Thomas v. State

IRMA S. RAKER (Retired, specially assigned), J. Kenneth Thomas, appellant, presents a single question for our review: Did the Circuit Court for Montgomery County err by admitting a witness’s prior consistent statements into evidence? We shall hold that the testimony in question was admissible pursuant to Maryland Rule 5-802.1, which sets out exceptions to the hearsay rule. Accordingly, we shall affirm. ³⁸⁹ I. Appellant was indicted by the Grand Jury for Montgomery County with one count of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance (“CDS”). He was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, and the court sentenced him to a term of incarceration of five years, with all but eighteen months suspended, and three years of supervised probation.

On December 9, 2009, Richard Benjamin contacted appellant to buy crack cocaine from him. Appellant told Benjamin to meet him at the Blockbuster Video store located in the Nealsville Shopping Center in Germantown, Maryland. Benjamin arrived between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. that evening; appellant arrived about thirty minutes later, driving a gold Saturn. Benjamin got out of his car, got into the front passenger side of appellant’s car, and paid him $50 consisting of two $20 bills and one $10 bill, in exchange for a rock of crack cocaine.

With the transaction concluded, both men left the parking lot in their own cars. Unbeknownst to them, however, Officer Peter Johnson of the Montgomery County Police Department (“MCPD”) observed their interaction, though he did not see an exchange because his view was partially obscured by the dashboard of appellant’s car. Believing he had witnessed a drug purchase, Officer Johnson radioed other MCPD officers to intercept both men. Two officers, including Jeffrey Rea, stopped Benjamin and began to question him.

Officer Johnson arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Benjamin consented to a search, and the officers discovered a .53 gram rock of crack cocaine in one of his shoes, whereupon he was placed under arrest and charged with possession. Benjamin told the police that he had just purchased the drugs near the local Blockbuster for $50 from a man he knew as “Kenny,” who drove a gold Saturn; in court, Benjamin identified appellant as that man. While the police questioned and searched Benjamin, other police officers stopped appellant shortly after he left the shopping center parking lot.

They found $275 in appellant’s ³⁹⁰ possession, including $50 consisting of two $20 bills and one $10 bill, discovered separately from the other money in his left jacket pocket. The police, however, did not find any drugs in appellant’s car or on his person. Benjamin was the first witness called by the State at trial. The State questioned him about his drug charge arising out of the events of the instant case as well as an unrelated unauthorized use of a motor vehicle charge that arose after this drug case.

Benjamin stated that he had received probation before judgment (“PBJ”) in connection with his drug charge. He testified that within the prior two weeks he had been charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, stemming from an incident in which he borrowed a truck from a friend of his girlfriend. Appellant’s counsel, on cross-examination, asked the following: “Q: Mr. Benjamin— A: Uh-huh. Q: —in terms of the vehicle being returned, didn’t in fact the police take the vehicle?

A: They came to the house. I, when I—what happened was I was using— Q: Well— A: —it for the day because— Q: Okay. A: Do you want me to finish or— Q: No, I ask the questions. I want you to answer my questions.

A: Okay. Q: —okay? Did you return the vehicle to them, or did the police get the vehicle from you or tell you not to use the vehicle anymore? A: Actually, yeah, actually, the police came to the door, and then, Yvonne came and picked it up— Q: Okay.

A: Yvonne and Jerry. Q: So you didn’t actually take it back to her? ³⁹¹ A: No, no. Q: And you didn’t call her and tell, tell her that you still had the vehicle? A: No. Q: Okay.

And, in fact, she spent the better part of that day, prior to calling the police or reporting to the police that the vehicle wasn’t returned, she spent the better part of that day trying to get in touch with you ... to find out where the vehicle was.” The cross examination of Benjamin continued, and it became clear that he had kept the vehicle for longer and for purposes other than it had been loaned, and that the car’s owner reported it as stolen. Defense counsel continued: “Q: Were you informed that you had charges against you or potential charges for unauthorized use of a vehicle or failure to return a vehicle? A: That evening they said I could be charged with something. Q: Okay.

And prior to today’s date, you’ve met with [the prosecutor], correct? A: I never met with her until this morning. Q: Did you speak to her? A: I spoke to her on the phone once to let me know that I was supposed to be here.

Q: Okay. And was that within the last week? A: That was Friday— Q: Okay. And this past Friday, when you spoke to [the prosecutor] on the phone, you in fact told [her] that you have this matter pending?

A: I told her that there was, there was a situation that happened that could, there could have been something that—just to let her know in case that was a bearing on this case. Q: And you were hoping that [the prosecutor] might be able to help you out on that? ³⁹² A: I mean, I knew it wasn’t going to go anyhow because it wasn’t—it was just a big misunderstanding— Q: Okay. A:—and that’s exactly what in fact it turned out to be. Q: But, in fact, you told [the prosecutor] about it prior to your coming here today?

A: I thought I should tell her about it. Q: That’s a yes or a no. A: That would be a yes. Q: Okay.

And let’s talk about the—when you went to court back in January— A: Uh-huh. Q:—you had indicated that you got probation, a fine, and some community service. Q: Okay. Did you go to jail or not?

A: I did not. Q: Okay. And this PB J that you’re talking about— A: Uh-huh. Q:—what in effect that is, is that this not going to be on your record at all, correct?

A: I believe so. Q: Okay. And [the prosecutor], in fact, was the State’s attorney who handled that case back in January when you went with the guilty plea? A: That’s true.” Defense counsel again had Benjamin confirm that he spoke to the prosecutor the previous Friday and that he had spoken to the officers who had arrested him about this case.

At the end of the cross-examination, defense counsel accused Benjamin of being the seller, not the buyer, of the crack cocaine; Benjamin flatly denied this. Officer Johnson testified after Benjamin. The State asked the officer about his questioning of Benjamin: and the following colloquy ensued: ³⁹³ “Q: Okay. And at that point in time, was Mr. Benjamin placed under arrest?

A: No. We—I wanted to speak with him further. Q: Okay. And did you have an opportunity to speak with him? A: I did.

I asked Mr. Benjamin, ‘Okay’— [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Your Honor, I’m going to object to the hearsay nature of any responses to his questions. [PROSECUTOR]: Your Honor— THE COURT: Overruled. [PROSECUTOR]:—may we approach? Oh. Q: What did Mr. Benjamin say? A: I asked Mr. Benjamin, I told him, I was like, ‘Look, we know more than you think, this is not just a traffic stop, where did you get this, where did you get this crack cocaine?’ and he said, T bought it from a guy named Kenny’— [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I object again, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Overruled WITNESS:—T, I got it from a guy named Kenny at the Blockbuster, who drives a gold Saturn.’ ” Officer Rea testified as well. Again, over defense counsel’s objections, the State elicited from the officer that Benjamin stated he had purchased the crack cocaine “from a black guy at a nearby shopping center”; “a man he knew as Kenny that was in a gold Saturn at Blockbuster”; and “that [Benjamin] paid for the crack cocaine with $50,” consisting of two $20 bills and one $10 bill. Appellant did not call any witnesses. At the close of the trial, defense counsel devoted virtually her entire argument to attacking Benjamin’s credibility.

She pointed out to the jury that Benjamin received no jail time for his possession charge and that he had spoken to the prosecutor about his pending unauthorized use of a vehicle charge. She offered the defense’s theory that Benjamin was the seller and that appellant ³⁹⁴ went to the shopping center to purchase $50 of crack cocaine but changed his mind at the last moment. The jury found appellant guilty, the court imposed sentence, and this timely appeal followed.

II

Before this Court, appellant argues that the prior consistent statements of Benjamin, offered through the officers’ testimony, were inadmissible hearsay evidence, which in his view do not fall within any exception to the rule against hearsay. Although appellant acknowledges that Md. Rule 5-802.1(b) might permit the statements to be admitted, he asserts that Benjamin’s motive to fabricate testimony arose as soon as the police stopped him and found crack cocaine in his possession. Since this motive arose before all of the statements in question occurred, appellant continues, the statements are not admissible under the Rule. The State asserts that these statements were admissible under Rule 5-802.1(b) to rebut the inference, raised by appellant in cross-examination of Benjamin and in closing argument, that Benjamin testified falsely in the hope that he would receive consideration from the State in its prosecution of him for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

As Benjamin was charged with this crime after he made the statements repeated by the officers, according to the State, his alleged motivation to inculpate appellant falsely could only have arisen after these statements, and, thus, the statements were admissible under Rule 5—802.1(b).

III

Admissibility of prior consistent statements in Maryland is controlled by Maryland Rules of Evidence 5-802.1 and 5-616. Rule 5-802.1, based on Federal Rule of Evidence 801, addresses prior statements by witnesses and sets out exceptions to the hearsay rule. The Rule provides, in pertinent part, as follows: ³⁹⁵ “The following statements previously made by a witness who testifies at the trial or hearing and who is subject to cross-examination concerning the statement are not excluded by the hearsay rule: (b) A statement that is consistent with the declarant’s testimony, if the statement is offered to rebut an express or implied charge against the declarant of fabrication, or improper influence or motive[.]” Md. Rule 5-802.1(b). Prior consistent statements admitted into evidence under Rule 5—802.1(b) may be admissible as substantive evidence.

Rule 5-616(c)(2), Impeachment and Rehabilitation, provides for the admission of prior consistent statements to rehabilitate a witness, providing in pertinent part, as follows: “(c) A witness whose credibility has been attacked may be rehabilitated by: (2) Except as provided by statute, evidence of the witness’s prior statements that are consistent with the witness’s present testimony, when their having been made detracts from the