Lewis v. State

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ADRIAN LEWIS v. STATE OF MARYLAND

No. 552-2021

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

February 4, 2022

Circuit Court for Prince George's County Case No CT-10-0775X

Nazarian, Leahy, Harrell, Glenn T., Jr. (Senior Judge Specially Assigned), JJ.

OPINION ^[*]

Harrell, J.

In 2011, a jury, in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County, convicted Adrian Lewis, appellant, of attempted second-degree murder, second-degree depraved heart murder, and two counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. Lewis filed an appeal in this Court. We affirmed his convictions in an unreported opinion. Lewis v. State, No. 515, September Term 2011 (filed 23 February 2012).

Several years later, Lewis filed a petition for post-conviction relief in the circuit court. In that petition, Lewis argued, among other things, that appellate counsel had rendered ineffective assistance in failing to argue that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the crime of involuntary manslaughter. The post-conviction court agreed and granted Lewis the right to file a belated appeal. Lewis noted this timely appeal, in which he raises a single question:

Did the trial court abuse its discretion in refusing to instruct the jury as to the offense of involuntary manslaughter?

For reasons we shall explain, we hold that the trial court did not err in refusing to give that instruction. We, therefore, affirm the court's judgments.

BACKGROUND

In the early morning hours of 10 April 2010, two individuals were shot outside of Andrew's Bar and Grill, a pool hall in District Heights. One of the victims, Walter Corey Britt, was shot five times, but survived. The other victim, Cynthia Aaron, was shot in the back of the neck and killed.

Charging

Lewis was arrested and charged in the shooting. As to the first victim, Britt, Lewis was charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. As to the second victim, Aaron, Lewis was charged with murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. The murder indictment was charged using the "statutory short form" indictment. Under such an indictment, a defendant is deemed charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter. Md. Code, Crim. Law § 2-208; see also Dishman v. State, 352 Md. 279, 285-90 (1998).

Trial Testimony

At trial, Britt testified that he arrived at Andrew's Bar and Grill at approximately 1:00 a.m. on the day of the shooting. Approximately one hour later, as the bar was closing, he left the bar and walked to his vehicle, which was parked just outside the bar's entrance/exit. While he was standing by his vehicle, Britt observed a vehicle arrive and park behind his vehicle. An individual, whom Britt later identified as Lewis, got out of the vehicle through the passenger-side door and approached him. Lewis "leaned across the front" of Britt's vehicle and stated, "What the fuck are you looking at?" In response, Britt "basically looked" at Lewis and "kind of gave him like a slight giggle." Lewis then stated, "I will kill all you fuckers out here anyway." Concurrently, Lewis pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants. After a short struggle, Britt ran away. As he was running away, he was shot five times. Britt continued running for a short distance. He collapsed eventually against a nearby building. He retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and called 911.

Edgardo Davis testified that, at approximately 1:43 a.m. on the day of the shooting, he went to Andrew's Bar and Grill and had a drink. Shortly after Davis arrived at the bar, a woman came in and stated that "somebody just shot some people outside and there is a woman out … on the sidewalk dead." Davis testified that he then went outside and saw a woman, later identified as Aaron, "laying on her stomach on the side of the curb." Davis testified further that he recognized Aaron as having been in the bar prior to the shooting. As he got closer to where she was lying, Davis could see that she had been shot in the back of the neck or head. Aaron was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the back of the neck.

Lewis testified in his defense. He acknowledged that he had been at Andrew's Bar and Grill on the day of the shooting. Prior to the shooting, however, he claimed to have left the bar and got into a fight with some unidentified individuals in the parking lot. Lewis said that the fight lasted a few minutes and, following the fight, he went to his nearby vehicle and drove away. Lewis asserted that he did not return to the bar. He denied being involved in the shooting.

Charges Submitted to the Jury

At the conclusion of the State's case-in-chief, the prosecutor informed the trial court that, with respect to the victim Aaron, the State would be submitting to the jury only the charges of first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree specific intent murder, second-degree depraved heart murder, and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. Defense counsel appeared to acquiesce in the State's decision by limiting its response to only those crimes. As to the victim Britt, the State indicated its intent to proceed with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence.

Jury Instruction on Involuntary Manslaughter

During trial, defense counsel submitted a written request for jury instructions. Included in that request was Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Instruction 4:17.8, which sets forth the elements for second-degree depraved heart murder, grossly negligent act involuntary manslaughter, and unlawful act involuntary manslaughter. MPJI-CR 4:17.8.

Later, while discussing potential jury instructions with the trial court, defense counsel reiterated that he was requesting an instruction on "a second-degree depraved heart misdemeanor version which involved involuntary manslaughter." Defense counsel argued that a rational juror could make a finding on involuntary manslaughter given "the razor-thin differentiation between second-degree depraved requirements and requirements for … involuntary manslaughter." The court declined defense counsel's request, finding that an involuntary manslaughter instruction was "inappropriate … based upon the facts that have been presented in this case."

Conviction and First Appeal

The jury convicted Lewis of attempted second-degree murder of Britt, second-degree depraved heart murder of Aaron, and both counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. The jury acquitted Lewis of the remaining charges.

Lewis noted an appeal in this Court. Lewis v. State, No. 515, September Term 2011 (opinion filed 23 February 2012). In that appeal, Lewis did not argue that the trial court had erred in refusing to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter. Id. We affirmed Lewis's convictions in an unreported opinion. Id.

Post-Conviction Proceedings

In 2019, Lewis filed a petition for post-conviction relief, arguing, among other things, that appellate counsel had rendered ineffective assistance in failing to argue that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter. The post-conviction court granted Lewis 120 days to file a belated appeal. This timely appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

Parties' Contentions

Lewis argues that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter. He asserts that, pursuant to Maryland Rule 4-325, the court was required to give the instruction because it was requested by the defense and was generated by some evidence. He notes that because he was indicted under the statutory "short form" indictment for murder, he could have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Had the involuntary manslaughter instruction been given, he imagines that the jury would have had the opportunity to better assess his "level of blameworthiness" and would have found him likely guilty of involuntary manslaughter, rather than second- degree depraved heart murder. He maintains that he should be granted a new trial "in the interests of justice."

The State counters that the trial court did not err. The State argues that an instruction on involuntary manslaughter was not required pursuant to Rule 4-325 because the prosecutor, in informing the court at the close of the State's case that the State was proceeding on first and second-degree murder, had "nolle prossed" effectively the involuntary manslaughter charge. The State asserts, in other words, that the involuntary manslaughter charge was not a "charged" offense when the court declined to give the instruction and that, as a result, Rule 4-325 did not apply. The State maintains, rather, that the court's decision should be reviewed for abuse of discretion as to whether, based on the evidence presented at trial, any rational trier of fact could have found Lewis guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but not guilty of second-degree depraved heart murder. The State avers that, when viewed under that standard, the court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to give the involuntary manslaughter instruction.

Analysis

Maryland Rule 4-325 states, in relevant part, that a "court may and at the request of any party shall, instruct the jury as to the applicable law and the extent to which the instructions are binding." Md. Rule 4-325(c). That Rule "has been interpreted consistently as requiring the giving of a requested instruction when the following three-part test has been met: (1) the instruction is a correct statement of law; (2) the instruction...