Preview:

STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A07-2397

Hennepin County

Meyer, J. Took no part, Page, J.

Karon Allen Whittaker, petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota, Respondent. SYLLABUS Postconviction petitioner was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing or a new trial, because the evidence offered in support of his petition was not unknown at the time of his trial, as required under Rainer v. State, 566 N.W.2d 692, 695 (Minn. 1997). Affirmed. Considered and decided by the court en banc without oral argument. OPINION MEYER, Justice. Appellant Karon Allen Whittaker, currently serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, has filed a petition for postconviction relief in which he asserts that newlydiscovered evidence requires that he receive a new trial. The district court denied Filed: July 31, 2008 Office of Appellate Courts

Whittakers petition without an evidentiary hearing, and we affirm. 1

On the night of January 29, 1996, two armed men forcibly entered the Minneapolis residence of Barbara Brandt and demanded money. Both intruders wore face coverings, and one wore a red jacket. The man in the red jacket wielded a semiautomatic pistol, the other a sawed-off rifle. A struggle ensued, during which a resident of the house, Bradley Ruedebusch, was shot and killed by the man in the red jacket. Another resident was also shot, but survived his injuries. Both intruders then fled from the residence. Shortly thereafter, two Minneapolis police officers on patrol received a radio dispatch describing the suspects in Ruedebuschs murder. At about that time, the officers observed Whittaker--who was wearing a red jacket--and Karon Baldwin walking a short distance from the Brandt residence. When the officers instructed the men to approach their squad car, both fled, had to be chased, and they were arrested. Upon searching Baldwin, the officers discovered a semi-automatic pistol and a sawed-off rifle in his possession. Following his arrest, Whittaker was indicted for first-degree murder in connection with Ruedebuschs death. Baldwin, who was tried and convicted separately for his involvement in the shooting, was subpoenaed as a witness against Whittaker but refused to testify at trial, despite a grant of immunity, and was held in contempt of court. The jury found Whittaker guilty of first-degree murder, and the district court sentenced him to a life term in prison. Whittaker appealed on grounds unrelated to the present

2

postconviction petition, and we affirmed. State v. Whittaker, 568 N.W.2d 440, 447 (Minn. 1997).1 On July 27, 2007, Whittaker filed a petition for postconviction relief, arguing that newly-discovered evidence, in the form of an affidavit by Baldwin, exonerates him. In that affidavit, Baldwin alleges that he and two other individuals--Christopher Johnson and a man referred to only as "Tron"--robbed the Brandt residence where Ruedebusch was killed. Baldwin claims that Johnson wore a red jacket during the robbery and that it was Johnson who shot Ruedebusch. Baldwin also maintains that, after he and Johnson left the Brandt residence, they encountered Whittaker, who exchanged jackets with Johnson. The affidavit further states that Baldwin asked Whittaker to help hide the murder weapon, but that Whittaker declined because he had no place to conceal a weapon. As to his refusal to testify at Whittakers trial, Baldwin explains that he refused to testify because he wanted to protect Johnson. The district court denied Whittakers petition without an evidentiary hearing, and Whittaker now appeals. Under Minn. Stat.

Download A07-2397, Karon Allen Whittaker, petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota,

Minnesota Law