David Carson - Manslaughter - No Crime Committed

DAVID CARLSON – Manslaughter – No Crime

81 N.S.Y.3d 558; 2nd Dept. 8/22/18; reversed , due to failure to issue curative jury instruction

"On October 11, 2013, [Carlson] shot and killed Norris Acosta-Sanchez...For several months prior to his death, the victim had been occupying a cabin adjacent to Carlson's] rural farm in Orange County. [Carlson] and the victim came to know each other and, after a night of drinking, the victim confessed to [Carlson] that he was using an alias and that there was a warrant for his arrest in connection with the rape of a minor. After [Carlson's] wife reported to the police the disclosure made by the victim to [Carlson], [he] was asked to assist the police in apprehending the victim. [Carlson's] assistance included a 'set up' traffic stop and his cooperation and participation, by police invitation, in a meeting of various police units and organizations, at which plans for the victim's capture were formulated.

"On the morning of October 11, 2013, the victim appeared at [Carlson's] home in an agitated state and accused [Carlson] of assisting the police. [Carlson] grabbed a shotgun and confronted the victim, telling the victim that he was bringing him in. [Carlson] claimed that he attempted to walk the victim at gunpoint to a neighbor's house to call the police. According to [Carlson], the victim lunged at him, and [Carlson] discharged his weapon, shooting the victim first in his left arm. When the victim allegedly lunged a second time, [Carlson] again discharged his weapon, striking the victim fatally in the head at close range."

[Defense counsel objected to the prosecutor's use of the term 'statutory rape' during jury selection. After several jurors had already been seated, the judge gave a curative instruction regarding the issue. But the jurors who had already been selected never heard this instruction. Defense counsel's request for a mistrial was denied.]

"Here, because [Carlson's] defense was based on justification, the County Court was properly concerned that use of the term 'statutory rape' by the prosecutor may have been interpreted by jurors to imply that the victim was not violent..."

[So, David Carlson had agreed to help the police apprehend Acosta-Sanchez. But apparently, the police were not careful enough to prevent Acosta-Sanchez from getting wind of this. So, Sanchez confronts Carlson, who then grabs his gun, clearly shooting and killing Acosta-Sanchez in self-defense . So, what do 'law enforcement officials' do then ? They actually prosecute Carlson for this action, which, 1) was clearly justifiable, and, 2) would not have happened but for Carlson aiding the police. The moral of the story could only be: just don't do the latter.]

NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley):

"In August 2013, Acosta-Sanchez showed up at [Carlson's] farm and identified himself as 'Daniel.' He claimed to be the caretaker of a nearby camp and sought work to help support himself. Carlson agreed to provide 'Daniel' with eggs and other food in exchange for working on Carlson's farm.

"On October 5, 2013, Acosta-Sanchez joined Carlson and his wife, Sarah, at a campfire on the farm. After having a few drinks, Acosta-Sanchez revealed his real name was Norris, although he did not reveal his last name. He said he was wanted by police in Rockland County for having sex with an underage girl. Carlson and his wife were alarmed and concerned about the safety of their three young sons and neighbors.

"On October 8, 2013, Sarah met with an officer at the Deerpark Town police station. Because they did not have a surname, the officer told Sarah to arrange for Carlson to drive 'Norris' on Route 42, a two-lane state highway, and police would make a stop so they could take him into custody and confirm his identity. That afternoon, Carlson and Acosta-Sanchez headed to Walmart on Route 42. However, no stop was made because a shift change left no officers available on the street."

[That's just unbelievable : The Carlsons are trying to help the police apprehend this guy, which involved considerable risk. And the police don't bother to show up because there was a shift change "Police requested another attempt at a stop the following day. Sarah called police and said her husband and 'Norris' were going to a junk yard via Route 42. Two Deerpark police cars, one driven by Sgt. Elizabeth Sullivan, the other by Officer Thomas Kalin, stopped Carlson. Norris identified himself as Daniel Costa and gave a date of birth of January 10, 1978. Although Sullivan knew that was not his true name, she ran a background check anyway. When she told Acosta-Sanchez there was no match to his name, Acosta-Sanchez said he was in the U.S. on a work visa from Spain and offered to produce his identification at his cabin.

"Officer Kalin put Acosta-Sanchez, who was not handcuffed , in the back seat of his patrol car and drove to the cabin, followed by Sullivan in her patrol car. When Sullivan opened the back door of Kalin's vehicle, Acosta-Sanchez escaped. He ran through the woods and down a rocky dry mountain stream bed toward the Rio reservoir. Kalin chased, losing his radio in the process, but gave up because the terrain was too rugged and because Sullivan told him to stop."

[What in the world did these officers think Acosta-Sanchez was going to do when they opened that car door? The ineptitude of these people would be laughable, but for the fact that it ultimately led to one man being killed, and another man -- who was trying to aid the police -- being wrongfully convicted of manslaughter.]

"Sullivan later called Carlson and with his help, police found an insurance card bearing Acosta-Sanchez's full name. Sullivan got his date of birth from the insurance company and ran a record check that showed there was an outstanding arrest warrant in Rockland County. Further investigation showed that Acosta-Sanchez had been charged with two counts of second-degree rape of a 14-year-old girl in Ramapo, New York."

"At 6:30 p.m. that day, Carlson called Sullivan and reported that Acosta-Sanchez had come to his home and bragged about the escape. Carlson suggested places where police might look for him and said his wife and their children were leaving the home for their personal safety. They stayed locally at the home of a friend that night and later went to stay with relatives in New Jersey.

"The following day, October 10, at Sullivan's request, Carlson went to the police department to provide a sworn affidavit so that police could obtain a warrant to arrest Acosta-Sanchez. Carlson met with the commander of the SWAT team and provided a description of the cabin where Acosta-Sanchez had been staying as well as [the] area surrounding it. The unit consisted of a precision rifle team armed with Remington and M-4 rifles, and was supported by a K-9 unit and police from three other police departments.

"The cabin was surrounded and members of the rifle team briefly sighted Acosta-Sanchez in the vicinity of the cabin. As the team approached the cabin, Acosta-Sanchez jumped from a hunting blind that was outside of the perimeter established by the surrounding officers and headed for the same rocky stream bed from which he made his escape before.

"He scuttled down the stream bed to the bottom of the hill, jumped into the Rio Reservoir, and began swimming away. Police brought a boat to the reservoir and called in a helicopter, but Acosta-Sanchez eluded them once again.

"Shortly before 8 p.m., the search was called off and the team withdrew. Two deputies were assigned to remain, but were also withdrawn later that evening.

"Carlson arose early the next morning to feed his livestock. Shortly after he finished and went back into his home, Acosta-Sanchez began banging on his front door, angrily accusing him of helping the police. Carlson told him to come to the back door. When Acosta-Sanchez came around, Carlson pointed a shotgun at him..."

"[A neighbor], who was awakened by the activity in his driveway, testified that he saw Carlson appear to fall backward away from Acosta-Sanchez when the second shot was fired [the fatal one -- which hit Acosta-Sanchez in the head]. [The neighbor] said Acosta-Sanchez's arm was stretched toward the shotgun. He said it was the initial stage of a lunge that was terminated by the shotgun blast.

"The prosecution presented evidence that tests revealed DNA -- which was found on tissue on the barrel of the shotgun -- belonged to Acosta-Sanchez." <

"Carlson's defense attorneys...sought to play a recording of a telephone call between Acosta-Sanchez and the 14-year-old girl's grandmother that the Ramapo Town police arranged after Acosta-Sanchez was charged and became a fugitive. During the call, Acosta-Sanchez said, 'I am not going to jail for one day.' He also said he realized what happens in jail to people who are convicted of having sex with an underage girl.

'The trial judge sustained the prosecution's objection, and barred admission of the recording."

[Excluding weekends, the jury deliberated for some two weeks. Two jurors spoke to the judge about stressful domestic situations. The jury ended up convicting not on second-degree murder, but rather, on the lesser-included offense of manslaughter.]

"In late 2019, the retrial was commenced before Judge Freehill without a jury. During this trial, the defense was allowed to play the recording of Acosta-Sanchez's conversation with the 14-year-old girl's grandmother. On January 16, 2020, Judge Freehill acquitted Carlson."