Eastridge v. U.S.

• Decision Date: 26 May 2005
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A. 00-3045RMC.,CIV.A. 00-3045RMC.
• Parties: Joseph Wayne EASTRIDGE, et al., Petitioners, v. UNITED STATES of America, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

Page 26

372 F.Supp.2d 26

Joseph Wayne EASTRIDGE, et al., Petitioners, v. UNITED STATES of America, Respondent.

No. CIV.A. 00-3045RMC.

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

May 26, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Andrew B. Weissman, Joel Andrew Nichols, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, Washington, DC, John Kenneth Zwerling, Zwerling & Kemler, P.C., Alexandria, VA, for Petitioners.

Carolyn K. Kolben, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Respondent.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLYER, District Judge.

In January 1976, Michael A. Diamen, Joseph W. Eastridge, Stephen C. Jones, and Joseph N. Sousa were convicted in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of first-degree murder, while armed, for the stabbing death of Johnnie Battle. A fifth co-defendant, Richard C. Richter, was convicted of assault.¹ The Government's theory of the case at trial was that a group associated with a motorcycle gang, the Pagans, was involved in a racially-charged confrontation with three Black men, including Mr. Battle, outside the Godfather Lounge ("Godfather") in Washington, DC.² After a series of verbal exchanges, Mr. Battle retrieved a handgun from his car and fired into the group, wounding one of the Pagans. Mr. Battle fled on foot down Wisconsin Avenue. Messrs. Jones, Diamen, Eastridge, and Sousa allegedly "gave chase, with their knives drawn, chasing ... Mr. Johnnie Battle up to Wisconsin Avenue, across Wisconsin Avenue, where Mr. Battle is seen tripping on a curb, falling backwards, with his arms up, and being stabbed repeatedly by these four defendants...." Trial Tr. at 64.

After numerous unsuccessful appeals and post-trial motions, Messrs. Eastridge and Sousa ("Petitioners")³ filed a Petition for Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, asking this Court to vacate their murder convictions.⁴ In April 2005, a Supplemental Petition was filed to allege a violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963) based on the failure of the prosecutor to release allegedly-exculpatory evidence. Mr. Jones is not part of this litigation and did not appeal his sentence. The Petition is supported by new evidence unearthed by Centurion Ministries, a non-profit prisoner-advocacy center, during an eight-year investigation of the case.⁵

Illuminated by the light of this new evidence, the fog has lifted. Mr. Jones and unindicted members of the Pagans murdered Mr. Battle. Based on the full record, no reasonable juror would now find Petitioners guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court finds that this is the rare case in which Petitioners can prove their "actual innocence" of the crime charged as well as violations of their constitutional rights at trial. The Petition will be granted and the parties directed to confer on an appropriate order.⁶

I. FINDINGS: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

Upon consideration of the extensive trial record, supplementary documents and exhibits submitted with the Petition, the testimony received during an evidentiary hearing in December 2004 ("2004 Hearing"), the Court's analysis of the demeanor and candor of the witnesses, and the parties' briefs, the Court makes the following findings.⁷

1. A club of Pagans gathered at the home of its president, Richard Richter, in Arlington, VA, on November 1, 1974, to celebrate Mr. Richter's birthday.⁸ Club members in attendance were Steven Jones, who had just been initiated into the Pagans, and his girlfriend, Pamela Heim; Chesley Barber; Charles Jennings; John Wood; Tommy Greenwood; Bruce Hunter; Jill Summers; Michael Diamen; and Petitioners Eastridge and Sousa.

2. The party moved to a local bar known as "JJ's," where some members of the club became involved in a fight. Mr. Jones allegedly cut his hand during the fight. The group quickly left JJ's and, after a brief stop at Mr. Richter's house, traveled into the District of Columbia to visit the Godfather, a lounge on Wisconsin Avenue N.W.

3. The Pagans traveled in two cars. The first car belonged to Mr. Richter and contained Ms. Heim and Mr. Jones, Tommy Greenwood, Jill Summers, Bruce Hunter, and Mr. Richter. Trial Tr. at 1733 (Heim). The second car, a green Plymouth, belonged to Mr. Eastridge and contained Messrs. Eastridge, Sousa, Diamen, Barber, Jennings, and Wood. Id. at 1734. Because Mr. Eastridge had been drinking too heavily to drive, Mr. Sousa drove his vehicle. The two cars parked on Fessenden Street, around the corner from the Godfather.

4. The Pagans were not welcomed at the Godfather. They entered and went to the lower level but, upon instructions from the bar's owner, Tommie Motlagh, bouncer Stephen Mathers told them they would not be served and should leave.

5. As the Pagans were climbing the steps to leave, they encountered three Black men, Johnnie Battle, Armon Allen, and Joseph Brown. Mr. Richter challenged Messrs. Battle and Brown on whether they had called him a nasty name. Both men denied having done so, and the two groups left the Godfather, with the Pagans trailing Mr. Battle and his friends out of the doorway and then north and west onto Fessenden Street, where both parties had left their cars.

6. Along the way, Mr. Allen became separated from his friends and had an altercation with Mr. Richter, who thought Mr. Allen had a knife and who pulled out his own knife. Mr. Richter stepped toward Mr. Allen with his knife drawn. After realizing that Mr. Allen was holding a comb, he stepped back, put his knife away, and continued toward his vehicle.

7. Fearing for Mr. Allen's safety, however, Mr. Battle went to his car and retrieved a gun. With Mr. Brown, he then headed back to the corner of Fessenden and Wisconsin, where they had last seen Mr. Allen. As they did so, they encountered the group of Pagans. Mr. Jones threw popcorn at Mr. Battle and said, "Monkeys don't like popcorn?"

8. Mr. Brown put his head down to avoid looking at the Pagans and kept on moving. When he looked back, Mr. Battle was surrounded by the Pagans, who were holding knives.

9. Mr. Battle raised his gun and shot into the group of Pagans, striking Bruce Hunter. Mr. Brown ran to the Godfather. "Just before I went in there, I took a glance ... and saw [Mr. Battle] running with the gun and the group of guys behind him with knives." Trial Tr. at 139 (Brown). Mr. Allen also heard the gunfire and ran toward the Godfather. He looked to the corner and "it looked like seven or eight people swung around the corner altogether. I didn't know what it was. So, I just stepped inside the door." Trial Tr. at 105 (Allen).

10. Later on, both men could recognize Messrs. Eastridge, Sousa, Diamen, and Jones as having been among the Pagans but could not identify who chased Mr. Battle.

11. Mr. Battle ran toward Wisconsin Avenue but did not go to the Godfather. He crossed Wisconsin at an angle and ran south on the sidewalk to where 42nd Street and Emery Place intersect Wisconsin. He ran east on Emery Place for half a block and turned south again down an alley.

12. Mr. Jones followed Mr. Battle in hot pursuit. A teenager, he was the youngest and fastest of the Pagans. Mr. Jones and some other Pagans chased Mr. Battle south on Wisconsin Avenue, east on Emery Place, and then south down the alley.

13. Mr. Jones caught up with Mr. Battle as he crossed Ellicott Street at the end of the alley and entered the driveway of the Roundtable Restaurant. Mr. Battle stumbled, Mr. Jones caught his legs and tripped him, and then fell upon him, using his fists. Two or more Pagans joined in the fight, using knives.

14. In less time than it takes to tell, Mr. Battle suffered seventeen knife wounds and was dead.

15. Mr. Jones and one other Pagan leapt off of Mr. Battle and raced back up the alley, going north. As they ran, the other Pagan threw his knife into a backyard. The two men separated and Mr. Jones encountered Mr. Sousa driving the green Plymouth, inside of which were Messrs. Eastridge and Diamen.

16. Two other Pagans ran in another direction and returned on foot to Virginia.

17. In response to Mr. Battle's gun shots, Mr. Eastridge first ran west on Fessenden Street, away from Wisconsin Avenue, thinking to hide in an alley. When he realized that Mr. Battle was being chased toward Wisconsin Avenue, he followed. He rounded the corner of Fessenden and Wisconsin and headed south on Wisconsin for a short distance. He saw the chase cross Wisconsin and head onto Emery Place. He then turned around and ran back north on Wisconsin Avenue.

18. When Mr. Eastridge had almost gotten back to Fessenden, he saw Mr. Sousa round the corner in the car and climbed in. Mr. Eastridge had been drinking from his own bottle of whiskey and carried it with him as he ran.

19. Mr. Sousa ducked down behind the Plymouth when the shots were fired. When he straightened up, he saw Mr. Richter assist Mr. Hunter into Mr. Richter's car and drive off, turning at the corner to go south on Wisconsin Avenue.⁹ He hopped into the green Plymouth and pulled out, heading toward Wisconsin.

20. Before reaching the corner, Mr. Sousa paused to pick up Mr. Diamen. As he rounded the corner, going south on Wisconsin, he saw and picked up Mr. Eastridge, who got into the back seat.

21. The United States agrees that the above recitation constitutes the most reasonable reading of the entire record of evidence. At oral argument after the 2004 Hearing, the United States stated:

AUSA: A reasonable inference, a reasonable interpretation of what happened is as follows. That after Hunter was shot, Sousa was at his car, Eastridge was as well at his car that Sousa was driving. Eastridge began to run around the corner and follow where Jones and the whole group was [going] and went across Wisconsin Avenue.... Mr. Eastridge got to a certain point where just a little bit past the corner and turned around. He could have been running back up to Mr. Sousa's car. Then got into Mr. Sousa's car and they did make a left on Ellicott just as Motlagh saw them.

THE COURT: So Mr. Sousa stayed...