Barill v. Artus
| Decision Date | 21 December 2020 |
| Docket Number | 6:17-CV-06332 EAW |
| Citation | 511 F.Supp.3d 394 |
| Parties | Sean BARILL, Petitioner, v. Dale ARTUS, Superintendent, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of New York |
Sean Barill, Attica, NY, pro se.
David Anthony Heraty, Erie County District Attorney's Office, Buffalo, NY, for Respondent.
DECISION AND ORDER
Pro se Petitioner Sean Barill ("Petitioner") seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 on the basis that he is being unconstitutionally detained in the custody of respondent Dale Artus, Superintendent ("Respondent"). Petitioner is incarcerated pursuant to a judgment entered against him on August 15, 2012, in New York State Supreme Court, Erie County (the "trial court"), for murder in the second degree. (Dkt. 1 at 1). Petitioner was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 25 years to life. (Id. ).
Petitioner contends he is being held unlawfully for the following reasons: (1) the prosecution's proof was insufficient to disprove his justification defense; (2) the integrity of the grand jury was impaired due to the failure to charge justification and his counsel was ineffective; (3) Petitioner was deprived of a fair trial due to prosecutorial misconduct; (4) the trial court failed to give an intoxication charge; (5) the trial court failed to give a missing witness charge; (6) the trial court failed to rule on defense counsel's motion to suppress statements as fruit of an unlawful seizure; and (7) his sentence was harsh and excessive and must be modified in the interest of justice. (Dkt. 1 at 7-10). For the reasons discussed below, the Court finds that Petitioner has not shown he is entitled to federal habeas relief, and therefore his Petition is denied.
On June 27, 2011, the victim, Freddy Patrick, was found deceased in Petitioner's apartment, which Petitioner shared with his girlfriend. (Trial T., pp. 267-68). Mr. Patrick's body, which had 41 knife wounds, was found by Lisa Genua, the mother of Petitioner's girlfriend. (Id. ). Petitioner was identified as the perpetrator. He was charged by a grand jury with one count of murder in the second degree and entered a plea of not guilty. (Arraignment T., pp. 2-3).
Prior to trial, Petitioner moved to suppress statements he made to the police. (Jan. 24, 2012 Decision and Order, p. 2). Following a Huntley hearing (see Huntley Hearing, pp. 1-66), the trial court denied Petitioner's motion to suppress. (Jan. 24, 2012 Decision and Order, p. 5).
Trial commenced on June 25, 2012. The government called several witnesses, including Lisa Genua, the mother of Petitioner's girlfriend, Julie Genua. (Id. at 411). On September 27, 2011, Ms. Genua went to visit Julie at her apartment, which Julie shared with Petitioner. (Id. at 415-17). Ms. Genua found a note on a chair inside an open window, written in her daughter's handwriting, that said (Id. at 418-19). Ms. Genua was able to access the apartment, where she found Mr. Patrick's body and notified a police officer. (Id. at 422-26).
Petitioner's mother, Debra Ashwas, also testified at trial. (Id. at 502). Ms. Ashwas testified that Petitioner and his girlfriend arrived at her home at 5:00 a.m. on June 27, 2011. (Id. at 505). Ms. Ashwas testified that they appeared "panic stricken" and Petitioner told her that he had killed a man in his apartment. (Id. at 505-06). Ms. Ashwas testified that she recalled her son telling her that "the guy rubbed up against him," which she "took ... as maybe sexual molestation," but that she may have misinterpreted or misconstrued what Petitioner told her. (Id. at 506-07). Petitioner told her that the man he killed was "a total stranger" he met out front, and he had invited the man inside to drink beers. (Id. at 511). Petitioner told Ms. Ashwas that he had stabbed the victim in the stomach and in the neck, and that the victim had died in the kitchen. (Id. at 511-12). Ms. Ashwas told Petitioner that he should call the police. (Id. at 511). Petitioner and Julie were at Ms. Ashwas's home for between 45 to 90 minutes, during which time Julie told Petitioner to wash his hair and that she was going to cut it. (Id. at 508, 510).
The Associate Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Jonrika Malone, also testified at trial. (Id. at 703). Dr. Malone testified that she conducted Mr. Patrick's autopsy. (Id. at 713). Mr. Patrick had several sharp force injuries to his head
, neck, chest, and upper extremities. (Id. at 716). He had 33 stab wounds, and eight cutting wounds, for 41 knife wounds total. (Id. ). Dr. Malone identified two cutting wounds on Mr. Patrick's left hand, which were "suggestive of defensive-type injuries." (Id. at 736). Mr. Patrick's blood alcohol level, which indicated that he had drinking prior to his death, was .25 percent. (Id. at 738).
Detective Patrick Judge testified at the trial. (Id. at 764). Detective Judge responded to Petitioner's apartment at approximately 2:35 p.m. on June 27, 2011. (Id. at 766). He learned the location of Petitioner and his girlfriend from Lisa Genua, who had received a call from Julie. (Id. at 769). Detective Judge was able to trace the number to a residence in Gowanda, New York, where he found Petitioner and his girlfriend. (Id. at 769-71). Petitioner immediately told Detective Judge, "it was self-defense." (Id. at 771). Petitioner was transported to the Buffalo Police headquarters. (Id. at 772-73). Petitioner gave a statement, claiming that Mr. Patrick was the initial aggressor and he had acted in self-defense. (Id. at 779-84). Detective Judge also testified that Petitioner's injuries included two small scratches to the right side of his back, some scratches on his right wrist and hand, and some small slice marks on his fingers, which are commonly caused when a person's hand slips off the knife when stabbing someone. (Id. at 791-93).
Petitioner testified at the trial. He testified that he was in his apartment listening to music and drinking alcohol during the evening on June 26, 2011. (Id. at 867). Petitioner eventually decided to go outside his apartment building on Delaware Avenue to look for a cigarette. (Id. at 868). He saw Mr. Patrick, who he did not know, and asked him for a cigarette. (Id. ). The two men began talking, and Petitioner eventually asked Mr. Patrick to come up to his apartment building, where they drank beer and listened to music on the couch in the living room. (Id. at 868-72). The two men decided to walk to a Sunoco station to get more beer. (Id. at 873-74). Petitioner testified that when they returned to his apartment, Mr. Patrick was repeating that his name was "Freddie" and he was "a good guy," and that Mr. Patrick was "hitting [him] in [the] leg." (Id. at 876-77). Petitioner testified that it was getting late and he told Mr. Patrick that he needed to leave because his girlfriend Julie would be home soon, but Mr. Patrick did not want to leave. (Id. at 878). Mr. Patrick asked Petitioner for another beer. (Id. ). Petitioner testified he was hoping Mr. Patrick would get another beer from the kitchen and leave, but Mr. Patrick returned to the living room holding a knife. (Id. at 878-79). Petitioner testified that he jumped up, and the men began to struggle. (Id. at 880). Mr. Patrick dropped the knife in the struggle, and Petitioner grabbed it. (Id. ). Petitioner testified that he stabbed Mr. Patrick because he feared for his life, and then pushed him onto the couch. (Id. at 881-82). Petitioner then dropped the knife, but grabbed another, smaller knife from a table in the living room. (Id. at 882). Petitioner testified that he went into his kitchen, and Mr. Patrick followed him. (Id. at 882-83). The men brawled in the kitchen, and Petitioner stabbed Mr. Patrick again, but testified that he could not remember how many times he stabbed him. (Id. at 883-85). Petitioner testified that after the fight, he was in complete shock and could not stop crying. (Id. at 887). He wiped the knives down. (Id. at 888). Julie came home about "15, 20 minutes" following the incident. (Id. ). She told Petitioner to take a shower because he was covered in blood and they left the apartment. (Id. at 891). Petitioner testified that he did not call the police because he was scared and in shock. (Id. ).
The jury returned a guilty verdict. (Id. at 1085). On August 15, 2012, Petitioner was sentenced to an indeterminate term of imprisonment of 25 years to life. (Sentencing T., p. 8).
Petitioner appealed from the judgment, arguing: (1) the prosecution's proof was insufficient as a matter of law to disprove appellant's justification defense, and the verdict was against the weight of the evidence; (2) the integrity of the grand jury was impaired by the failure to charge justification, and appellant was denied effective assistance of counsel; (3) misconduct by the prosecutor deprived him of a fair trial; (4) the trial court failed to instruct the jury with respect to intoxication; (5) the trial court denied the request for a missing witness charge; (6) the trial court failed to rule on defense counsel's motion to suppress his statements as fruit of an unlawful seizure; and (7) his sentence was inordinately harsh and excessive, and must be modified in the interest of justice. (See Exhibit B, Brief for Appellant, pp. 5-53). On August 8, 2014, Petitioner's conviction was unanimously affirmed by the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. People v. Barill , 120 A.D.3d 951, 991 N.Y.S.2d 214 (4th Dep't 2014). The New York Court of Appeals denied leave to appeal on November 12, 2014. People v. Barill , 24 N.Y.3d 1042, 998 N.Y.S.2d 312, 23 N.E.3d 155 (2014). On October 5, 2015, the United States Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition for a writ of certiorari. Barill v. New York , 577 U.S. 865, 136 S. Ct. 158, 193 L.Ed.2d 117 (2015)...
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