Opinion ID: 2590797
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Kidnapping and Murder of Todd Skidmore

Text: ¶ 28 Pinder alleges that the State failed to disclose information contained in FBI reports about Ruiz's connection to the kidnapping and murder of Todd Skidmore and that this failure rises to the level of a Brady violation because it deprived the defense of valuable impeachment evidence. Pinder's allegation fails, however, to meet the first Brady requirement identified in Bisner. Specifically, we conclude that Pinder, prior to the end of his trial, knew or should have known of the information he now alleges was suppressed. See Bisner, 2001 UT 99 at ¶ 33, 37 P.3d 1073. ¶ 29 Prior to trial, the State provided Pinder's counsel with a summary of a police interview with Mike Sweat, a former drug dealer who had previously sold drugs on Ruiz's behalf. In the interview, Sweat made express reference to the Skidmore incident and implied that Ruiz may have been involved in ordering the murder. The summation concluded with the following paragraph: According to the Uintah County Sheriff[']s Office[,] Ruiz couldn't be linked to the murder of Skidmore. Ruiz did know and associated with the people responsible for the murder of Skidmore. And they also believe that he is involved with the Mexican Mafia. For further information on Ruiz's involvement and the investigation of Skidmore contact the Colorado Attorney General[']s Office.[ [3] ] ¶ 30 In addition to the Sweat interview, Pinder's trial counsel also had information provided by Gary Potter, a private investigator, concerning the Skidmore incident. Prior to the start of Pinder's trial, Pinder's current counsel, Brent Gold, hired Potter to investigate the Skidmore murder. While conducting his investigation, Potter specifically inquired into whether the Skidmore murder could be pinned on Ruiz. Potter provided Pinder's trial counsel with a report of his investigation before trial commenced. At trial, Pinder's counsel even made limited use of Ruiz's connection to the Skidmore incident, delving into Ruiz's role in helping secure the return from Mexico of one of the individuals charged in the Skidmore murder. As the trial court pointed out, if Pinder chose to highlight the Skidmore incident at trial, he ran the risk of giving credence to the State's theory that Pinder hired Ruiz as a thug. Therefore, Pinder had a tactical reason to minimize information about Skidmore's kidnapping and murder. ¶ 31 As shown above, the State disclosed information about Ruiz's connection to the Skidmore incident and even provided defense counsel a source to contact for further information. Moreover, during the evidentiary hearing on Pinder's motion for a new trial, Pinder stipulated that he ultimately obtained the Skidmore reports from Colorado authorities and that those reports were never in the possession of the prosecutorial team handling Pinder's case. The fact that Pinder was able to obtain the reports, presumably due to the information provided by the State, undermines Pinder's assertion that the information in question was unobtainable unless the prosecution team actually provided Pinder with the reports. ¶ 32 We conclude that all the information contained in the Skidmore reports, or the reports themselves, could have been discovered by Pinder through reasonable investigation. Pinder had the opportunity to fully investigate the Skidmore murder prior to trial and chose, perhaps for tactical reasons, not to pursue that line of defense. Consequently, we conclude that the State did not suppress Brady material relating to the kidnapping and murder of Skidmore. ¶ 33 Even if we were to conclude that Pinder could not have learned of the evidence in question absent an express disclosure by the State, we would still be hard pressed to find that the evidence was material, as that term is used in the Brady context. Ruiz's character was thoroughly vetted at trial. The jury, for example, heard testimony that Ruiz constantly carried a firearm and that Ruiz had told Sweat he would kill the chickens and dogs and [Sweat's] children and ... wife while Sweat watched if Sweat discussed Ruiz's drug dealing with law enforcement. Additionally, Ruiz admitted on cross-examination that he had sold and used drugs and that he had fired a pistol into a table while arguing with Pinder's stepson. In short, the jury was well aware of Ruiz's drug dealing and violent history. Given the breadth of the evidence exposing Ruiz's character, the absence of a more detailed examination of the Skidmore incident cannot fairly be said to have undermined confidence in the fairness of the proceedings against Pinder.