Opinion ID: 151087
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Seven Defense Alibi Witnesses

Text: The defense then called seven alibi witnesses: John Cartas, Ann Cartas, Dwayne Hall, Quinton Armstrong, Jarvis Blocton, LaQuanda Hall, and Bonnie Hall. John Cartas testified that on the afternoon of October 15, 1999, he came home at around 3:00 p.m. After he came home, he immediately called Hall, and someone at Hall's house told Cartas that Hall was busy. Cartas called back about 15 to 20 minutes later and spoke to Hall for about 10 or 15 minutes. Around 20 to 30 minutes later, around 4:00 p.m., Cartas got on a conference call with Hall and another friend, either Armstrong or Cantrell, which lasted for around 20 to 40 minutes. Around 5:00 p.m., Cartas called Hall and spoke to him for about five to ten minutes. Hall again called Cartas around 5:30 p.m., and they spoke for about 20 minutes. [17] Cartas testified he again spoke to Hall by phone one last time before Cartas arrived at Hall's house at around 6:40 p.m. Cartas testified that when he found out what had happened at the Little People's Workshop and that Hall was a suspect, I was just shocked, you know what I'm saying, because I know he couldn't have done it because he was with us . . . . And we was on the phone with him. Cartas attempted to make a statement to Officer Major after he heard about the crime, but Officer Major threatened to arrest him for lying. When asked whether he knew anything about a group called mob one, John Cartas testified that he and Hall, along with Quinton Armstrong, Jarvis Blocton, and Sunkeissa Cantrell, had formed a rap group called mob boys. The only activities the group engaged in were playing video games and rapping. Ann Cartas, Cartas's mother, testified that as soon as her son John Cartas got home that afternoon, a little after 3:00 p.m., he got on the phone with Hall and others. Ann Cartas testified she picked up the phone and listened in on her son's conversation at least three timesat around 3:40, 4:10, and 4:40. The first time, Ann Cartas heard only her son and Armstrong talking, but the second and third times, Cartas was on the phone with Hall. Ann Cartas probably picked up the phone at 5:10 p.m., but she could not remember whom she heard. As far as she knew, her son was on the phone nearly constantly from 3:15 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., but she was not listening on the phone the entire time. Ann Cartas picked up Hall to go to the dance at around 6:40 p.m. Ann Cartas also confirmed that her son and Hall had a rap group which had different names. They used a karaoke machine, and all the kids used to come join in. Quinton Armstrong testified that he was on the phone with Hall on the evening of October 15, 1999. [18] Armstrong called Hall and began speaking to him around 3:15 p.m. Hall said he had to go, and Armstrong called Hall again at around 4:00 p.m. and spoke for approximately five minutes. Hall called Armstrong around 4:30 p.m. Armstrong testified that mob boys referred to a rap group which included himself, Blocton, and Hall. Jarvis Blocton testified that he was on the phone with Hall on the evening of October 15, 1999. Blocton called Hall sometime after Blocton arrived home from school at 3:50 p.m., and no one answered. He tried again later, and Hall answered. Blocton did not remember what exact time he spoke to Hall. Blocton went to work that night and arrived at approximately 5:30 p.m. Blocton also testified that the group known as mob was a rap group that included himself, Cartas, Armstrong, and Hall. Dwayne Hall, Hall's brother, testified that on the evening of October 15, 1999, he joined Hall and his sisters after Hall picked the sisters up from school, and they all walked home together. Dwayne Hall did not see Defendant Darryl Hall talk to anyone on the way home from their sisters' school, including Sunkeissa Cantrell. Dwayne Hall and Darryl Hall were at home from 3:36 p.m. until 6:40 p.m., when Dwayne Hall left to go to a football game. Dwayne Hall testified that their mother was already home and already had food prepared on the table when they came home. Dwayne Hall ate dinner at the table with Hall, and their mother ate in her room. Defendant Darryl Hall was on the phone during the afternoon, but Dwayne Hall did not know who he was talking to. Hall's sister LaQuanda Hall testified that, after arriving at their bus stop after school, she and Hall went home and then left again to pick up their two little sisters from school and then walked back home with their sisters and Sunkeissa Cantrell. Along the way, Cantrell left them to go home, and LaQuanda and her siblings continued to walk until they met their older brother Dwayne Hall. Their mother got home just after they arrived, and the food was not yet prepared. LaQuanda testified that Hall did not leave the house again until 7:20, when he left for the dance with John Cartas and Ann Cartas. Bonnie Hall, Hall's mother, testified that on October 15, 1999, she came home around 4:00 p.m. and prepared dinner for her children. She ate dinner alone in her bedroom. Hall remained at the house from the time she got home until he left for the dance at 7:15 p.m. or 7:20 p.m. Hall was on the phone in his room.