Opinion ID: 4505731
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Properly Admitted Evidence

Text: At around midnight on May 4, 2008, Donnie Skipworth was shot multiple times on the 1300 block of Newkirk Street in North Philadelphia. The Commonwealth charged Johnson and Wright with murder based on witness statements and forensic evidence. The trial began on January 28, 2010, and the testimony unfolded over five days. F.3d 119, 133 (3d Cir. 2017). We find these factors for assessing harmlessness equally applicable when Brecht provides our standard of review. 15 The jury knew that Johnson was “the other guy” in Wright’s confession before the prosecution even began its case-in-chief. During opening statements, Wright’s attorney told the jury that Wright said Johnson and Abbas Parker went to Newkirk Street to shoot Donnie Skipworth. Immediately afterwards, the prosecution called its first witness, Aaron Taylor. Taylor grew up in North Philadelphia on the 1500 block of Newkirk Street. He had known Johnson and Donnie for a few years while growing up in the neighborhood, however at the time of trial, Taylor had not lived there for over ten years. One month after the shooting, Taylor was arrested on drug charges and taken into police custody. Taylor was later transported to the homicide unit, where he was interviewed by Detective George Fetters about the circumstances surrounding Donnie’s death. Taylor then signed a police statement implicating Johnson in the shooting. The statement included the following: Look, I was down there on Newkirk like one or two weeks after Donnie was killed and I heard this young boy, Art, talking about how he did it, he killed Donnie, and how nobody had to worry about what [Donnie] had done to Darnell. See, Artie is supposed to be cousins somehow with Darnell and he said he would get Donnie for what he did to his cousin, Darnell. A. 334. Taylor “guessed” as to the purported conflict between Donnie and Darnell, supplying a motive for Johnson to seek retribution for Darnell’s murder: 16 The word was that Donnie got [Darnell] killed. This was about one and a half to two years ago on the same block. See, they was selling drugs together out there, and I guess that Darnell got big headed and Donnie didn’t like it. So the word was that he (Donnie) had somebody kill Darnell. I guess it was over the money that they were making out there. You see, Donnie was always the pretty boy type and Darnell was the muscle, and I guess they just got in each other’s way. A. 333. At trial, Taylor unequivocally denied his entire statement to the police and testified that he was “forced into a statement.” A. 330. Taylor said he knew nothing about Darnell’s death and never overheard Johnson say that he killed Donnie out of revenge for killing Darnell. In fact, at the time of the statement, Taylor said he had moved away from the neighborhood and had not seen Johnson in years. The prosecution next called Detective Fetters, who testified about his interview with Taylor. Fetters said that in June 2008, Taylor voluntarily approached the police, stating that he had information about Donnie’s death. Fetters said that Taylor was cooperative during the interview, and that Taylor had voluntarily signed his police statement. Fetters never asked Taylor why he was providing the statement, but suspected that Taylor did so under the belief that he would receive help on his pending drug charges. 17 To provide further context for Taylor’s police statement, the prosecution next called Detective Theodore Hagan, the homicide detective who investigated Darnell’s murder in 2005. However, Hagan’s testimony contradicted Taylor’s account of Johnson’s motive for killing Donnie. Not only did Hagan say Donnie was never implicated in Darnell’s murder, he also said that Donnie had actually helped the police identify Darnell’s shooter. After Darnell’s death, Donnie voluntarily approached the police to provide an eyewitness statement, which then helped police identify and arrest the shooter, Eric Weedon. Eric Weedon pled guilty to shooting Darnell. Hagan also said that Donnie would have been called to testify as an eyewitness to Darnell’s murder had the case gone to trial. The prosecution also called two firefighters, Fire Lieutenant Benny Hutchins and Firefighter Terence Banks, who were on duty at a nearby station the night of the shooting. The station, Engine Company 34, is located on the corner of 28th Street and Thompson Street, about one block away from the shooting. The two firefighters’ testimony mirrored each other. Hutchins and Banks both testified that, a few minutes after midnight on May 4, 2008, they heard multiple gunshots from a nearby location and noticed a minivan idling in front of the station on the southwest corner of 28th Street and Thompson Street. Shortly after hearing the gunshots, Hutchins and Banks observed a man walking east on Thompson Street, away from Newkirk Street. The man crossed Thompson Street onto 28th Street and entered the passenger side of the minivan. The minivan immediately left. Hutchins testified that the man was holding a firearm in his right hand. Banks also testified that the man appeared to 18 be holding a firearm. Hutchins described the man as having a “slender build” and Banks described him as “thin.” A. 382, 392. They both confirmed that Johnson was neither thin nor slender, implying that Johnson was not the man they saw the night of the shooting. Within one minute of the shooting, Hutchins and Banks arrived at the scene, and gave first aid to Donnie Skipworth, who was lying on the sidewalk about thirty or forty feet away from the fire station. Hutchins testified that he was the first one on the scene. Throughout this time, Hutchins did not see anyone else walking away from Newkirk Street. After the firefighters’ testimony, the prosecution called its only eyewitness, the victim’s brother, Dion Skipworth. Dion testified that on the night of May 4, 2008, he was selling drugs with his brother Donnie and their two cousins on the 1300 block of Newkirk Street. Dion and Donnie routinely sold drugs on Newkirk Street and that night was no exception. After selling drugs for about six hours, Dion said he saw Johnson walking towards them from the 1200 block of Newkirk Street. Dion and Johnson had grown up in the same neighborhood and were friends prior to the shooting. That night, Dion assumed that Johnson would simply walk past them because he “[f]igured he was going through nothing, so whatever reason to think anything else.” A. 402. According to Dion, Johnson walked directly up to Donnie and shot him. Dion testified that Johnson was by himself when he walked up and began shooting. He also said that he had no knowledge that Parker or Wright were involved with the shooting. After the shooting started, Dion testified that he and his cousins fled, running north on Newkirk Street to his cousin’s 19 nearby home. Returning to the scene five to ten minutes later, Dion saw Donnie lying on the ground with bullet holes through his jeans and jacket. In direct contradiction to Hutchins’ testimony, Dion said that he was the first person on the scene and there were no firemen there. Dion testified: Q: Well, paramedics are already out there. The whole neighborhood is out by that time, aren’t they? A: Not really. Q: So you mean to tell me the firemen aren’t there when you come back ten minutes later? A: No. ... Q: So you were the first person there before any police came on the scene? A: Yes. A. 413. Dion also offered background information on the dynamics between himself and other individuals in the neighborhood. Dion said that Parker, Wright, and Johnson were close friends and spent nearly every day together prior to the shooting. Dion said that he was related to Parker through marriage and had known Parker his entire life. Dion had also been friends with Wright for years throughout middle and high school. Dion further testified that there had been no animosity or conflict between Donnie and Johnson. Dion testified as follows: Q: You never had any problem, you and your brother, with [Johnson] over in the 20 neighborhood, did you? A: No. Q: Or any business, did you? A: No. A. 409. He later continued: Q: You were asked if you knew any reason why Arthur would shoot your brother and you said no; is that correct? A: Correct. Q: There was nothing about no retaliation about any kind of murder, was there? A: No. A. 413. He again confirmed that there were no issues with Johnson: Q: And there is no drama going on between Arthur and the Skipworths or anything else? A: No. A. 417. Thus, Taylor’s statement regarding Johnson’s motive for killing Donnie was questionable. Dion’s testimony was impeached several times. First, Dion did not approach law enforcement until three months after the shooting, explaining that he did so out of fear because “snitches get killed” in his neighborhood. A. 405. However, cross-examination revealed that his reasons for delay were inconsistent. At trial, Dion testified that he did not come to the police because he was going to kill Johnson himself, yet at the 21 preliminary hearing, Dion said he needed time to cope with his loss. Second, Dion was impeached with testimony via stipulation from Officer Victoria Lozada, the responding officer to the scene on the night of the shooting. Dion testified that none of the responding officers questioned him that night. However, Officer Lozada reported the opposite. In an interview with the homicide unit the morning after the shooting, Officer Lozada said, “I spoke to Dion Skipworth. He identified himself as the victim’s brother. He had told me that he had seen his brother at the scene and he gave me all the identifiers concerning the victim. He also stated that he did not see the shooting, nor was he with him.” A. 511–12. Third, Dion denied previously speaking with Detective Burns, the officer who interviewed him at length about the shooting when Dion came into the station. However, Burns told a different story. Burns testified that he had previously interviewed Dion in 2006 for a different homicide investigation. He said that Dion was cooperative during the initial 2006 interview but refused to cooperate with police once that case went to trial. Dion repeatedly denied his involvement in the 2006 homicide investigation. The prosecution did not call any other witnesses to corroborate Dion’s testimony. Dion testified that his two cousins, Jermaine and Larry, were present during the shooting, and stood next to Donnie as Johnson walked up and shot him. However, the prosecution did not call Jermaine or Larry to testify. Dion also said that the day after the shooting, he told his brother, Doug, and the rest of his cousins that he saw Johnson shoot and kill Donnie. Again, the prosecution did not 22 call any of those people to corroborate Dion’s testimony. The prosecution argues that other testimony introduced at trial corroborated Dion’s testimony, however we find this testimony vague and inconclusive. 6 The prosecution presented no physical evidence that directly implicated Johnson in the shooting. At the close of trial, the jury was instructed and then proceeded to deliberate for six days.