Appeal
from the St. Joseph Superior Court The Honorable Elizabeth C.
Hurley, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 71D08-1603-MR-002
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Amy D. Griner Griner & Company
Mishawaka, Indiana
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Attorney General
of Indiana Ian McLean Supervising Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
Vaidik, Chief Judge.
Case
Summary
[¶1]
Jabreeh Cash Davis-Martin was convicted of murder for the
brutal beating death of Jodie Henderson in South Bend in
January 2016. He now appeals his conviction on a variety of
grounds as well as his maximum sentence of sixty-five years.
Specifically, Davis-Martin contends that (1) the State
withheld his cell-phone records in violation of Brady v.
Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), (2) the State violated his
due-process rights by not correcting a detective's false
testimony, (3) the trial court erred in not supplementing the
pattern jury instruction on impeachment by prior inconsistent
statements, (4) the trial court admitted evidence that he
told his mother he did not want to talk to the police in
violation of his Fifth Amendment privilege against
self-incrimination, (5) the evidence is insufficient to
support his conviction, and (6) the trial court erred in not
identifying three mitigators. We affirm.
Facts
and Procedural History
[¶2]
Around 6:30 p.m. on January 15, 2016, Jodie and his aunt,
Donna Forrest, went to Felisha Sconiers's house on Sorin
Street in South Bend. Felisha's mother and son,
Davis-Martin, also lived in the house, with Davis-Martin
staying in the basement. Shortly after arriving at the Sorin
Street house, Jodie suggested buying alcohol. Jodie, Donna,
and Felisha went to the liquor store and bought some vodka.
Upon returning to the house, they sat around the kitchen
table and drank. Throughout the evening, other people were
coming and going, including Davis-Martin and his friend,
Ricky Jackson. While Jodie, Donna, and Felisha were at the
kitchen table, Jodie, an openly gay man, told Felisha that he
"want[ed]" her son, Davis-Martin. Tr. Vol. II p.
32; Ex. 278 (video). Felisha told Jodie not to talk about her
son, adding "you can talk to me about my husband,
though, you can have that motherfu**er." Ex. 278. Jodie
responded that he didn't want her husband, he was
"gonna git [her] son." Id. Felisha told
Jodie to stand up, because she was going to "kick [him]
in [the] a** right now." Id. Jodie then asked
Felisha what made her think that Davis-Martin "ain't
in love with me too?" Id. Felisha responded,
"I know he ain't." Id. When Jodie
called Davis-Martin his "husband," Felisha, upset,
warned him not to talk about her son "like that."
Id.
[¶3]
As the evening wore on, Jodie passed out. It was later
determined that his blood-alcohol content had been in the
range of 0.25. Tr. Vol. III p. 31. Donna was unable to rouse
Jodie, so around 11:45 p.m. Davis-Martin, who was getting
ready to go out, moved Jodie to the living-room couch. Donna
put Jodie's two cell phones and car keys in his coat
pocket and then put his coat on top of him as a blanket.
After confirming with Felisha that Jodie could sleep on the
couch, Donna went home. As she left, she saw Davis-Martin
standing at a car talking to someone.
[¶4]
Meanwhile, Felisha went to sleep on the couch near Jodie. At
some point, Felisha heard Jodie get up and say he was
leaving.
[¶5]
Sometime around 2:00 to 3:00 a.m., Ricky returned to the
Sorin Street house because he had left his coat there.
According to Ricky, the outside of the house "didn't
look right" because there was "like blood and
stuff." Tr. Vol. II p. 207. Ricky also saw "a dude
sitting up across the street" on the curb. Id.
at 208. After he got his coat and was leaving, Ricky noticed
that the man across the street (he did not know who it was,
but he could tell it was not Davis-Martin) was mumbling that
he wanted to go home. Id. at 212. Ricky did not help
the man, however, because he had just been released from
prison two weeks earlier and did not want to get in trouble.
[¶6]
Shortly before 7 a.m., police officers from the South Bend
Police Department were dispatched to the 1200 block of East
Sorin Street on a report of an unresponsive male in the
street. Upon arrival, the officers found Jodie lying face
down in the street across from the Sorin Street house. Jodie,
who had significant head trauma, did not have a coat on, and
he was missing his left shoe. Paramedics arrived and
pronounced him dead.
[¶7]
There was a good deal of evidence for the officers to collect
at the scene. At the Sorin Street house, the officers
observed blood in the snow in the front yard, on the cement
walkway leading to the house, and on the front porch. More
blood was found near Jodie's body across the street from
the house. The officers observed that a paver had been
removed from the top of a retaining wall and was on the
ground near Jodie's body. In addition, the porch railing
by the front door of the house had been broken away from the
house and was leaning out toward the yard. One of the
spindles was broken, with half of it missing. In the front
yard, the officers found the missing half of the spindle with
blood on it as well as part of a broken chair, a piece of
black material, and a piece of circular foam with blood on
it.
[¶8]
The snow also contained clues about Jodie's death. The
officers found several footprints in the snow that had been
made by two different shoes. The tread pattern of one was
consistent with Nike Air Force 1 shoes. The officers also
found an impression in the snow that resembled a folding
chair with a circular seat. Finally, the officers found drag
marks in the snow leading away from the Sorin Street house
toward Jodie's body across the street.
[¶9]
Inside the Sorin Street house, the officers found Jodie's
missing left shoe underneath a recliner in the living room.
The officers also found a pile of trash at the bottom of the
basement stairs. Inside the pile of trash was a pair of Nike
Air Force 1 shoes. Later forensic testing revealed that
Davis-Martin's DNA was on the shoes. A comparison of the
impressions from the Nike Air Force 1 shoes and the
footprints in the snow showed that they were a match. Tr.
Vol. III p. 62. The officers also found a folding chair in
the basement that looked like the impression in the snow. The
officers brought the intact chair outside, and it matched the
impression. The broken chair part and piece of black material
found in the yard also matched the chair found in the
basement.
[¶10]
Later that day, South Bend Police Department Detective Brian
Cook interviewed Felisha. During the interview, Detective
Cook told Felisha that he wanted to interview her son.
Felisha then called Davis-Martin from the interview room and
told him that the police wanted him to come to the station
"because they found Jodie dead across the street, and
they want[ed] to talk to everybody who was [at the Sorin
Street house] last night." Tr. Vol. II p. 66.
Davis-Martin replied, "I ain't going down there to
talk to nobody." Id. In a second call happening
"immediately after," Davis-Martin told his mother
that he did not have time to talk to the police because he
was at work. Id.; Tr. Vol. IV pp. 16-17. It was
later learned that Davis-Martin did not go to work that day.
[¶11]
An autopsy performed on January 17 found multiple abrasions
on Jodie's hands, arms, legs, torso, back, and head.
There were also lacerations to his head, which indicated that
the skin had been split open by forceful impacts. There was a
fracture to the outer layer of his skull and to a rib.
According to the forensic pathologist, the manner of death
was homicide, and the cause of death was multiple injuries,
"including blunt and chop injuries." Tr. Vol. III
p. 23. Jodie's alcohol consumption and exposure to the
cold contributed to his death. Id. at 22.
[¶12]
The investigation of Jodie's death continued throughout
February and March. On February 18, Davis-Martin was arrested
on an unrelated charge and incarcerated in the St. Joseph
County Jail. Around this same time, Detective Cook
interviewed Davis-Martin. Tr. Vol. II pp. 218-20; Tr. Vol. IV
p. 13. On February 21, Davis-Martin placed a phone call from
jail, which was recorded. During the call, Davis-Martin
stated that he had not yet finished cleaning his room in the
basement and needed the recipient of the call to throw away
the trash at the bottom of the stairs (which is where the
Nike Air Force 1 shoes had been found).
[¶13]
In March, a man named Brandon Trotter contacted police and
said that he had been at his sister's apartment in the
early-morning hours of January 16 and had seen Davis-Martin
there. According to Brandon, Davis-Martin was
"geeked" and "[h]igh on cocaine, weed, [and]
alcohol." Tr. Vol. III pp. 158, 161. Davis-Martin told
the people gathered there that he had hit somebody "over
the head" and the blood "squirted out like a
movie." Id. at 158. Brandon noticed blood on
Davis-Martin's shirt and in the webs between his fingers.
[¶14]
Also in March, police spoke with Cameron Wilson and Laura
Luna, who were also at that same apartment in the
early-morning hours of January 16. During their interviews
with Cameron and Laura, police learned that between 2:00 and
3:00 a.m. on January 16, Laura drove Cameron to the
apartment. Laura stayed in the car while Cameron went inside.
When Cameron walked in, Davis-Martin, whom he knew from high
school, was there. Davis-Martin asked Cameron for a ride to
Sorin Street. Cameron agreed, and Davis-Martin accompanied
him to the waiting car. Laura then drove to Sorin Street. On
the way, Davis-Martin said "he got into it [earlier that
night] with somebody because they made a pass on him"
and "tried to suck his di**." Id. at 171.
Davis-Martin referred to the person as a "fa**ot."
Id. at 195. Davis-Martin said he stabbed the person
"a couple times," threw him out of the house, and
thought he had killed him. Id. at 195. Neither
Cameron nor Laura believed Davis-Martin at the time.
[¶15]
When they were almost to Sorin Street, however, Davis-Martin
called his mother and told her to get rid of a coat, boil
some water and bleach and melt the snow with blood in it, and
clean the blood on the porch. Cameron said Davis-Martin did
not use Cameron's phone to make the call and that he
assumed Davis-Martin used Laura's phone. Laura, however,
said she did not know what phone Davis-Martin used. In any
event, when they pulled up across from the Sorin Street
house, the car's headlights illuminated Jodie lying in
the street in a curled-up position. He was barely moving.
Upon seeing this, Davis-Martin exclaimed, "fu**ing
fa**ot is still alive." Id. at 200.
Davis-Martin got out of the car and started kicking and
punching Jodie. Jodie, who did not fight back, grunted.
Davis-Martin then retrieved a paver from a nearby retaining
wall and was about to hit Jodie with it when Cameron got out
of the car and stopped him. As Cameron and Laura pulled away
from the house, Jodie's body was no longer curled up but
rather face down-the same position he was in when police
arrived shortly before 7 a.m. Numb and afraid, neither
Cameron nor Laura called police.
[¶16]
The State charged Davis-Martin with murder on March 22; he
was still in the St. Joseph County Jail on the unrelated
charge when he was served with the arrest warrant.
Appellant's App. Vol. II p. 137.
[¶17]
While incarcerated, Davis-Martin spoke to several inmates
about his case. For example, Andrew Fry was housed with
Davis-Martin for approximately six weeks beginning in June
2016. Davis-Martin and Andrew became friends, discussing the
frequent jailhouse topics of "Women and sex, our cases
and drugs, what we're in [jail] for," and "what
is going on in the cell block." Tr. Vol. II pp. 223-24.
During one of these conversations, Davis-Martin looked
"down" and "depressed." Id. at
224. To cheer him up, Andrew told him about one of his and
his wife's "swinger encounters." Id.
At the end of the story, Davis-Martin asked Andrew if he was
attracted to any of the men that he and his wife had
encounters with. Andrew responded yes, because he was
bisexual. Davis-Martin responded that he was bisexual, too.
Davis-Martin then asked Andrew if he had told anyone about
being bisexual, and Andrew answered that his wife knows
"and whoever I decide to let know." Id. at
225. Davis-Martin, however, said he did not want anyone to
know and "that's why he was in jail."
Id. at 226. Davis-Martin then explained that he and
Jodie had a relationship and that everything was going well
until Jodie wanted to tell people about their relationship.
Davis-Martin said one night, Jodie went to the Sorin Street
house looking for him and ended up telling his mother about
their relationship. Davis-Martin's mother then called him
inquiring about his relationship with Jodie. Davis-Martin was
"furious" about this. Id. at 228. When
Davis-Martin saw Jodie later, they argued, and Davis-Martin
hit him with a gun. Davis-Martin planned to hit Jodie
"only a few times," but "he couldn't stop
himself" and beat him up "until he couldn't
move no more." Id. at 229. Davis-Martin told
Andrew that although the police did not have a lot of
physical evidence implicating him, he was worried about
"some shoes." Id. at 231.
[¶18]
Davis-Martin also spoke with inmates Marcus Green and Anthony
Lyons. Davis-Martin and Marcus were cellmates for a short
time. According to Marcus, one day in September 2016
Davis-Martin told him that he was in jail for murder and that
"all he did was beat the guy's ass and he froze to
death." Tr. Vol. III p. 149. Davis-Martin explained that
the guy had told people they were having a relationship,
which made him "look like a f**." Id. at
150. In November 2016, Davis-Martin approached Anthony in the
jail and said he heard that Anthony had beat a murder charge
before and wanted to know his chances of doing the same.
Anthony responded that he did not beat a murder charge;
rather, he got convicted of a lesser charge. Davis-Martin
then asked Anthony if he knew about his charge. When Anthony
said no, Davis-Martin told him that he was in jail for
"killing the f**." Id. at 137. Anthony
responded that their cases were not the same. Davis-Martin
told Anthony that he still might be able to beat his murder
charge because no one saw him kill Jodie.
[¶19]
A jury trial was held in June 2017. At trial, Detective Cook
testified on direct examination that when he eventually
interviewed Davis-Martin in February 2016, Davis-Martin told
him that he did not have a cell phone and had not had one for
"quite some time." Tr. Vol. IV p. 17. Detective
Cook, however, testified that this statement was not true, as
he "received [Davis-Martin's] cellphone number
during [his] investigation and actually did a search warrant,
received his cellphone records . . . ." Id.
Detective Cook explained that Davis-Martin's cell-phone
records were "hit and miss" because with
"[t]oday's technology you can actually make an
internet call from your phone which is hard to track a
number." Id. Detective Cook explained that
despite Davis-Martin's claim that he did not have a cell
phone, he could tell from Davis-Martin's cell-phone
records that he, in fact, had a cell phone around the time of
Jodie's murder. On cross-examination, defense counsel
asked Detective Cook if he had Davis-Martin's cell-phone
records with him, and Detective Cook responded that he only
had his "notes" and "work product" with
him. Id. at 20. Defense counsel then asked Detective
Martin if there were any calls between Davis-Martin's
cell phone and Felisha's cell phone between 10 p.m. on
January 15 and the following day when Felisha called
Davis-Martin from the police station, and Detective Cook said
no. Id. at 22. Defense counsel also asked Detective
Cook if there were any calls between Laura's cell phone
and Felisha's cell phone around that same time, and
Detective Cook said no. Id. at 23, 36, 37-38.
Detective Cook reiterated that internet calls cannot be
tracked, which is one of law enforcement's "biggest
enemies" right now. Id. at 36; see also
id. at 38 (explaining that the internet "makes
phone calls disappear").
[¶20]
Defense counsel also cross-examined Detective Cook about
whether Marcus and Anthony had given him information in the
past:
Q Has Marcus Green provided you information on any other
cases; either a defendant who is already charged or a case
that you are investigating and he provides information that
would assist in that?
A Not that I recall.
* * * * *
Q What about Anthony Lyons?
A Possibility. He has been around a while.
Q Did you investigate a case against Brian Lac[e]y?
A Bryant Lac[e]y, yes, ...