State v. Griffin

STATE OF WASHINGTON, Respondent, v. DUSTIN ALAN GRIFFIN, Appellant.

No. 54224-2-II

COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION II

July 13, 2021

UNPUBLISHED OPINION

GLASGOW, A.C.J.—Dustin Alan Griffin and Kristopher Hoyt broke into Donald Howard's home. Howard unexpectedly returned home, interrupting the burglary. Griffin struck Howard on the back of the head with a baseball bat incapacitating him. Griffin removed jewelry from Howard's body and valuables from his pockets before hitting him additional times with the bat and, later, the stock of an assault rifle. Howard died from his injuries.

During the investigation into Howard's murder, detectives falsified a written confession, signing Griffin's name, to prompt Hoyt to confess. Hoyt ultimately testified against Griffin at trial, detailing how Griffin beat Howard. The jury found Griffin guilty of premeditated first degree murder with aggravating circumstances.

Griffin argues that the State failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove the murder was premeditated. Griffin also argues that the detectives committed police misconduct when they fabricated the statement from Griffin. Griffin filed a statement of additional grounds for review (SAG). Finally, Griffin filed supplemental briefing asking that this court remand for resentencing in light of our Supreme Court's recent decision to strike down Washington's strict liability drug possession statute, former RCW 69.50.4013(1) (2017). State v. Blake, 197 Wn.2d 170, 481 P.3d 521 (2021).

We affirm Griffin's convictions but remand for resentencing and correction of Griffin's judgment and sentence in light of Blake.

FACTS

I. HOWARD'S DEATH

In November 2016, Griffin and Hoyt decided to break into Howard's home because they knew he had valuables. Howard was an avid fisherman who was known to go fishing almost every morning. Griffin and Hoyt drove to Howard's home in a stolen truck, and Griffin brought an assault rifle. They arrived in the middle of the night and waited to approach Howard's house until they saw Howard leave. After Howard left, Griffin and Hoyt broke in through a back window. They started gathering valuables.

Hoyt was in the office that was immediately to the left of the front door when he heard the front door being unlocked. As the door was opening, Hoyt tried to let Griffin know that someone was coming inside. The noise caught Howard's attention, and Howard moved toward Hoyt.

As Howard was confronting Hoyt, Griffin approached Howard from behind and hit the back of Howard's head with a baseball bat he had apparently found in Howard's home. Howard immediately fell to the floor and was incapacitated. Griffin removed Howard's jewelry and items in Howard's pockets, tied up Howard, and struck Howard with the baseball bat several more times. Griffin also moved Howard to the living room.

Griffin and Hoyt then took another 15 to 30 minutes to look for more valuables. Although Hoyt's testimony about the sequence of events was at times inconsistent, he testified that Griffinstruck a last blow to Howard's head with the stock of the assault rifle as they were leaving the house. Howard was still breathing when they left.

The next day, Griffin returned to Howard's house and set fire to it using accelerants. A neighbor called 911. Firefighters responded, extinguished the fire, and discovered Howard's body inside.

II. INVESTIGATION

The investigation into Howard's death eventually led the detectives to suspect that Griffin and Hoyt were involved in Howard's murder. The detectives went to visit Hoyt, who was then incarcerated on different charges. About five minutes into their interview, the detectives presented Hoyt with a written confession purportedly from Griffin. The confession was, in fact, written and signed by the detectives. The confession alleged that Hoyt had killed Howard and forced Griffin to help him take valuables from Howard's home. Hoyt was shocked but initially declined to give a statement of his own. The detectives then showed Hoyt photos of Howard's beaten body. The detectives also took fingerprints and DNA samples from Hoyt.

As the detectives were preparing to leave, they told Hoyt to call them if he ever changed his mind and wanted to do the right thing. Hoyt then chose to make a statement consistent with the events described above. When Hoyt later learned that the detectives had falsified Griffin's confession, he did not change his story.

Hoyt pleaded guilty to first degree murder, first degree burglary, and first degree robbery. Hoyt agreed to testify at Griffin's trial in exchange for being able to withdraw his original plea and enter a plea of guilty to second degree conspiracy to murder, first degree burglary, and first degree robbery after his testimony.

The State charged Griffin with premeditated first degree murder with an aggravating circumstance, first degree felony murder, first degree burglary, first degree robbery, first degree arson, first degree unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of a stolen vehicle. A firearm enhancement and deadly weapon enhancement were added to Griffin's murder, burglary, and robbery charges.

III. TRIAL AND SENTENCING

Griffin's case proceeded to a jury trial. Hoyt testified consistent with the facts described above. The jury was told about Hoyt's plea agreement and the confession the detectives falsified.

A medical examiner testified that Howard suffered blunt force trauma to at least six different locations on his head. There were injuries to Howard's face, the back of Howard's head, and on both sides of his head. The blows to the back of his head were likely lethal. There were also injuries to Howard's chest that included broken ribs and bleeding in the chest wall. The medical examiner concluded that Howard lived, at most, a few hours after the beatings.

Finally, another witness testified that sometime around Thanksgiving 2016, near the time Howard's murder was discovered, she took a trip with Griffin and his girlfriend. On that trip, Griffin had a big, long gun in a long black case. The witness saw Griffin set the gun on a tripod and fire it. Hoyt also testified that Griffin brought an assault rifle with him to Howard's home and that Griffin had a tripod and a long, dark rifle case for the gun.

The jury found Griffin guilty on all counts. The jury also returned special verdicts finding the aggravating factors that Griffin committed the murder "to conceal the commission of a crime or to protect or conceal the identity of any person committing a crime" and "in the course of, in furtherance of, or in immediate flight from burglary in the first degree." Clerk's Papers (CP) at112, 114. The jury also found Griffin was armed with a deadly weapon when he committed the murder, burglary, and robbery.

To avoid double jeopardy, the trial court vacated the felony murder conviction. At sentencing, Griffin's offender score included points for convictions for possession of a controlled substance. Griffin appeals his remaining convictions and sentence.

ANALYSIS

I. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

Griffin contends the State failed to provide sufficient evidence that Griffin acted with premeditation when killing Howard. We conclude that, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, there was sufficient evidence of premeditation to sustain Griffin's premeditated first degree murder conviction.

A. Standard of Review

The State is required to prove every element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Rich, 184 Wn.2d 897, 903, 365 P.3d 746 (2016). "A claim of insufficiency admits the truth of the State's evidence and all inferences that reasonably can be drawn therefrom." State v. Salinas, 119 Wn.2d 192, 201, 829 P.2d 1068 (1992). If any rational trier of fact can find the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, then the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction. Id.

Direct evidence and circumstantial evidence are equally reliable. State v. Cardenas-Flores, 189 Wn.2d 243, 266, 401 P.3d 19 (2017). "However, inferences based on circumstantial evidence must be reasonable and cannot be based on speculation." State v. Vasquez, 178 Wn.2d 1, 16, 309P.3d 318 (2013). We defer to the trier of fact regarding any credibility determinations. Cardenas-Flores, 189 Wn.2d at 266.

B. Premeditated Murder

To convict a defendant of premeditated first degree murder, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant with premeditated intent caused the death of a person. RCW 9A.32.030(1)(a); State v. Hummel, 196 Wn. App. 329, 354, 383 P.3d 592 (2016). Premeditation requires "more than a moment in point of time." RCW 9A.32.020(1). The State must show "'the deliberate formation of and reflection upon the intent to take a human life'" with "'thinking beforehand, deliberation, reflection, weighing or reasoning for a period of time, however short.'" Hummel, 196 Wn. App. at 354 (quoting State v. Hoffman, 116 Wn.2d 51, 82-83, 804 P.2d 577 (1991)). "The 'mere opportunity to deliberate is not sufficient to support a finding of premeditation.'" Id. (quoting State v. Pirtle, 127 Wn.2d 628, 644, 904 P.2d 245 (1995)).

Four factors that are particularly relevant when establishing premeditation are: method, procurement of a weapon, stealth, and motive. State v. DeJesus, 7 Wn. App. 2d 849, 883, 436 P.3d 834, review denied, 193 Wn.2d 1024 (2019). However, a "wide range" of other factors can also be relevant and can "support an inference of premeditation." State v. Aguilar, 176 Wn. App. 264, 273, 308 P.3d 778 (2013) (citing State v. Finch, 137 Wn.2d 792, 831, 975 P.2d 967 (1999)). Thus, we consider the totality of the circumstances. See State v. Ollens, 107 Wn.2d 848, 855, 733 P.2d 984 (1987) (Callow, J., concurring in result) (describing the jury's evaluation of whether a killing was premeditated as "the evaluation of the totality of the evidence in the light of all of the...