Roberson v. Commonwealth

694 S.W.3d 272

Demetrius ROBERSON, Appellant

v.COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee

2022-SC-0158-MR

Supreme Court of Kentucky.

April 18, 2024

ON APPEAL FROM LOGAN CIRCUIT COURT, HONORABLE JOE W. HENDRICKS, JR., JUDGE, NO. 17-CR-00220

COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT: Michael Lawrence Goodwin, Louisville.

COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE: Russell M. Coleman, Attorney General of Kentucky, Kristin Leigh Conder, Assistant Attorney General.

OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE KELLER

A Logan County jury convicted Demetrius Roberson of one count of murder, one count of robbery in the first degree, nine counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree, and one count of attempted murder. Roberson was sentenced to life without parole for twenty-five years. This appeal followed as a matter of right. See Ky. Const. § 110(2)(b). Having reviewed the record and the arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the Logan Circuit Court.

I. BACKGROUND

Between midnight and 1:00 a.m. on August 21, 2016, two men, dressed in all black and with their faces covered, entered the apartment of Lexus Bell (Bell) in Russellville, Kentucky. One man was shorter, and one was taller. The shorter man went into the back bedroom where Bell was located with her baby son. The shorter man fired a warning shot and then backed out of the bedroom, closing the door. He then fired five shots toward the bedroom. One of those gunshots went through the door and hit Bell, killing her. The taller man stayed in the front of the apartment with his gun pointed at Estoria Mordica, who was Bell’s boyfriend’s sister.

Also in the apartment were five of Bell’s juvenile siblings, Estoria, and Estoria’s three children. In all, eleven people were located in the two-bedroom apartment. As he left the apartment, the shorter man fired five additional shots, at least some of which were aimed towards Estoria and her children. In total, eleven shots were fired in the small apartment.

The Commonwealth’s theory of the case centered around Reba Kirk (Kirk). Kirk was a resident of the Robinwood Apartments, the same apartment complex where Bell lived. Kirk sold marijuana from her apartment. Zach Mordica (Mordica), Bell’s boyfriend, sold marijuana from Bell’s apartment. Jordan Lunsford (Lunsford), Kirk’s nephew and the boyfriend of Antoinette Wynn (Wynn), Bell’s sister, stayed back and forth between Kirk’s apartment and Bell’s apartment.

In February of 2016, Kirk went on a trip to Atlanta. While she was gone, she left her drug dealing business in the hands of Lunsford. When she returned, her money and her drugs "weren’t right." Eventually, Kirk determined that Mordica had taken her drugs and money, and Kirk was angry.

At the end of July of 2016, Kirk and Roberson began messaging on Facebook and, according to Kirk, subsequently began a sexual relationship. Kirk testified that one day Roberson told her that he wanted to "hit a lick," which meant that he wanted to rob someone. Kirk suggested that they rob Mordica because she wanted her money back from the February incident. She testified that the robbery was not discussed again until the night that it occurred.

Kirk testified that on the night of August 20, 2016, she was at Roberson’s mother’s trailer in Bowling Green, where Roberson also lived. Roberson stepped out of the room to use the phone, and when he returned, he told Kirk to ask his mother to borrow her car. Kirk did so, and Roberson directed her to an apartment in Bowling Green. Roberson went into the apartment and came back outside with two men whom Kirk did not know. These two men were eventually identified as Tayveon Bibb and Deon Young.

According to Kirk, the foursome then went to the Robinwood Apartments. Kirk went into her apartment while the three men went towards Bell’s apartment. Bibb had second thoughts and returned to the car, and Roberson and Young went into the apartment dressed in all black and wearing masks. After the robbery, Roberson called Kirk to pick them up, and she did so. Kirk testified that Roberson got into the car carrying a black bag. Kirk then dropped off Bibb and Young where she picked them up in Bowling Green. Then she drove Roberson to a storage unit, where he deposited the bag. Then, they went back to Roberson’s mother’s trailer.

Kirk described Roberson’s demeanor back at the trailer variably as "hysterical," "frantic," and "hyper." Roberson told Kirk that his "ears were ringing, and he thought he killed her." Kirk testified that neither she nor Roberson slept very much that night and the next day, she told Roberson’s mother that they had gone to Russellville the night before. Roberson became very angry and told his mother to take Kirk to her mother’s house. Kirk testified that Roberson threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone what happened and that the relationship ended after that.

The Commonwealth presented voluminous other evidence to support its theory of the case, including testimony from Young and deposition testimony from Bibb, who had died before the trial. The Commonwealth also presented evidence that the murder weapon was found in a bag in the car of LaVonsaye Roberson (LaVonsaye), Roberson’s wife.¹ While the evidence presented through the testimony of each of the witnesses was not entirely consistent regarding many of the details, it largely followed the general story as described by Kirk.

Roberson, on the other hand, presented evidence that he was at his mother’s house with numerous members of his family on the night of the shooting and that he never left. Several family members testified to this alibi defense. Throughout the trial, he also sought to impeach the Commonwealth’s witnesses, questioning their credibility and their motives to lie.

After hearing the evidence, the jury convicted Roberson of the murder of Bell, the attempted murder of Estoria, and wanton endangerment in the first degree as to each of the children in Bell’s apartment at the time of the shooting. The trial court sentenced Roberson to life without parole for twenty-five years. Additional facts are discussed as needed for our analysis.

II. ANALYSIS

Roberson alleges several errors by the trial court and urges this Court to reverse his convictions. First, he argues that the trial court erred in excluding evidence that another man, Quinton Posey, admitted shooting Lexus Bell. Next, he argues that the trial court erred in admitting deposition testimony of Tayveon Bibb. He also argues that the trial court erred in excluding testimony regarding why Roberson broke up with his child’s mother. He next argues that the Commonwealth improperly called his mother a liar and accused her of committing perjury during her cross-examination. He also argues that the trial court erroneously excluded evidence that his family attempted to provide police with exculpatory evidence. Roberson also argues that the trial court erroneously failed to sequester the jury during its guilt phase deliberations. Next, he argues that the trial court erred in allowing the jury to review only a portion of a witness’s testimony and not the entirety of that testimony. Finally, he asserts that the jury returned inconsistent verdicts as to his recommended sentence, and that the trial court erred in imposing the longer of the two sentences. We address each of Roberson’s arguments in turn.

A. Quinton Posey Admission

Roberson first argues that the trial court erred in excluding testimony from a defense investigator that Kelsey Hampton had told the investigator that she had heard Quinton Posey admit that he shot Bell. He argues that Posey’s admission was not hearsay, as it was not offered for the truth of the matter asserted but instead was offered as evidence that an alternative perpetrator committed the murder.² He further asserts that even if it was hearsay, it was admissible as a statement against interest and a verbal act by Posey. Roberson focuses his argument on his right to present a defense and argues that the exclusion of the evidence violated this right, as well as his rights to due process and a fair trial.

[1, 2] The standard of review on evidentiary issues is abuse of discretion. Clark v. Commonwealth, 223 S.W.3d 90, 95 (Ky. 2007); Commonwealth v. English, 993 S.W.2d 941, 945 (Ky. 1999). "The test for abuse of discretion is whether the trial judge’s decision was arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair, or unsupported by sound legal principles." Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Thompson, 11 S.W.3d 575, 581 (Ky. 2000) (citing English, 993 S.W.2d at 945).

Posey testified on behalf of the Commonwealth. He testified that after the shooting, many people suspected he may have been involved but that he was not. On cross-examination, Roberson asked Posey if Posey knew Kelsey Hampton. Posey stated that he did not know Hampton by name but may know her if he saw her. He testified that he did not remember if he was ever at a gathering with Hampton, and he unequivocally denied that he ever said he "pulled the trigger" that killed Bell.

During Roberson’s case-in-chief, Roberson called Kelsey Hampton to testify. Hampton testified that she was married to Quinton Hampton and that she was told Quinton Hampton and Quinton Posey were cousins. Roberson asked Hampton if she was ever at a gathering with Posey, and Hampton said that she could not remember. Roberson then attempted to ask Hampton if she had heard Posey say that he "pulled the trigger" that killed Bell, but the Commonwealth objected. The trial court held a bench conference and then excused the jury so that the parties could discuss the admissibility of this evidence. Eventually, outside of the presence of the jury, Hampton stated that she could not remember whether she was ever at a gathering with Posey, could not remember if Posey ever said he "pulled the trigger," and could not remember ever speaking with a defense investigator.

After much discussion and argument, the trial court found that Posey’s alleged statement that he "pulled the trigger" was inadmissible, as it was...