State v. Walker

Court: Washington Supreme Court
Date filed: 2015-01-22
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       IN CLERKS OFFICE
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   IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

                                           )
  STATE OF WASHINGTON,                     )
                                           )            No. 89830-8
                             Respondent,   )
                                           )
           v.                              )            ENBANC
                                           )
  ODIES DELANDUS WALKER,                   )
                                           )            Filed:       JAN 2 2 2015
                             Petitioner.   )
  _______________________)

           YU, J.- Odies Delandus Walker was convicted as an accomplice to first

   degree murder, first degree assault, first degree robbery, solicitation, and

   conspiracy. The primary question in this case is whether those convictions must be

   reversed in light of the PowerPoint presentation the prosecuting attorney used

   during closing argument. That presentation repeatedly expressed the prosecutor's

   personal opinion on guilt-over 100 of its approximately 250 slides were headed

   with the words "DEFENDANT WALKER GUILTY OF PREMEDITATED

   MURDER," and one slide showed Walker's booking photograph altered with the

   words "GUILTY BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT," which were

   superimposed over his face in bold red letters. The prosecutor also appealed to
State v. Walker, No. 89830-8


passion and prejudice by juxtaposing photographs of the victim with photographs

of Walker and his family, some altered with the addition of inflammatory captions

and superimposed text. While the prosecutor is entitled to draw the jury's attention

to admitted evidence, those slides, as presented, served no legitimate purpose.

Their prejudicial effect could not have been cured by a timely objection, and we

cannot conclude with any confidence that Walker's convictions were the result of a

fair trial. Consistent with both long-standing precedent and our recent holding in In

re Personal Restraint ofGlasmann, 175 Wn.2d 696, 286 P.3d 673 (2012), we must

reverse Walker's convictions and remand for a new trial.

                       FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

       We summarize the underlying facts to provide a context for our decision in

this case. The State's evidence supports the following version of the events.

       During the relevant time period, Walker lived with his girlfriend, Tonie

Marie Williams-Irby; several of their children; and Walker's cousin, Calvin Finley.

Williams-Irby worked at a Walmart in Lakewood as a department manager.

Williams-Irby told Walker, Finley, and another friend (Jonathan) that she knew·

what time an armored truck arrived each day to pick up the store's daily receipts

and knew the average daily amount of those receipts from staff meetings. Several

weeks later, Walker discussed the armored truck with Finley and Jonathan, saying

it would be "easy money." 7 Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) at 656.



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State v. Walker, No. 89830-8


       Jonathan was later excluded from the robbery discussions. Other potential

participants were considered, and ultimately Walker, Finley, and their friend

Marshawn Turpin made a plan to rob the armored truck "custodian." 4 VRP at 170.

During this preliminary planning stage, Walker and Finley discussed the possibility

that Finley might need to shoot the armored truck custodian. Walker told Finley to

"do what you got to do," 7 VRP at 665, and that Walker would provide a gun.

Williams-Irby was aware of these plans and would regularly answer Walker's

questions about the amount of the store's daily receipts.

       On the day of the crime, Walker drove Williams-Irby to work and asked her

to find out what the day's receipts would be. Williams-Irby went to the daily staff

meeting and reported to Walker that the day's receipts totaled $207,000. Walker

and Finley then drove to the Walmart in a white Buick Oldsmobile. Turpin arrived

in a gold Nissan Maxima, then entered the parked Buick. When the armored truck

arrived to pick up the money, Finley and Turpin entered the store while Walker

remained in the Buick. Finley was armed with a handgun. As the armored truck

custodian reached the store entrance to leave, Finley and Turpin approached him

and Finley shot him in the head, killing him. Finley and Turpin grabbed the money

bag and fled in the Buick. Walker drove them to an alley behind a friend's house to

ditch the car. Walker later returned to the Walmart to pick up the gold Nissan.




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State v. Walker, No. 89830-8


       When Williams-Irby returned home from work, Walker told her that they

needed to go to where he had left the Buick so he could wipe away his fingerprints.

When they got there, police officers were milling around the car, so they left and

drove to another friend's house (AI Trevino). Williams-Irby testified that on the

way to Trevino's house, Walker told her that he was in the white Buick in the

Walmart parking lot and was on the phone with Finley during the robbery. When

Finley asked for the money, the armored truck driver laughed, so Walker told

Finley to "kill the mother fucker." 8 VRP at 729.

       Finley and Turpin were already at Trevino's house when Walker and

Williams-Irby arrived. After distributing some of the cash, Walker, Finley, and

Turpin placed the clothes they were wearing during the robbery and the now-

empty money bag into a plastic bag, which Finley discarded in a nearby river.

       Walker and Williams-Irby left Trevino's house after about 30 minutes and

drove to a motel in Fife where Walker met up with Finley and Trevino. Walker and

Williams-Irby then drove to a Walmart in Federal Way, and Walker bought two

safes and a video game system. Walker kept one safe for himself and drove back to

Fife to give the other safe to Finley. Walker and Williams-Irby then returned home,

where Walker put a gun and his share of the robbery proceeds in his safe and put

the safe and the video game system in his bedroom closet.




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State v. Walker, No. 89830-8


       Walker then took Williams-Irby and their children out for dinner at Red

Lobster. At dinner, Walker told Williams-Irby's son, "This is how you murder

these niggers and get this money." Jd. at 773. Walker paid the bill for the meal,

nearly $200, in cash. Police pulled over and arrested Walker and Williams-Irby as

they drove home from the restaurant. Williams-Irby told police she didn't know

anything. When interviewed by police, Walker denied having any involvement

with the robbery.

       Williams-Irby was charged and, after entering into a plea agreement with the

State, testified against Walker consistent with the above factual summary. The

State charged Walker as an accomplice to aggravated first degree premeditated

murder, first degree felony murder, first degree assault, first degree robbery, first

degree solicitation to commit robbery, and first degree conspiracy to commit

robbery. The State also sought deadly weapon enhancements for the murder,

assault, and robbery charges.

       In opening statements, the prosecutor said:

              When the police question the defendant, he is being-he is
       adamant. He is cursing. He is yelling. He is swearing. He is saying he
       didn't have any idea why the police stopped him. Why did you arrest
       me? I didn't do anything. I had nothing to do with it. My wife,
       Williams-Irby, she didn't have anything to do with this. He is lying
       like crazy to the police. Williams-Irby pled guilty to second-degree
       murder, and she will tell you what she had to do with it. He told the
       cops he didn't have anything to do with it.
              ... At the close of this case, we are going to ask you to convict
       the defendant of each one, every one of these righteous charges that


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  ,
State v. Walker, No. 89830-8


       have been filed against him.

Suppl. VRP (Mar. 7, 2011) at 48, 52. Walker's counsel did not object to these

statements.

       During closing remarks, the prosecutor utilized a PowerPoint presentation

made up of approximately 250 slides. Over 100 of those slides have the heading

"DEFENDANT WALKER GUILTY OF PREMEDITATED MURDER." Pl.'s

Ex. 243, at 6-7,9-49, 54, 56-59,61-66, 68-77. Two slides have the heading

"DEFENDANT WALKER GUILTY OF ASSAULT IN THE FIRST

DEGREE," id. at 83, and three have the heading "DEFENDANT WALKER

GUILTY OF SOLICITATION TO COMMIT ROBBERY," id. at 85-86. The

PowerPoint also includes a slide superimposing the words "GUlL TY BEYOND A

REASONABLE DOUBT" over Walker's booking photo.Jd. at 87. The record

contains only grayscale copies of the slides, but the briefing indicates that the

lettering was in bright red. See Pet'r's Suppl. Br. at 2.




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State v. Walker, No. 89830-8


Pl.'s Ex. 243, at 87.

         There is a series of slides suggesting Walker is guilty because he used the

stolen money for video games and lobster. The first asserts, "Defendant Walker is

GUILTY as an ACCOMPLICE to the murder because he SPLURGED ON

FRIVOLOUS THINGS." Id. at 63. The next slides explain that those splurges

included "[two] safes, a WII [sic] and several games at the Federal Way Walmart,"

as well as "$200.00 for dinner at the Red Lobster." Jd. at 63-64. The next slide is a

photo of Walker and his family happily eating that dinner. Id. at 64.


        DEFENDANT WALKER GUlLTV OF                            DEFENDANT WALKER GUlLTY
           PREMEDITATED MURDER                                   PREMEDITATED MURDER
                                                                   t'U5:FeNDANT SPLURGED
       (28} O~fendant Walker is GUlLTY as an
       ACCOMPLICE to th~ murder klifl