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State v. Torres12/3/1998
contrary to his penal interests that a reasonable person would not have made them unless believing them to be true. Torres argues that Barnett's statement contains both neutral and self-exculpatory statements that are inadmissible because Barnett was attempting to shift blame to Torres. For example, Torres highlights Barnett's statement that Torres fired the nine-millimeter gun, as well as Barnett's description of Torres's actions during the shooting, as either self-exculpatory or collateral to his self-inculpatory remarks. We disagree.
{17} Barnett told the police that he got into a car with two other individuals, that he was armed with a loaded weapon, that he had the intention of shooting his gun once he got to the West Deming party, and that he and Torres fired into the crowd in unison. These statements to the police could have subjected Barnett to a number of criminal offenses, including shooting at an occupied building, see § 30-3-8(A), aggravated battery, see § 30-3-5(C), aggravated assault, see § 30-3-2(A), and conspiracy, see NMSA 1978, § 30-28-2 (1979). In addition, the degree of detail included in Barnett's statement, including the identity of his co-conspirators, would significantly aid law enforcement officials in securing criminal liability. In fact, Barnett ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of shooting at an occupied building. Although Torres argues that Barnett's statement can be seen as exculpating himself from murder charges, we believe a closer inspection of Barnett's statements describing the concerted actions of him and Torres reveals that Barnett actually inculpated himself for a charge of depraved-mind murder, either as a principal or under a theory of accessory liability, regardless of which weapon was responsible for the killing. See (describing accessory liability for depraved-mind murder as helping, encouraging, or causing another to commit an act greatly dangerous to the lives of others indicating a depraved mind without regard for human life, in combination with a shared purpose or design between the principal and the accessory).
{18} Torres points out that, when asked if he had thought about talking to someone after learning that people at the party had been shot, Barnett responded, "I kinda wanted to but I was, I didn't know if I had hit someone or if [Torres] had hit someone. So I didn't really want to say nothing." This statement, Torres argues, could be interpreted to mean that Barnett had a subjective belief that the level of criminal liability would depend on which gun produced the fatal shot. While we agree that subjective beliefs are relevant in evaluating reliability and admissibility under Rule 11-804(B)(3), see 5 Jack B. Weinstein & Margaret A. Berger, Weinstein's Federal Evidence § 804.06 , at 804-53 (Joseph M. McLaughlin ed., 2d ed. 1998), there is no indication in the record that Barnett decided to give his statement because he had learned of the type of gun responsible for the shooting in a way that would allow him to shift blame. In fact, the record supports the Conclusion that Barnett did not have that information at the time he spoke to police. Barnett's statement indicates that he was originally reluctant to initiate Discussions with the authorities for fear of criminal liability, and in fact, he did not give his statement until the police approached him. Additionally, Detective Davis testified that the police did not in any way offer leniency to Barnett for his statement, which Barnett supplemented by testifying that his trial testimony was not the subject of any agreement with the State. See ) (discussing the potential for unreliability if a declarant makes a superfici
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