Opinion ID: 2775227
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Vehicle at Crime Scene

Text: ¶ 48 Mr. Griffin next charges his counsel with failure to introduce evidence that his vehicle at the time of the murder did not match the vehicle observed at the Texaco gas station, but that the father of another possible suspect, Michael Caldwell, owned a car that did match. Mr. Griffin’s argument fails because there is enough testimony regarding the vehicle on the record for this court to determine that counsel was not ineffective. ¶ 49 At trial, the vehicle at the gas station on the night of the murder was mentioned several times. Mr. Barish, one of the students, testified that he saw a white older-model pickup truck at the station—either a Ford or a Chevy brand. Detective Cosgrove later testified that a potential suspect, Mr. Caldwell, stated that he drove his father’s truck—a 1960s pickup truck—to the Texaco gas station at about 11 p.m. with other suspects, and waited in the truck while the others entered the store. Defense counsel also reminded the jury of the detective’s testimony about the truck during closing arguments, stating that Mr. Caldwell admitted ―that he was there,‖ and ―that he drove a 1969 or ’70 white pickup, which Ali Sabbah saw at the scene.‖ ¶ 50 Mr. Griffin alleges that counsel should have also introduced evidence that he drove a black truck that did not match the description of the vehicle at the gas station. We conclude, however, that in light of the testimony provided, the evidence would have added nothing to improve the evidentiary picture. The jury heard that Mr. Caldwell claimed he drove a white pickup truck, matching the description from Mr. Barish, to the scene of the murder. We do not believe that additional testimony that Mr. Griffin’s car was black would have added anything. Therefore, there is sufficient evidence in the record for us to conclude that defense counsel was not ineffective in failing to elicit additional information about the vehicle. 20 Cite as: 2015 UT 18 Opinion of the Court