When you are on a robbery spree, do not drop you ID card at a murder scene!

2016-M-342           State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Diamond Lee Jamal Griffin, Appellant.

BACKGROUND:  Two weeks after Griffin and Grant bought a handgun to commit robberies, Griffin, Grant, and Griffin’s girlfriend J.K. drove out on the event of July 8, 2013 to commit robberies in Minneapolis.  While J.K. remained in the car, Griffin and Grant first pistol-whipped a potential robbery victim who successfully ran away.

Griffin and Grant then entered a backyard where Francisco Benitez-Hernandez. his wife L.B.H., and her brother P.Y.E. were drinking beer.

Griffin pistol-whipped Benitez-Hernandez above his eye.  As Benitez-Hernandez slumped in his chair, L.B.H. threw a beer bottle t Griffin to distract him.  Griffin shot her in the elbow.  To defend L.B.H., the bleeding Benitez-Hernandez reached up and grabbed Griffin’s leg.  Griffin fatally shot him in the chest.   Griffin and Grant fled.

A witness directed police to a nearby parking lot where he had seen a woman waiting and two men run up and leave in the car.  The police found J.K.’s identification card where the car had been parked.

the next day, J.K. directed the police to Grant.  Police stopped J.K.’s car and arrested Griffin and Grant.  Grant directed police to the murder weapon.  Grant pleaded guilty to as an accomplice to the felony murder of Benitez-Hernandez, the attempted second-degree murder of L.B-H., and the aggravated robbery of P.Y-E.  Grant was sentenced to 234 months for the three crimes.

A Hennepin County grand jury indicted Griffin with six offenses: the first-degree felony murder (Benitez-Hernandez); the second-degree intentional murder (Benitez-Hernandez); the attempt at first-degree felony murder (L.B-H.); the attempt at second-degree intentional murder (L.B-H.); the second-degree assault (P.Y-E.); and the aggravated robbery (P.Y-E.).

At Griffin’s jury trial. Griffin moved for a mistrial when the prosecutor asked J.K. if she had told her employer “I think my boyfriend killed somebody.”  Instead, the judge gave a jury instruction to ignore that question.  The Supreme Court held that this decision did not deny Griffin a fair trial.

At trial, the court allowed the prosecutor to mention that Griffin had prior trouble with the police in 2008.  Such evidence is called Spriegl evidence of a prior bad act by a party.  The Supreme Court held that any damage from the admission of this evidence was outweighed by the evidence in this case, which included damaging testimony by L.B.H., P.Y.E., the witness who directed police to J.K.’s identity card, J.K., Grant, the expert who tied Griffin’s gun to the murder, the expert who tied the blood on Griffin’s clothes to the murder, and other evidence.

The jury convicted Griffin of the first-degree felony murder (Benitez-Hernandez), the attempt at first-degree felony murder (L.B-H.), and the second-degree assault (P.Y-E.).  The judge sentenced Griffin to life imprisonment without the possibility of release for the first-degree murder, plus consecutive sentences of 153 months for the attempted murder and 36 months for the assault.

MAJORITY:  On this direct appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed Griffin’s convictions and sentences.

First, even if the district court erred in admitting Spreigl evidence, there is no reasonable possibility that the evidence significantly affected the verdict.

Second, the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied appellant's motion for a mistrial.

Third, the State presented evidence sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant intentionally shot and killed the victim.

Fourth, none of the claims in appellant's pro se brief have merit.

CONCUR:  Justice Stras agreed with the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case.  He then offered a ten-page essay on how the word “plan” should be construed when considering trial decisions in which Spriegl evidence of a prior bad act is admitted in connection with a “plan” involving the crime at trial.

Hudson (Gildea, Anderson, and Lillehaug)

CONCUR:  Stras.

Took No Part:  Chutich, and McKeig.

               [CRIME] [MURDER] [PREMEDITATED] [FIRST-DEGREE] [ROBBERY]

Date: November 16, 2016