STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. RASHID S. POWELL (12-10-0796 AND 12-10-0797, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (RECORD IMPOUNDED), A-1343-18

Background:

Defendant committed four separate armed motel robberies and aggravated sexual assaults against couples in March–April 2012; victims described a masked Black male in a black leather jacket, a silver automatic handgun, and a white Acura seen on surveillance.
Multiple victims (five) identified defendant in photo arrays and at trial; surveillance tied the white Acura to a Pennsylvania-registered vehicle loaned to defendant; items (jacket, hat, gun) recovered from a girlfriend’s residence.
DNA from the jacket, hat, gun slide, and sperm fraction linked defendant to victims and to the weapon; the gun was operable and defendant lacked a firearms permit.
A jury convicted defendant on numerous counts (sexual assaults, robberies, weapon offenses); the trial court merged many counts, left eight aggravated sexual-assault convictions (one per victim), and imposed a lengthy aggregate NERA sentence (148 years after consecutive sentences across indictments).
On appeal defendant raised: denial of a MeToo-related voir-dire question; denial of severance/need for a limiting instruction for other-crimes evidence; ineffective assistance and a problematic stipulation in the second (weapons) phase; and sentencing/merger challenges.

Issues:

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Voir dire: request to ask about MeToo movement bias	Voir dire was adequate; model questions probed bias sufficiently	Jurors should be asked about MeToo influence and whether they would automatically "believe" accusers	Denial affirmed as frivolous; voir dire sufficient (R.2:11-3(e)(2))
Severance / admission of other incidents (404(b))	Incidents were similar, geographically close, temporally proximate, and linked by modus operandi and physical evidence; joinder permitted and evidence admissible for identity	First incident (and others) should have been severed or a limiting instruction given to prevent spillover prejudice	Denial of severance affirmed; incidents qualified as probative other-crimes/signature evidence under Cofield/404(b); absence of a specific 404(b) limiting charge not reversible error because court gave multiple-charges instruction
Ineffective assistance & stipulation in Phase Two (certain persons not to possess)	Trial counsel may have had an unrecorded strategy; Ragland instructions were given and stipulation established predicate conviction	Counsel did nothing (no opening/closing/witnesses) and stipulation mischaracterized prior conviction, tainting the second trial	Court did not resolve on direct appeal; declined to decide ineffective-assistance claim and deferred to post-conviction relief process (Preciose)
Sentencing: merger, Graves Act, excessive sentence	State agreed with merging duplicative weapons counts and argued Graves Act parole-ineligibility should apply to possession counts	Defendant argued sentence excessive and some weapons convictions should merge	Court ordered merger of duplicate firearms convictions and certain-persons counts; remanded for resentencing to impose appropriate Graves Act parole-ineligibility; overall sentence (absent weapons adjustments) not constitutionally excessive

Key Cases Cited

State v. Sterling, 215 N.J. 65 (2013) (joinder, other-crimes, and signature-crime analysis)
State v. Cofield, 127 N.J. 328 (1992) (four-prong test for admissibility of other-crimes evidence)
State v. Gillispie, 208 N.J. 59 (2011) (connecting defendant to weapons or disguise supports identity admissibility)
State v. Fortin, 162 N.J. 517 (2000) (other crimes must show peculiar, unique similarities to prove identity)
State v. Pitts, 116 N.J. 580 (1989) (multiple charges instruction and analysis whether evidence admissible in separate trials)
State v. Pierro, 355 N.J. Super. 109 (App. Div. 2002) (joinder upheld where goods from one burglary were found in another)
State v. Sempsey, 141 N.J. Super. 317 (App. Div. 1976) (permitting other-crimes evidence where modus operandi and distinctive features were similar)
State v. Henderson, 208 N.J. 208 (2011) (pretrial identification reliability / estimator variables)
State v. Ragland, 105 N.J. 189 (1986) (risks and instructions in trials of certain persons not to possess)
State v. Preciose, 129 N.J. 451 (1992) (ineffective-assistance claims ordinarily raised in post-conviction relief)
State v. Moore, 377 N.J. Super. 445 (App. Div. 2005) (illegal sentence under Graves Act can be corrected at any time)