Freeman v. Steele

• Decision Date: 19 March 2014
• Docket Number: No. 4:09CV1989 TIA,4:09CV1989 TIA
• Citation: Freeman v. Steele, No. 4:09CV1989 TIA (E.D. Mo. Mar 19, 2014)
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri
• Parties: SAMUEL FREEMAN, Petitioner, v. TROY STEELE, Respondents.

SAMUEL FREEMAN, Petitioner, v. TROY STEELE,¹ Respondents.

No. 4:09CV1989 TIA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION

Dated: March 19, 2014

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This cause is before the Court on Missouri state prisoner Samuel Freeman's petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (filed December 4, 2009/Docket No. 1). The parties consented to the jurisdiction of the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).

On November 14, 2005, Petitioner was charged in the Circuit Court with class A felony murder in the first degree and forcible sodomy. (Resp. Exh. 6 at 8-9). On August 9, 2006, the State of Missouri dismissed the forcible sodomy count. (Resp. Exh. 8 at 1). On September 9, 2006, a jury found Petitioner guilty of murder first degree. (Resp. Exh, 6 at 11). On November 16, 2006, the Circuit Court sentenced Petitioner to a term of imprisonment for life without eligibility for probation or parole. (Resp. Exh. 6 at 41-44). Petitioner filed a notice of appeal on November 17, 2006. (Resp. Exh. 6 at 46). The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, found the evidence was insufficient to support Petitioner's conviction and reversed the Circuit Court's judgment and remanded for entry of a judgment of acquittal on January 16, 2008. (State v. Freeman, 2008 WL 142299 (Mo. Ct. App.S.D.) ;Resp. Exh. 12). On transfer from the Court of Appeals, the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Circuit Court finding that Petitioner failed to show his conviction rested on insufficient evidence, or the trial court committed an abuse of discretion in making its evidentiary rulings. (State v. Freeman, 269 S.W.3d 422 (Mo. 2008) (en banc)). Petitioner pursued no other action in state court. The instant petition for writ of habeas corpus was filed on December 4, 2009.

Petitioner is currently incarcerated at the Potosi Correctional Center in Potosi, Missouri, pursuant to the sentence and judgment of the Circuit Court of Ripley County, Missouri. In the instant petition for writ of habeas corpus, Petitioner raises four grounds of insufficient evidence presented in his direct criminal appeal for relief:

(1) That the Missouri Supreme Court made an unreasonable finding of fact in determining that the DNA on the toilet paper in the victim's apartment came from two persons, Petitioner and the victim contrary to the testimony of the State's expert;

(2) That the Missouri Supreme Court unreasonably determined that given the proximity of the club to the victim's apartment, Petitioner had time to get to the victim's apartment;

(3) That the Missouri Supreme Court unreasonably determined that the liquor bottle Petitioner took with him from the club was inconsistent with the instrument that caused the victim's injuries; and

(4) That the Missouri Supreme Court unreasonably applied Jackson v. Virginia.

Respondent contends that although Petitioner breaks his petition into four grounds for relief, each claim is actually an attack on the finding of the Missouri Supreme Court that there was sufficient evidence to convict Petitioner of first degree murder under the standard set forth in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979). Respondent further argues that the Missouri Supreme Court properly determined the claims on their merits and thus that the claims should be denied here.

Evidence presented at trial by the State was summarized, in relevant part, by the Missouri Court of Appeals as follows:

In 1992, Defendant and Victim were both members and frequent patrons of the VFW club on South Broadway in Poplar Bluff. Defendant had recently returned to Poplar Bluff after serving in the Army. Victim worked as a pharmacy technician at the Veterans' Administration hospital. While they had previously been acquainted with each other, they were not romantically involved and had never dated. Both were at the VFW club the evening of May 6, 1992.

The club was a private club, patronized by members and their guests. In addition to a bingo hall, there was a separate bar area referred to by the veterans as the canteen. A pool table was located in the canteen, as well as video games, a jukebox, tables and chairs, and a full-service bar with seating.

Candace Shipman ("Candace") was working as a barmaid and reported for her evening shift on May 6 around 4:45 p.m., relieving Bridgette Russom ("Bridgette"), who was the daytime bartender. Both Victim and Defendant were in the club at the same time during a four to five hour period that evening. Throughout the evening, Candace waited on customers, cleaned, and stocked coolers. She served Victim Miller Lite beer in cans, and Defendant was drinking Budweiser beer and shots of Galliano. Candace estimated she probably served Defendant several beers and two or three shots of Galliano that night. Bridgette remained at the club and met her fiancé there after her shift ended. Victim joined Bridgette and her fiancé at the bar.

Robert McSwain was also present at the VFW club that night. Robert was "a regular" at the club, and there was testimony that Victim was "head over heels in love with him." Jimmy Reed, a co-worker and friend of Victim, testified that Victim and Robert had an "on again off again, boyfriend and girlfriend" relationship and described it as a "love-hate relationship." He stated that the relationship had been ongoing for about six or seven years.

Robert was joined by his son, Richard, and Richard's friend, and all three played a couple of games of pool. Before they finished their games, Defendant indicated that he wanted a turn at the pool table, and Robert told Defendant he would have to wait his turn. Richard testified that Defendant was "upset" and had a "[d]isgruntled look" on his face.

Afterward, Victim approached Defendant and told him to leave the boys alone. Richard testified that he could see they were arguing, that their "voices were raised a little bit." Candace stated that Victim was "upset" and "vocal," but she did not hear what was said. Bridgette testified that she did not "know that anybody wasangry"; that Defendant "seemed a little agitated" by the look on his face. Defendant stated that Victim thought he was trying to hustle the boys in a pool game, and that it was no big deal. This encounter lasted "just a matter of seconds." Soon afterward, Defendant flirted with and offered to buy Victim a drink, however she declined, and he returned to playing the video games.

Closing time for the VFW club was usually 11:00 p.m., but on the night of May 6, 1992, Candace closed the bar earlier. After she gave the last call for drinks, Defendant finished his drink and left the bar to walk home. Defendant lived approximately one mile from the VFW club. He left with a Galliano bottle which Candace had given him after emptying it for Defendant's last shot.

A Galliano bottle has a distinctive shape in that it has a typical round bottle top that then, in a continuous flow, flares from the top to the base in an alternating round and twelve-sided polygonal shape. The glass is rounded at the bend defining each edge between the sides of the polygon. It does not, unlike most wine, liquor, and beer bottles, have two parts-a barrel on the bottom part and a neck on the top-with the neck connected by a flange at the top of the barrel.

Approximately fifteen minutes after Defendant left the VFW, Candace, Bridgette, and Victim left the club together. Victim left with a paper bag containing six cans of Miller Lite, which she had purchased earlier in the evening, and she got into her car. She declined Bridgette's offer to follow her home. Upon exiting the parking lot, Bridgette turned left, and Victim continued driving toward her apartment, which was seven or eight blocks from the VFW club.

Everett Nichols, a neighbor of Victim, testified that he was at home with his girlfriend watching television when he heard a car drive up. When he looked out the window, he saw Victim retrieve a package from the passenger side of the car and walk toward her apartment door. He did not know what time this occurred, but he testified that the television program "Hunter" had just started. It appeared to him that Victim had some difficulty opening her door. He also noticed a man coming from behind her. They went into her apartment, and he did not hear anything else.

Victim's body was discovered in her apartment bedroom in Poplar Bluff by her mother the next day on May 7, 1992, shortly after 1:00 p.m. She was found lying on her back, her head at the foot of the bed and her feet at the head of the bed, with blankets partially covering her nude body. Knotted around her neck was a nylon knee-length stocking. Another stocking was on her right foot.

After the authorities were contacted, the first responding officer arrived at 1:49 p.m. Shortly thereafter, Poplar Bluff police detective Donwell Clark arrived and took charge of the scene. He was later joined by Butler County's deputy coroner,Bruce Goin, who assisted Clark in processing evidence collected from Victim's bedroom.

The next day, May 8, 1992, Detective Clark and deputy coroner Goin attended the autopsy on Victim's body in Farmington. Dr. Steven Parks, who did the autopsy, died before Defendant's trial. At trial, Michael Zaricor, D.O., testified regarding Dr. Parks' autopsy report. To prepare for his testimony, Dr. Zaricor reviewed the "autopsy report, the death certificate, the examination by Donwell Clark of the scene, and his report from being at the autopsy, [and] the photographs of the scene, and photographs taken at the time of the autopsy."

The autopsy report prepared by Dr. Parks noted that "asphyxial death from ligature strangulation" was the cause of Victim's death and placed the time of death at midnight. Dr. Zaricor testified that a determination as to a time of death "is really difficult." He could not offer an opinion based upon a reasonable degree of medical certainty as to the time of Victim's death. He stated that Dr. Parks would have been

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