State v. Dillard3/28/2005
JUDGMENT: Affirmed in Part and Reversed in Part.
Sentence Vacated. Remanded.
{ } Appellant, Quentin Dillard, was convicted of nine felony offenses and accompanying firearm specifications and sentenced for these offenses in the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas. He now appeals his convictions and sentencing.
{ } Appellant's convictions stem from his participation in several unsuccessful robberies and a shooting spree. Appellant's accomplices, Eugenia Brown and Charles Miller, testified on the prosecution's behalf at his jury trial.
{ } The facts of the offenses are as follows: On the night of April 24, 2003, Appellant handed Miller a shotgun, and told Miller he wanted to rob someone. (Tr. Vol. III, p. 571.) Appellant had a nine-millimeter handgun. (Tr. Vol. III, pp. 575-576, 587.)
{ } Appellant then gave Brown crack cocaine and money to obtain a car. She gave the drugs to two individuals in exchange for the use of their car. They also gave her a hotel room key. When Brown returned to the house, Appellant told her to drive he and Miller to the Market Square Apartments. By now, it was approximately 2:30 a.m. on April 25, 2003. (Tr. Vol. II, p. 420, Vol. III, pp. 518, 578.)
{ } Appellant and Miller went to the door of the apartment they thought belonged to Joseph Gomez, known as the "weed man." Miller was carrying the shotgun and Appellant had the nine-millimeter. Miller used Brown's jacket to cover up the shotgun. As the two were walking up the steps, Brown's jacket fell. It contained Brown's identification card and the hotel key. (Tr. Vol. II, pp. 431, 452, Vol. III, pp. 586-588.)
{ } Appellant banged on the door. The apartment actually belonged to Brandi Beaver, Gomez's girlfriend and the mother of his baby. Appellant covered the peephole, and Miller advised Beaver that they were security. Appellant informed Beaver, "It's important. We need to talk to you." (Tr. Vol. III, pp. 589-590.)
{ } She cracked open the door. Appellant stuck his gun through the aperture and kicked the door wide open. (Tr. Vol. I, p. 214, Vol. III, p. 591.) Appellant and Miller told Beaver to get on the floor, and asked for Gomez. (Tr. Vol. I, pp. 215-216.)
{ } While Appellant and Miller were forcing their way into the apartment, Gomez jumped out of the bedroom window. (Tr. Vol. I, p. 274, Vol. III, p. 516.) He left Beaver, their baby, and Beaver's five-year old son in the apartment. (Tr. Vol. I, p. 217.)
{ } Appellant told Beaver to, "Come up off the money", so she searched her apartment looking for something to give them. (Tr. Vol. I, p. 219.) At one point, Appellant kicked her when she tried to put on her pants, and then he slapped her in the face. (Tr. Vol. I, pp. 219-220.) Appellant and Miller left Beaver's apartment when they realized that Gomez jumped from the window.
{ } While waiting in the car, Brown noticed two white males in the apartment parking lot. They were Daniel Kenefick, 16, and Raymond Burchfield, 22. The two had borrowed Kenefick's mother's car. Brown heard gunshots at about the same time Appellant and Miller exited the apartment building. One of the males had been shot. (Tr. Vol. I, p. 274, Vol. II, pp. 444-446, Vol. III, pp. 671, 673,)
{ } According to Burchfield, he and Kenefick were near their car when he noticed Miller was standing in the parking lot pointing a shotgun at them. He told them to empty their pockets. As Appellant walked toward them, Brown's car pulled up. Miller shot Kenefick with the shotgun, and Burchfield ran into the apartment building. (Tr. Vol. I, pp. 279-285, 293, Vol. II, p. 486.)
{ } Kenefick testified
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