Clarke v. Warren
| Decision Date | 29 June 2011 |
| Docket Number | CASE NO. 05-60151 |
| Parties | TINA MARIE CLARKE, Petitioner, v. MILLICENT WARREN, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
HON. JOHN CORBETT O'MEARA
This matter is pending before the Court on petitioner Tina Marie Clarke's application for the writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner is challenging her state convictions for murder, conspiracy, armed robbery, and two firearm offenses. Having reviewed the pleadings and record, the Court concludes that Petitioner is not entitled to habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, the habeas petition and amended petition will be denied.
Petitioner was charged in Genesee County, Michigan with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony firearm), and two counts of first-degree (felony) murder. The charges arose from the robbery and fatal shooting of twobrothers, John and Kim Crider, in Grand Blanc Township late on January 24, 2001, or early on January 25, 2001. The testimony at trial established that, on the night in question, Jerry Boroff ("Pops") drove Petitioner to her cousin's home. Kevin Debus and Harry Trombley rode along. Petitioner acquired a gun from her cousin after informing him that she was being harassed and needed protection from someone who had assaulted her two weeks earlier. Patricia Plummer subsequently joined Petitioner, "Pops," Debus, and Trombley. The five of them went to a Meijers store, because Plummer wanted to help a friend who was having car trouble in the parking lot and Petitioner wanted to buy bullets for her gun.
Next, the group went to a convenience store on Maple Road in Grand Blanc Township. Patricia Plummer talked to Kim Crider outside the store. She then invited Petitioner to go with her to Crider's home next door to make some money. Petitioner and Plummer went inside Crider's house while Pops, Harry Trombley, and Kevin Debus waited in the van at a nearby car wash. There were four men inside the Crider residence: Kim Crider, John Crider, Randy Crider, and John Sanborn, who was a friend of the Crider brothers. One of the men had a wad of money.
Petitioner and Plummer later rejoined "Pops," Trombley, and Debus, and the group went to a house on Pringle Street in Flint where four of them lived. On the ride there, Petitioner and Plummer talked about going back to Kim Crider's house on Maple Road and robbing the men. After they arrived at the Pringle Street house, Petitioner and Plummer changed into black clothes. Kevin Debus then drove the two women back to the house on Maple Road. He waited in the van while Petitioner and Plummer went inside the house. The man with the wad of money had already left. Only Kim and JohnCrider were there. Both men were shot more than once. Petitioner and Plummer then exited the house and were driven back to the Pringle Street house by Kevin Debus.
Meanwhile, about midnight, John Crider went to his neighbor John Cardinal's house where Cardinal and Arnis Davidsons were watching television. John Crider had been shot and was bleeding, and he said that his brother was dead next door. When the police arrived, John Crider informed one of the officers that two white females on foot had shot him. Kim Crider died that same day. John Crider survived for two weeks and then died. Both men died from gunshot wounds.
Petitioner sold her gun to Emmanuel Williams ("T"), who had possession of the gun when the police stopped him while driving on January 25, 2001. Petitioner became a suspect and was arrested after the police talked to "T."
Detective Donald Elford interrogated Petitioner on January 26, 2001. Petitioner informed Detective Elford that she acquired the gun to shoot David Smith, and that she subsequently accompanied Patricia Plummer to the victims' home where there were four men. One of the men showed her a wad of cash, and on the way back to Pringle Street, Plummer mentioned that she wanted to go back and rob the men. After they put on black clothes, Kevin Debus took them back to the house. The loaded gun was in her pocket when she and Plummer went inside the house. Only two men were there; the man with the wad of cash had left. She handed the gun to Plummer because she did not have the courage to "do it." Plummer then shot both men. They cut up one victim's wallet and disposed of it.
Petitioner also admitted to Elford that she sold the gun to "T" after the incident. She claimed that she and Plummer had intended to commit only a robbery and toacquire money, but she also admitted that Plummer had said she wanted to go in and shoot everybody.
Nineteen minutes after the interview with Detective Elford, Petitioner asked to speak with him again. She then described where she hid a needle, which she and Plummer had intended to use to poison the man in the hospital, if necessary, to prevent him from identifying them.
Petitioner was tried jointly with Patricia Plummer and Kevin Debus, but each defendant had a separate jury. Randy Crider and John Sanborn identified Petitioner and Patricia Plummer at trial as the two women who had been at Kim Crider's house the night of January 24, 2001. Randy Crider testified that one of the women had asked for money in return for drugs and the other woman had asked for money in return for sex. He recalled taking $39 out of his pocket to help pay for the beer that Kim had bought, but he claimed that he put the money back in his pocket when Kim declined the offer of money. He also testified that the women were still there when he left the house with John Sanborn about 11:30 p.m. He later learned that his brothers had been shot.
On September 24, 2001, Petitioner's jury found her guilty, as charged, of: two counts of felony murder, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.316(1)(b); conspiracy to commit armed robbery, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.157a and Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.529; armed robbery, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.529; felon in possession of a firearm, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.224f; and felony firearm, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.227b. The trial court sentenced Petitioner to: life imprisonment for the two murders, the armed robbery, and the conspiracy; thirty-eight months (three years, two months) to ninetymonths (seven and a half years) for the felon-in-possession conviction; and a consecutive term of two years for the felony firearm conviction.
In an appeal of right, Petitioner alleged that (1) there was insufficient evidence to sustain her murder convictions, (2) the prosecutor engaged in misconduct, (3) the trial court misstated the law, and (4) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to insure that the jury was properly instructed. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Petitioner's convictions in an unpublished opinion, see People v. Clarke, No. 238359 (Mich. Ct. App. Sept. 16, 2003), and on March 30, 2004, the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal. See People v. Clarke, 469 Mich. 1026; 679 N.W.2d 60 (2004) (table).
Petitioner filed her federal habeas corpus petition in this Court on June 29, 2005. She alleged that (1) there was insufficient evidence to sustain the jury's verdict on first-degree murder, (2) the prosecutor committed misconduct, and (3) the jury instructions were inaccurate and confusing. After the State filed a responsive pleading, Petitioner moved to hold her case in abeyance so that she could exhaust state court remedies for several new claims. On September 1, 2006, the Court granted Petitioner's motion and closed her case for administrative purposes.
Petitioner subsequently filed a motion for relief from judgment in which she alleged that (1) the state district court abused its discretion in binding her over to circuit court, (2) certain jurors were biased or prejudiced against her, (3) the trial court gave improper jury instructions, (4) she was entitled to a separate trial, (5) trial counsel was ineffective, and (6) the prosecutor failed to produce all endorsed witnesses. The trial court denied Petitioner's motion in a reasoned opinion, and the Michigan Court ofAppeals denied leave to appeal because Petitioner had failed to establish entitlement to relief under Michigan Court Rule 6.508(D). See People v. Clarke, No. 282375 (Mich. Ct. App. Apr. 15, 2008). On October 27, 2008, the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal for the same reason. See People v. Clarke, 482 Mich. 1032; 769 N.W.2d 193 (2008).
On March 20, 2009, Petitioner filed another federal habeas corpus petition in this District. She alleged that the trial court abused its discretion when ruling on her motion for relief from judgment, the pathologist gave perjured testimony, and both trial and appellate counsel were ineffective. The Clerk of Court randomly assigned the 2009 habeas petition to another judge in this District, who reassigned the petition to this Court as a companion to Petitioner's 2005 case. This Court treated the 2009 petition as an amended petition and then re-opened this case and closed the 2009 case.
Respondent has filed answers to the habeas petitions, and the case is now ready to be adjudicated. Although Respondent contends that Petitioner failed to comply with the Court's deadline for re-opening her case, the Court will excuse any procedural errors and address the substantive merits of Petitioner's claims.
To continue reading
Request your trial