STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. PAUL MYHAND (16-12-1020, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2022 )


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  •                                 NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
    APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
    This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the
    internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
    SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
    APPELLATE DIVISION
    DOCKET NO. A-0742-19
    STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
    Plaintiff-Respondent,
    v.
    PAUL MYHAND, a/k/a
    PEPA LARGE, PAUL L.
    MYHAND, and POPPA LARGE,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    ____________________________
    Argued May 23, 2022 – Decided July 15, 2022
    Before Judges Messano and Rose.
    On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law
    Division, Passaic County, Indictment No. 16-12-1020.
    Kevin S. Finckenauer, Assistant Deputy Public
    Defender, argued the cause for appellant (Joseph E.
    Krakora, Public Defender, attorney; Kevin S.
    Finckenauer, of counsel and on the briefs).
    Ali Y. Ozbek, Assistant Prosecutor, argued the cause
    for respondent (Camelia M. Valdes, Passaic County
    Prosecutor, attorney; Ali Y. Ozbek, of counsel and on
    the brief).
    PER CURIAM
    Just before 10:00 p.m. on July 24, 2016, Bernardo Medina-Villario and
    George Anga were en route via car to Angie's Bar in Paterson. As Medina-
    Villario parked his Toyota Camry on Broadway, defendant Paul Myhand entered
    the passenger's side, leaned over Anga, slapped Medina-Villario, and demanded
    the car. The Camry then struck two other vehicles, causing an accident. The
    victims of the accident told Officer Giuseppe Ciarla, of the Paterson Police
    Department (PPD), the driver appeared to be a "heavy-set black male."
    Meanwhile, Medina-Villario and Anga walked two blocks to PPD headquarters
    and reported the carjacking. Around 10:25 p.m., police observed defendant
    driving the stolen Camry; he was arrested without incident. Minutes later,
    Medina-Villario and Anga identified defendant during a show-up procedure
    conducted by Ciarla.
    In December 2016, defendant was charged in a Passaic County indictment
    with two counts of first-degree carjacking, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-2(a)(1) and (a)(2).
    The matter was tried before a jury in February 2019. Defendant represented
    himself, with the assistance of standby counsel.         Both carjacking victims
    testified on behalf of the State. The court ordered a mistrial after the jurors were
    A-0742-19
    2
    unable to reach a unanimous verdict and scheduled the matter for a status
    conference on March 4, 2019.
    On the March 4 return date, defendant requested the earliest possible
    retrial date, arguing he had been detained on the present charges for
    approximately three years. The court scheduled the retrial for April 2, 2019,
    because the prosecutor and defendant's standby attorney were scheduled to
    commence three back-to-back trials on March 5, 2019 regarding another
    defendant. The court noted defendant in this matter could file a motion for a
    bail reduction.
    On March 26, 2019, the court held another pretrial conference.          The
    attorneys informed the court the trial in the other matter was ongoing and the
    third trial of the back-to-back matters would likely conclude in "mid to late June
    or early July." Defendant maintained he was ready to try the case pro se. In
    view of the attorneys' trial schedule in the other matter, the court scheduled a
    July 16, 2019 trial date in this case. Apparently, the other matter concluded
    ahead of schedule.1
    1
    The record on appeal does not include transcripts of the March 4 and March
    26 pretrial conferences.
    A-0742-19
    3
    On April 2, the assignment judge attempted to facilitate an agreement
    between the parties, but his efforts were unavailing. He then sent the case to
    another judge, with directions to commence the retrial "immediately" – more
    than three months before the original retrial date of July 16, 2019.2 Defendant's
    ensuing request for a thirty-day adjournment to obtain the transcripts from the
    first trial was denied by the trial judge.
    The testimony spanned two trial days, during which the State called
    Medina-Villario, Officer Ciarla, and another PPD officer. Neither Anga nor the
    accident victims testified at the retrial. At the close of the State's evidence, the
    court appointed standby counsel to represent defendant for the remainder of the
    trial, spurred by his courtroom conduct. Defendant did not testify or present any
    evidence in his defense. In his closing remarks, the State commented on Anga's
    identification of defendant, which was introduced in evidence through the
    testimony of Ciarla.
    The jury convicted defendant of both carjacking counts by threatening the
    use of bodily harm under subsection (a)(2). He was sentenced to an aggregate
    2
    The receiving judge had begun the first trial but had taken ill during jury
    selection.
    A-0742-19
    4
    twenty-three-year prison term, subject to the No Early Release Act (NERA),
    N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2.
    Defendant now appeals, arguing:
    POINT I
    THE TRIAL COURT'S REFUSAL TO GRANT A
    THIRTY-DAY ADJOURNMENT OF THE RETRIAL
    SO THAT [DEFENDANT] COULD OBTAIN THE
    TRANSCRIPTS OF THE FIRST TRIAL REQUIRES
    REVERSAL OF [DEFENDANT]'S CONVICTIONS.
    POINT II
    THE ADMISSION OF THE NON-TESTIFYING
    VICTIMS' OUT-OF-COURT IDENTIFICATIONS
    VIOLATED          [DEFENDANT]'S RIGHTS TO
    CONFRONT HIS ACCUSER AND CONSTITUTED
    INADMISSIBLE HEARSAY.
    (Partially raised below)
    A. The Admission Of, and Heavy Reliance On, the
    Out-Of-Court Show[-]up Identification by George
    Anga Violated [Defendant]'s Rights to Confront His
    Accuser, Was Inadmissible Hearsay, and Irreparably
    Damaged the Proceedings.
    B.    Officer Ciarla's Regurgitation of Identifying
    Information by [the] Drivers Who Were Struck by the
    Stolen Car Likewise Violated [Defendant]'s Right to
    Confront His Accusers and Constituted Inadmissible
    Hearsay.
    A-0742-19
    5
    POINT III
    THE AGGREGATE TWENTY-THREE[-]YEAR
    SENTENCE IMPOSED BY THE TRIAL COURT
    WAS MANIFESTLY EXCESSIVE AND BASED ON
    AN IMPROPER WEIGHING OF [DEFENDANT]'S
    PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS, RATHER THAN A
    CONSIDERATION OF THE INSTANT OFFENSES
    FOR WHICH HE WAS BEING SENTENCED.
    ADDITIONALLY, THE COURT IMPROPERLY
    AWARDED      RESTITUTION      WITHOUT
    CONSIDERING [DEFENDANT]'S ABILITY TO
    PAY.
    A.    The Trial Court Improperly Focused on
    [Defendant]'s Criminal History, Rather than the Instant
    Offenses, in Sentencing Him to Two Concurrent
    Twenty-Three[-]Year Terms.
    B. The Trial Court's Imposition of Restitution was
    Improper Because there was No Ability[-]to[-]Pay
    Hearing, and the Record Indicates that [Defendant]
    Would Not be Able to Pay the Amounts Owed.
    Because we agree with the contentions raised in points I and II, our
    disposition makes it unnecessary to consider defendant's sentencing arguments
    raised in point III. We therefore reverse defendant's convictions, vacate his
    sentence, and remand for further proceedings.
    I.
    Defendant maintains the trial judge improperly denied his request for a
    thirty-day adjournment to obtain the transcripts from the first trial before the
    A-0742-19
    6
    retrial commenced.        Asserting the transcripts were "an integral and
    indispensable tool in preparing for a retrial," defendant argues the judge
    erroneously denied his adjournment request to obtain the transcripts pursuant to
    Britt v. North Carolina, 
    404 U.S. 226
     (1971). We agree.
    We acknowledge a trial court exercises broad discretion in controlling its
    calendar, and granting or denying an adjournment. See, e.g., State v. Hayes,
    
    205 N.J. 522
    , 537 (2011). As part of its duties, a court "has the power to tightly
    control its calendar to assure the efficient administration of the criminal ju stice
    system." State v. Ruffin, 
    371 N.J. Super. 371
    , 388 (App. Div. 2004). However,
    the court's discretion should be based on a rational explanation, after considering
    relevant facts. State v. Kates, 
    216 N.J. 393
    , 396-97 (2014) (discussing necessity
    of a "reasoned, thoughtful analysis of the appropriate factors" in granting a
    continuance to seek counsel).
    We have said, in the context of a civil trial, a denial of an adjournment
    must comport "with the fundamental principles of justice and fairness that must
    guide all judicial decisions." Berkowitz v. Soper, 
    443 N.J. Super. 391
    , 407
    (App. Div. 2016). Those principles are no less applicable in a criminal trial.
    See State v. Garcia, 
    195 N.J. 192
    , 196 (2008) (holding the trial court abused its
    A-0742-19
    7
    discretion by failing to grant the defendant's request for an adjournment to
    arrange for the production of an imprisoned defense witness).
    In Britt, the United States Supreme Court held "the State must provide an
    indigent defendant with a transcript of prior proceedings when that transcript is
    needed for an effective defense or appeal."          
    404 U.S. at 227
    .   The Court
    "identified two factors that are relevant to the determination of need: (1) the
    value of the transcript to the defendant in connection with the appeal or trial for
    which it is sought, and (2) the availability of alternative devices that would
    fulfill the same functions as a transcript." 
    Ibid.
    As to the first factor, the defendant need not make a particular or strong
    showing of the value of the transcript. 
    Id. at 228
    . Thus, "even in the absence of
    specific allegations it can ordinarily be assumed that a transcript . . . would be
    valuable to the defendant in at least two ways:          as a discovery device in
    preparation for trial, and as a tool at the trial itself for the impeachment of
    prosecution witnesses." Ibid.; see also Martin v. Rose, 
    525 F.2d 111
    , 113 (6th
    Cir. 1975) (affirming a petition for habeas corpus relief, stating "we can think
    of no more valuable document for defense counsel approaching a contested trial
    than the record of the previous trial of his client for the exact same crime with
    which he is charged again before the court of another sovereign").
    A-0742-19
    8
    Regarding the second factor, the adequacy of alternative devices should
    be decided on a case-by-case basis. Britt, 
    404 U.S. at 229
    . Because the same
    court reporter was employed for both trials and would "have read back to counsel
    his notes of the mistrial," the Court in Britt determined the defendant had access
    to "an informal alternative which appear[ed] to be substantially equivalent to a
    transcript." 
    Id. at 229-30
    . That is not the case here.
    In the present matter, the State claims Britt is inapplicable because
    defendant's argument is not based on his indigent status. We do not interpret
    Britt so narrowly. As defendant asserts, "transcripts are significant tools."
    Indeed, in deciding whether to grant defendant's request, the trial judge noted
    the importance of the transcripts, acknowledging: "[I]f a witness takes the stand
    here in this trial and says something different than they did at the last trial, you
    know, you can't get up and say, 'Well, wait a minute, didn't you say [something
    in the prior trial] because there's no record of it.'" The importance of the
    transcript as an impeachment tool is precisely what the Court in Britt embraced.
    
    404 U.S. at 228
    .
    At first blush, defendant's April 2, 2019 adjournment request to obtain the
    transcripts of his first trial may seem belated. The mistrial was declared on
    February 13, 2019; defendant failed to order the transcripts during the six -week
    A-0742-19
    9
    interim before the April 2 trial date; and the issue was not raised until April 2,
    when the trial judge asked defendant whether he ordered the transcripts.
    Further, defendant claimed he "didn't know he c[ould] get them," yet he
    possessed a transcript from the pretrial Wade3 hearing, which he utilized to
    cross-examine Ciarla during the retrial. Defendant also insisted the retrial occur
    as quickly as possible. Finally, the trial judge noted the case was more than 600
    days old, defendant was incarcerated, and the Administrative Office of the
    Courts had directed that such matters "are to be treated like speedy trial cases."
    While we appreciate the trial court's efforts to move the matter to trial in
    view of the age of the case, multiple factors militate in favor of the adjournment
    request in the present matter: defendant sought the adjournment to obtain the
    transcripts; the trial date was moved up to April 2, 2019, only after the attorneys'
    other trials were completed ahead of schedule; and a thirty-day adjournment
    would have resulted in a retrial date well before the originally-scheduled July
    16 trial date. Under these circumstances, the age of the case does not countervail
    the transcripts' value as impeachment tools in the retrial. See Britt, 
    404 U.S. at 228
    . We conclude the trial judge abused his discretion in denying defendant's
    application. See Hayes, 
    205 N.J. at 537
    .
    3
    United States v. Wade, 
    388 U.S. 218
     (1967).
    A-0742-19
    10
    II.
    In his second point, defendant contends his constitutional rights were
    violated by the out-of-court testimonial statements of Anga and the accident
    victims through Ciarla's testimony.          The State now counters Anga was
    unavailable to testify at trial and, as such, the admission of his out-of-court
    identification was proper under N.J.R.E. 804(b)(1)(A), and any error was
    harmless. The State also argues Ciarla's testimony concerning the description
    of defendant given by the accident victims was not hearsay because the crime
    was ongoing when the statements were made.
    According to Ciarla, around 10:24 p.m., he and his partner were with the
    carjacking victims at PPD headquarters, when they were dispatched to report to
    16th Avenue and Carroll Street, where defendant was detained by police. The
    officers brought the victims to the intersection to conduct show-up
    identifications of defendant. Ciarla testified both victims identified defendant
    as the suspect. Defendant objected to Ciarla's statement that the victims got out
    of the car and said, "'[T]hat's him, Paul Myhand.'" Because the prosecutor
    clarified that the victims did not know defendant's name, the judge overruled the
    objection.
    The following exchange ensued, without further objection.
    A-0742-19
    11
    PROSECUTOR: So, to the best of your recollection
    what do the victims say when they get out of the car and
    see the suspect?
    CIARLA: "That's him. That's him."
    PROSECUTOR: And to you that meant that was the
    person in the carjacking.
    CIARLA: Yes.
    PROSECUTOR: Did one of them say at [sic] first, did
    they say it at the same time?
    CIARLA: One said it and the other one said it right
    after.
    PROSECUTOR: Do you remember which one said it
    first?
    CIARLA: The owner of the vehicle.
    PROSECUTOR: Would that have been Bernardo
    [Medina-Villario]?
    CIARLA: Bernardo.
    PROSECUTOR: And George Anga also said . . . also
    identified him?
    CIARLA: Yes.
    PROSECUTOR:             Did either of them have any
    hesitation or any . . .
    CIARLA: No, as soon as I took them out of the car,
    they took a few steps away from the patrol unit and they
    said that was him.
    A-0742-19
    12
    The prosecutor also elicited from Ciarla the description of defendant
    provided by the accident victims – neither of whom testified at trial.
    Referencing the accident report, the prosecutor asked, "And when you spoke to
    these people, did they give a description of the person who did this?" Ciarla
    replied: "A vague description. All they said was, 'Heavy-set black male in a
    vehicle.'" Defendant did not object to this testimony.
    During recess after Ciarla testified, defendant advised the trial judge the
    prosecutor had "just notified" him that certain witnesses, including Anga , were
    "not coming into this trial." Notably, testimony had begun the previous day;
    Ciarla was the second witness called by the State. Although defendant did not
    raise a hearsay objection to any of Ciarla's testimony, defendant asserted he had
    "the right to cross-examine [his] accuser," particularly as to Anga. The judge
    informed defendant the decision to call witnesses rested with the parties, and
    that defendant could subpoena Anga, provided his production did not delay the
    trial beyond the end of that week.
    During his summation, the prosecutor referenced Ciarla's testimony
    concerning Anga's identification several times:
    And Officer Ciarla testified under oath that as
    soon as they got to the scene, both these men got out of
    the car and said that's him. Pointed at [defendant] and
    said, "That's him. That's the man who carjacked us."
    A-0742-19
    13
    He said there was no hesitation. . . . I asked him
    who said it first, if you remember. He said that
    Bernardo Medina-Villario said it first. George Anga
    said it second. But there's no hesitation. They both get
    out of the car; they see the man immediately.
    ....
    . . . There was an out-of-court identification
    within an hour of the crime where Bernardo and George
    both say, "That's him. That's the man who did it."
    ....
    . . . Officer Ciarla said there were two victims.
    Bernardo Medina-Villario and George Anga. And he
    said that George Anga also identified the defendant at
    the scene. He was also in the car. He was the one that
    this man is l[ying] on . . . across his lap when he's
    hitting him.
    They're also close. From that distance, he would
    have gotten a good view of him. And George Anga also
    gets out of the police car and says, "That's him. That's
    the man who did it."
    ....
    . . . We have two witnesses who thirty-six
    minutes after the crime, after being instructed only to
    make an identification if they're certain. They get out
    of the police car and say, "That's him. That's the man
    who did it."
    The prosecutor did not comment on the accident victims' description of
    defendant given to Ciarla.
    A-0742-19
    14
    Following the prosecutor's summation, defense counsel objected to the
    comments concerning Anga's identification on hearsay grounds. The trial judge
    overruled counsel's objection, agreeing with the State that no objection was
    raised during trial, and Anga's prior identification was admissible as an
    unspecified exception to the hearsay rule. See N.J.R.E. 803(a)(3).
    Although we generally defer to a trial court's evidentiary rulings,
    reviewing them only for abuse of discretion, "we do not defer to a ruling that is
    based on a mistaken interpretation of an evidence rule, or that misapplies the
    rule." State v. R.J.M., 
    453 N.J. Super. 261
    , 266 (App. Div. 2018). Our review
    of the trial court's application of the law to the facts, of course, is plenary . State
    v. Hubbard, 
    222 N.J. 249
    , 263 (2015).
    Both the United States Constitution and the New Jersey Constitution
    guarantee defendants the right to confront witnesses and to cross-examine
    accusers. U.S. Const. amend. VI; N.J. Const. art. I, ¶ 10; State v. Branch, 
    182 N.J. 338
    , 348 (2005). The Confrontation Clause reflects "a preference for the
    in-court testimony of a witness, whose veracity can be tested by the rigors of
    cross-examination." State ex. rel. J.A., 
    195 N.J. 324
    , 342 (2008). "Although
    the Sixth Amendment does not interdict all hearsay, it does prohibit the use of
    out-of-court testimonial hearsay, untested by cross-examination, as a substitute
    A-0742-19
    15
    for in-court testimony." Ibid.; see, e.g., State v. Medina, 
    242 N.J. 397
    , 415-16
    (2020) (reiterating the principle that law enforcement witnesses "may not
    disclose incriminating information obtained from a non-testifying witness" and
    explaining the limitation is meant to avoid the implication that the officer's
    testimony is "'worthy of greater weight'" (quoting State v. Kemp, 
    195 N.J. 136
    ,
    155 (2008))).
    One such exception is a prior identification made by the declarant-witness
    pursuant to N.J.R.E. 803(a)(3).       Relevant here, the Rule provides certain
    statements are excluded from the hearsay prohibition provided "[t]he declarant-
    witness testifies and is subject to cross-examination about a prior otherwise
    admissible statement, and the statement . . . is a prior identification of a person
    made after perceiving that person if made in circumstances precluding
    unfairness or unreliability." The rationale underscoring the Rule is that a prior
    identification was "made when the events and sensory impressions are fresh in
    the mind of a witness." State v. Matlack, 
    49 N.J. 491
    , 498 (1967). If the person
    making the identification is a witness at trial, that person's testimony, third-party
    testimony, and exhibits recording the identification are all admissible. 
    Id. at 499-500
    ; see also State v. Luna, 
    193 N.J. 202
    , 216 (2007) ("Although the prior
    identification would have been admissible under N.J.R.E. 803(a)(3), had the
    A-0742-19
    16
    housekeeper appeared as a witness, the State properly conceded on appeal that,
    in her absence, reference to the housekeeper's out-of-court statement was
    inadmissible hearsay.").
    Because Anga did not testify at the retrial, Ciarla's testimony pertaining
    to Anga's identification of defendant was not admissible as an exception to the
    hearsay rule under N.J.R.E. 803(a)(3). Instead, admission of this testimony
    infringed upon defendant's right to confront Anga in violation of Crawford v.
    Washington, 
    541 U.S. 36
    , 49-51 (2004). The prosecutor's multiple references
    to Anga's identification in summation compounded the problem; the error was
    not harmless as the State contends. Indeed, defendant was convicted of both
    carjacking counts, including the count naming Anga as a victim.4
    Nor are we persuaded by the State's argument, raised for the first time on
    appeal, that Anga's identification was admissible as a hearsay exception
    pursuant to N.J.R.E. 804(b)(1)(A).      Relevant here, under this exception, a
    witness's prior trial testimony is admissible in a subsequent trial, when "offered
    against a party who had an opportunity and similar motive in the prior trial . . .
    to develop the testimony by . . . cross-examination." However, the exception is
    4
    Although not raised on appeal, inexplicably, the indictment charged separate
    carjacking counts that reflected Medina-Villario and Anga each were victims of
    the same carjacking.
    A-0742-19
    17
    only available if the declarant is "unavailable," as defined in N.J.R.E. 804(a).5
    Ciarla's testimony concerning Anga's show-up identification of defendant finds
    no support under this Rule.
    5
    Absent certain circumstances not applicable here, "a declarant is 'unavailable'
    as a witness" under N.J.R.E. 804(a), if he or she:
    (1) is exempted by ruling of the court on the ground of
    privilege from testifying concerning the subject matter
    of the statement; or
    (2) persists in refusing to testify concerning the subject
    matter of the statement despite an order of the court to
    do so; or
    (3) testifies to a lack of memory of the subject matter
    of the statement; or
    (4) is absent from the trial, hearing, or proceeding
    because of death, physical or mental illness or
    infirmity, or other cause; and
    (A) the proponent of the statement is unable by
    process or other reasonable means to procure the
    declarant's attendance at trial, hearing, or
    proceeding; and
    (B) with respect to statements proffered under
    Rules 804(b)(4) and (7), the proponent must be
    unable, without undue hardship or expense, to
    obtain declarant's deposition for use in lieu of
    testimony at trial, hearing, or proceeding[.]
    A-0742-19
    18
    For reasons that are unclear from the record, Anga did not testify at
    defendant's retrial. The State made no mention of his unavailability during trial;
    its responding brief is no more illuminating. 6 Instead, the State argues defendant
    failed to cite any "New Jersey case that presents the requirements for
    establishing a witness as unavailable."      But the onus was on the State to
    demonstrate Anga was "unavailable" under the criteria set forth in N.J.R.E.
    804(a). Moreover, Anga's prior testimony concerning the identification was not
    introduced at trial; the State improperly elicited from Ciarla Anga's pretrial
    statements made during the show-up procedure. Because the State did not
    demonstrate Anga was unavailable under any of the criteria set forth in the Rule,
    Anga's testimony constituted inadmissible hearsay.
    Finally, we turn to Ciarla's testimony concerning the accident victims'
    description of defendant. Although Ciarla testified the description given was
    "vague," Ciarla also told the jury the victims said the suspect was a "heavy-set
    black male in a vehicle." That testimony was improper under our Supreme
    Court's decision in J.A.
    6
    At sentencing, the State noted Medina-Villario and Anga were construction
    workers, who lost wages by testifying at the first trial, and Medina-Villario, in
    particular, wished to attend the sentencing hearing, but could not afford to leave
    work. No mention was made of Anga's unavailability for trial.
    A-0742-19
    19
    In J.A., the Court held the eyewitness's statement to the officer, made
    several minutes after the witness ended his pursuit of the robbers, did not qualify
    as a present sense impression exception to the hearsay rule under N.J.R.E.
    803(c)(1) because it was not "made while or immediately after the [witness] was
    perceiving the event." 7 Id. at 336-40. The Court further found the witness's
    report to the officer "ran afoul of the Confrontation Clause" as a testimonial
    statement because "[t]here was no ongoing emergency — no immediate danger
    — implicating either the witness or the victim, both of whom were in the
    company of police officers" when the eyewitness made the statements the State
    sought to admit. Id. at 341, 348.
    In interpreting the phrase "immediately after," the Court recognized a
    delay of mere minutes between the occurrence of an event and a declarant's
    recounting of that same event could take the statement outside of the exception.
    Id. at 339-40. According to the Court:
    For purposes of a present sense impression, a
    declarant's statement that "the blue sports car is going
    through the red light" or that "the blue sports car just
    went through the red light" (seconds ago) is different
    from a declarant's statement that "the blue sports car
    went through the red light ten minutes ago."
    7
    Pursuant to N.J.R.E. 803(c)(1), a present sense impression is "[a] statement
    describing or explaining an event or condition, made while or immediately after
    the declarant perceived it and without opportunity to deliberate or fabricate."
    A-0742-19
    20
    [Id. at 339.]
    Thus, the J.A. Court held that relating the details of a crime "that occurred ten
    minutes earlier is not the equivalent of describing the crime 'immediately after'
    it occurred." Id. at 340.
    Here, the unidentified accident victims did not testify at trial. The only
    evidence as to the timing of their observations was introduced through Ciarla's
    testimony. Ciarla testified he was dispatched to headquarters around 9:59 p.m.
    regarding the carjacking. Referencing the timestamp on the accident report,
    Ciarla testified at 10:16 p.m., one of the victims "came to headquarters to report
    that she was involved in a motor vehicle accident related to this carjacking
    incident." Because the victim gave the statement at headquarters, sometime
    after the incident had occurred, her description of defendant was based on the
    crime that had occurred earlier and did not qualify as a present sense impression
    exception to the hearsay rule under N.J.R.E. 803(c)(1); see also J.A., 195 N.J.
    at 340. It also appears by the time the accident victims reported the crime, they
    and the carjacking victims were no longer in harm's way. See id. at 348.
    We recognize Ciarla's testimony concerning the accident victims'
    description of defendant was fleeting and not objected to by defendant. In
    isolation, we might be inclined to find the error was not "clearly capable of
    A-0742-19
    21
    producing an unjust result."          R. 2:10-2 (providing, in pertinent part, "the
    appellate court may, in the interests of justice, notice plain error not brought to
    the attention of the trial court").
    However, we are convinced the cumulative effect of multiple hearsay
    errors committed during the retrial rendered the trial unfair.        See State v.
    Sanchez-Medina, 
    231 N.J. 452
    , 469 (2018) ("Even if an individual error does
    not require reversal, the cumulative effect of a series of errors can cast doubt on
    a verdict and call for a new trial."); see also State v. Weaver, 
    219 N.J. 131
    , 155
    (2014) ("When legal errors cumulatively render a trial unfair, the Constitution
    requires a new trial"). "Our obligation is to ensure that defendant had a fair
    trial." State v. Jenewicz, 
    193 N.J. 440
    , 473 (2008).
    Reversed and remanded. We do not retain jurisdiction.
    A-0742-19
    22