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State v. Greenleaf4/15/1999
Carlton County Took No Part, Page, J.
Office of Appellate Courts
A grand jury in Carlton County indicted Lester Greenleaf on the charge that he aided and abetted the first-degree murder of 17-year-old Paul Antonich in violation of Minn. Stat. §§ 609.185, subd. 3, and 609.05, subd. 1 (1998). Venue of the trial was changed to Dakota County, and Greenleaf, who was tried jointly with Andy Leo DeVerney, was convicted of the offense and sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, Greenleaf argues that his conviction should be reversed. We affirm.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. on August 28, 1996, Antonich was driving his parents' car through Duluth to his family's home in Two Harbors. At the intersection of Sixth Avenue East and Ninth Street in Duluth, Antonich's vehicle bumped into a vehicle driven by John Steven Martin. John Steven Martin and his four friends, DeVerney, Jamie Aubid, John Alexander "Mike" Martin ("Mike Martin"), and appellant, Greenleaf, exited the vehicle driven by John Steven Martin and began verbally and physically assaulting Antonich. Mike Martin, DeVerney, and a bystander testified that they saw Greenleaf reach in through the window and strike Antonich. Greenleaf testified that he was not sure whether he hit Antonich, but said he might have because it was likely that hitting someone resulted in reopening a cut on his hand. Greenleaf claimed that, at the time, he was on a 2-week drinking binge, and that he had consumed 18 to 20 beers that day.
Following this initial assault, Greenleaf got into the driver's seat of Antonich's parents' car and pushed Antonich over into the front passenger seat. The four other men returned to the vehicle John Steven Martin had been driving and both vehicles left the scene of the accident. The two cars then proceeded to the intersection of 15th or 16th Street West and 3rd Street where the men again exited the vehicle driven by John Steven Martin, pulled Antonich from his car and assaulted him. Greenleaf testified that he was struggling to get the key out of the car's ignition when this second beating began, but that when he exited the vehicle he got between Antonich and his friends in an attempt to stop the assault. According to Greenleaf, John Steven Martin then pulled out a gun and stated that he wanted to "take [Antonich] and shoot him." Greenleaf testified that Martin "looked crazy."
Following the second assault, Antonich was shoved into the back seat of his parents' car, with Greenleaf behind the wheel and DeVerney joining him in the front passenger seat, as they followed the vehicle driven by John Steven Martin onto Interstate 35. Greenleaf claimed that he attempted to lose John Steven Martin several times by slowing his vehicle but that each time he slowed down, John Steven Martin also slowed the vehicle he was driving. Greenleaf also testified that after driving several miles on Interstate 35, he stopped Antonich's car on the side of the highway but John Steven Martin also stopped the car he was driving and ran back to Antonich's car. Greenleaf testified that he implored Martin to "stop right here, man. I don't want - I don't want to take this any further cause, you know, I know what we did was wrong * * * ." According to Greenleaf, Martin demanded that Greenleaf "just keep * * * driving the car. Quit being a chicken * * * ." Greenleaf explained that he did not argue and continued to drive because he had seen what Martin was capable of doing.
Both cars then proceeded for several miles to Ditchbank Road, located in a remote area on the Fon du Lac reservation outside Cloquet, approximately 35 miles from Duluth. Antonich was then pulled from his parents' car and John Steven Martin shot him fo
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