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State v. Jones6/15/2000
the fact that her motive to fabricate had already arisen at the time of her statement. Irwin testified at trail that she overheard Jones say he had murdered four people in Tucson. Because she feared Jones's retaliation, however, she originally told the detectives about a "dream" she had. In the dream, the victims were killed exactly as Jones had described it. To bolster Irwin's credibility, Detective Brenda Woolridge later testified that when she and another detective originally went to the Maricopa County Jail to question Irwin, they offered her absolutely no deal. In fact, Irwin initially refused to speak with them. It was only when they began to leave that Irwin stated she had the "dream." The defense objected to the detective's testimony concerning Irwin's "dream" as hearsay. The trial judge, however, admitted her statements to the police, relying on Rule 801. This admission was proper. Based on the evidence, Irwin did not have a motive to fabricate at the time of her original statements. She had been offered no deal prior to the statements, and the deal that she eventually received was negligible. Because the statements were made by Irwin prior to her motive to fabricate and introduced to bolster Irwin's testimony, the trial court did not err in admitting them under Rule 801.
Third, Jones claims that David Nordstrom's statements to both the police and Toni Hurley were erroneously admitted under Rule 801 because they were actually made after his motive to fabricate arose. At trial, the state offered Toni Hurley's testimony that David had made prior consistent statements to her concerning the murders for the purpose of bolstering David's testimony. The court admitted these statements under Rule 801. The defense's primary trial theory was that David actually perpetrated the murders, and because he happened to resemble Jones, decided to blame Jones as soon as they happened. Thus, when David told Hurley and the police what Jones had said and done, he was already plotting to lie about Jones's involvement in the case, even though David was not yet considered a suspect. Assuming Jones's theory was true, David's motive to fabricate necessarily arose at the time of the murders. See State v. Jeffers, 135 Ariz. 404, 424, 661 P.2d 1105, 1125 (1983). If David actually participated in all of the killings, his decision to shift the blame to Jones presumably formed immediately upon the deaths. It would have been in David's best interest to plant the seeds of this deception before he became a suspect, by telling Hurley and the police that Jones was the true murderer. Thus, because David's motive to fabricate arose at the time the murders occurred, rather than at the time of his arrest, the trial court improperly admitted his prior statements under Rule 801. We find, however, that admitting this testimony was harmless error.
The defense's primary theory at trial was that David himself was the murderer and was merely blaming his bad deeds on the innocent defendant. To support this theory, the defense attacked David's credibility on every basis. It pointed out that David was a convicted felon, habitually used drugs and alcohol, violated the terms of his probation, did not obtain steady employment, possessed illegal firearms, violated his curfew, falsified his employment records, and lied to the police. On the stand, the defense impeached him numerous times with his prior inconsistent statements to the police. The defense argued that David was receiving virtually no punishment for his participation in the Moon Smoke Shop murders in exchange for his testimony. Finally, it argued in both opening and closing statements its theory that David was the true murderer. Yet, even in light of the defense's extensive attempt
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