Sufficient evidence supports manslaughter conviction

There was sufficient circumstantial evidence from which the trial court could conclude that appellant was the person who killed the victim.

In the trial court

Addison was charged with voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Chalkley. Chalkley’s body, with five bullet wounds in the head, was found in an alley behind Addison’s apartment on Dec. 20, 2018, a little after 10 a.m. Addison had recently allowed Chalkley to live there.

A security camera mounted on a nearby residence recorded video of a silver car pulling into a parking area near the alley and remaining there for over an hour. Two people, later identified as Addison and Chalkley, talked near the car. Around 9:37 a.m., the silver car was moved into the alley. Chalkley followed.

Around 9:40 a.m., the car sped past another security camera. Within a minute, police received a report of five gunshots fired in the area. At 9:43 a.m., phone records showed a called made from Addison’s cell phone, which was located near the scene. The call was made to Addison’s coworker, who testified that Addison told him Chalkley “had been killed.”

Police learned that the owner of the restaurant where Addison and Chalkley worked had sold Addison a silver Nissan. Addison admitted ownership but said the had not been to the apartment since Dec. 18, two days before Chalkley was killed. Addison later stated he was the only person who drove the car.

Police seized Addison’s cell phone from his stepfather’s residence. Records showed that the phone was near the scene when the gunshots were heard and reported. The records also showed no outgoing calls or messages from the phone after the day of the shooting.

Addison was charged with voluntary manslaughter. He waived extradition from Delaware and told the officer who transported him to Virginia “he wanted to get this over with and ‘you reach out your hand and you get in other people’s stuff, in other people’s bullshit, and this is what happens.’”

During his bench trial, he moved to strike, arguing the evidence was insufficient to prove he killed Chalkley. The court denied the motion. Addison appealed his conviction.

Sufficient evidence

“[U]pon consideration of all the evidence, the fact finder could have reasonably concluded Addison was, in fact, the killer. … Although, as the trial court acknowledged, the video did not capture the murder itself and could not in itself identify the persons shown, the combined force of all the circumstances was sufficient for the trial court to reach its conclusion.

“By admitting that the silver Nissan Maxima belonged to him and that he was the only person who drove it, Addison identified himself as the person seen in the video at the apartment on the morning of December 20. T-Mobile records show that while Addison’s cell phone was in the vicinity of the murder location, he called a coworker minutes after the murder to say Chalkley was dead.

“From these pieces of evidence, the fact finder could conclude Addison lied when he told an investigator he had not been at the apartment on December 19 or December 20. The fact finder could infer that he lied for a nefarious reason, namely that he was guilty of killing Chalkley. …

“The ‘combined force’ of other ‘concurrent and related circumstances, each insufficient in itself,’ help ‘lead a reasonable mind irresistibly to [the] conclusion’ that Addison killed Chalkley. … Those circumstances include Addison ceasing to use his phone after the day of the murder, Addison’s car being parked in an alley behind his stepfather’s residence, and Addison’s statement to a detective that when ‘you reach out your hand and you get in other people’s stuff, in other people’s bullshit, and this is what happens.’

“The combined weight of the evidence was sufficient to find Addison guilty.”

Affirmed.

Addison v. Commonwealth, Record No. 0020-20-2, March 16, 2021. CAV (Petty) from Richmond City Cir. Ct. (Marchant). Daniel W. Hall for appellant, A. Anne Lloyd for appellee. VLW 021-7-032, 6 pp. Unpublished.