (2010). Moreover, "[t]he test is not whether the evidence should have or probably would have persuaded the majority of fact finders but only whether it possibly could have persuaded any rational fact finder." Painter v. State, 157 Md. App. 1, 11 (2004) (internal quotation marks...