Opinion ID: 6108254
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Proposed Witness Testimony about Events After the Murder

Text: Collings's eighth point on appeal asserts the motion court erred in denying his claim that trial counsel were ineffective for failing to investigate and call Lisa Blevins, Spears's neighbor, as a witness during the guilt phase. At the evidentiary hearing, Blevins testified she could see Spears's front door from her front door and saw numerous people and vehicles coming and going from Spears's house almost every day at all hours of the day and night. She described it as a party house and the vehicles as having license plates from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and elsewhere. Blevins stated she was home the night of Ford's murder, November 2, and saw people at Spears's house working on a vehicle. She recounted hearing cars revving and tires squealing throughout the evening and it not stopping until close to daylight. Although the FBI interviewed Blevins, she was not contacted by anyone associated with Collings's defense team. Collings argues Blevins's testimony could have cast doubt on Collings's guilt as it suggests there were other people present at Spears's house on the night of Ford's murder. At the evidentiary hearing, both of Collings's trial counsel admitted they were familiar with the FBI report of Blevins's interview. They recalled the interview report of Blevins detailing druggies constantly coming and going from Spears's house. Specifically, Blevins told the FBI that she left her home at approximately 3 p.m. on November 2 and did not return until 11:30 p.m. She claimed to hear a vehicle in the direction of Spears's house revving its engine very loudly between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. on the morning of November 3. Based on the information contained in the FBI report, Collings's counsel testified they did not believe Blevins would have information beneficial to the defense and considered interviewing her a very low priority. For a movant to prove ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to call a certain witness at trial, the movant must establish: (1) trial counsel knew or should have known of the existence of the witness; (2) the witness could be located through reasonable investigation; (3) the witness would testify; and (4) the witness's testimony would have produced a viable defense. Davis , 486 S.W.3d at 909 (internal quotation marks omitted). Collings has not shown Blevins's testimony would have provided a viable defense.  According to the evidence offered at trial, Mahurin and Spears left Collings's home around 11:30 p.m. Collings left shortly thereafter for Spears's house. Mahurin dropped Spears off and returned to his home by midnight. Consequently, Blevins's testimony about what she heard between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. would not have provided a viable defense. Additionally, the motion court noted Blevins told the FBI during her interview she could hear vehicles, but she could not identify their location despite her testimony at the evidentiary hearing that she could see the vehicles at Spears's house. The motion court did not clearly err in denying this claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.