Garcia v. Thaler
| Decision Date | 22 June 2011 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. SA–11–CA–482–OG. |
| Citation | 793 F.Supp.2d 909 |
| Parties | Humberto Leal GARCIA, Jr. TDCJ No. 999162, Petitioner,v.Rick THALER, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Maurie Levin, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX, Sandra L. Babcock, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, IL, for Petitioner.
ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Petitioner Humberto Leal Garcia, Jr. has filed this, his third, federal habeas corpus action challenging his July, 1995 Bexar County conviction for the capital murder of Adria Sauceda and sentence of death. Petitioner has also requested a stay of execution and a stay of proceedings in this cause so he can return to state court and exhaust state habeas remedies on what he admits is a currently-unexhausted claim for relief based upon the decision of the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”) in the case of Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (henceforth “ Avena ”), and a recently filed piece of proposed federal legislation currently pending before the United States Senate. For the reasons set forth at length hereinafter, petitioner is not entitled to a stay of execution or any other relief from this Court because petitioner's amended federal habeas corpus petition herein is plainly without merit and subject to dismissal under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts.
I. Procedural and Factual Background
Pursuant to Rule 201, Fed.R.Evid., this Court takes judicial notice of the contents of the pleadings, motions, state court records, and other documents filed in, or submitted to, this Court in connection with petitioner's previous federal habeas corpus actions, i.e., cause nos. SA–99–CA–1301–RF and SA–07–CA–214–RF.
Late on the evening of May 20, 1994, and continuing well into the next morning, several persons attended an outdoor party held near the home of Juan Francisco “Paco” Delgado at the end of Vincent Street in San Antonio, Texas. 1 Among the party goers was sixteen-year-old Adria Sauceda.2 At one point during the early morning hours of May 21, an apparently inebriated and only partially clad Adria was observed in the middle of a circle of males who were taking turns getting on top of her.3 When two women approached and attempted to lend her assistance, Adria refused their offers and told them to leave her alone.4 Adria appeared to be drunk and was unable to assist the women as they attempted to pull her pants back on her. 5
Around the same time, another party goer, Simon Ortega, became aware that Adria was in a crowd of people in the dark behind the bushes.6 Ortega was approached by a male, whom he did not recognize, who advised Ortega that Adria had passed out, was back behind the bushes, and had her clothes off. 7 This same individual invited Ortega to have sex with her. 8 Ortega rudely declined the invitation and, a couple hours later, observed another male carry Adria out from behind the bushes and place her on the hood of Ortega's car.9 At that time, Adria appeared to Ortega to be “real shaken up,” “disoriented,” “not all there,” and “like if she was in shock.” 10 Ortega unsuccessfully attempted to communicate with Adria while she was lying on the hood of his car.11
Another male whom Ortega did not recognize then picked up Adria, carried her to a truck that was parked in the driveway of the home nearest to the party, and proceeded to “have his way with her.” 12 Ortega then directed the male who sexually assaulted Adria in the truck to place her inside Ortega's vehicle so that he could take her home.13 At that point, petitioner approached and directed that Adria be placed inside his vehicle, instead.14 When Ortega protested, the petitioner informed Ortega that he knew the girl and her family, knew where she lived, and would take her home and explain everything to her family.15 Petitioner then drove away with Adria in his blue Mercedes.16
Shortly thereafter, petitioner's brother Gualberto and petitioner's sister Nancy arrived at the party.17 Gualberto was obviously excited and agitated, shouting, talking fast, and gesturing in an animated manner. 18 According to Simon Ortega, petitioner's brother Gualberto jumped out his car and yelled “What the hell happened?” 19 Ortega testified that Gualberto continued yelling, informing those present that petitioner had arrived at his house “full of blood, saying he had killed a girl.” 20 According to witnesses, shortly after petitioner's brother and sister departed the scene, two of the males who had remained at the party produced Adria's purse, began scattering the contents of same, and threw it up into a tree, where it became stuck in the branches.21
About the same time, several individuals began searching for Adria's body.22 One group of young men finally found Adria lying nude on her back on a dirt road and notified the police.23
Photographs introduced into evidence at petitioner's trial documented the grisly scene which greeted police officers.24 The autopsy performed on Adria's body revealed (1) she had extremely high levels of alcohol and cocaine in her blood,25 (2) a stick with a screw in one end had been inserted into her vagina and was protruding from same,26 (3) Adria suffered extensive bruising and numerous lacerations to her head with accompanying hemorrhage to the soft tissue of the face,27 (4) the bridge of her nose was fractured and lacerated,28 (5) the right side of her neck exhibited an oval bruise suggestive of a bite mark,29 (6) her shoulders, back, and arms displayed numerous bruises and abrasions, 30 (7) an obvious bite mark with visible teeth impressions was present on the left side and back of her chest,31 (8) the nail on Adria's left middle finger was almost completely torn off while the nail on her right middle finger was completely torn off and missing,32 (9) Adria suffered massive hemorrhage throughout her scalp and diffuse bleeding in the cranial cavity, as well as bruising of the right front area of the brain, just under the part of the brain that rests on top the eyes, and small hemorrhages of the left side of the brain, resulting from a tremendous amount of force having been applied to her head,33 (10) Adria had been beaten repeatedly about the face and head with a blunt object, possibly the bloody asphalt rock found near her body, although some of her injuries had definitely been caused by something other than that rock,34 (11) bruising to the exterior of Adria's neck was consistent with manual strangulation, 35 and (12) Adria died from blunt trauma to her head.36
When contacted by the police later on the afternoon of May 21, 1994, petitioner voluntarily accompanied officers to the police station.37 There, petitioner gave police two written statements. In his first statement, admitted into evidence at petitioner's trial as State Exhibit No. 48, petitioner stated that (1) he drove a girl, whom he said gave him her name as Evalin Salazar, away from the party toward her home, which she indicated was on Buda Street; (2) the girl began striking the steering wheel as he drove; (3) the girl told him to go a different direction; (4) he restrained her when she attempted to exit his vehicle while it was moving; (5) he drove her down Coconino Street and stopped at the end of that street, where she exited his vehicle; (6) he exited the vehicle and offered to take her home but she said no and ran into the bushes; and (7) after he waited ten-to-fifteen minutes for her to return and she did not, he drove home.38
Shortly after petitioner gave police his first handwritten statement, outlined above, San Antonio Police Homicide Detective David Evans informed petitioner that petitioner's brother Gualberto had given police a written statement in which Gualberto stated that the petitioner had returned home that morning covered in blood and confessed to having killed a girl.39 At that point, petitioner indicated that he wished to make a second statement to police.40 In his second handwritten statement, which was admitted into evidence at his trial as State Exhibit No. 49, petitioner stated that (1) the girl was fighting with him to get out of his car; (2) after she ran into the woods, he followed her and attempted to take her back to his car; (3) she hit him and scratched him in the face so he pushed her and she fell back to the ground; (4) she did not get up and he was unsuccessful in attempting to wake her; and (5) he saw bubbles coming out her nose, got scared, and went home. 41
While conducting a consent search of petitioner's residence the same day as the discovery of Adria Sauceda's body, two San Antonio Police Homicide Detectives discovered a beige blouse lying on the floor under a pile of laundry in the laundry room.42 The blouse was later identified as Adria's. 43 DNA testing of blood stains on the blouse could not exclude Sauceda as a possible source of the blood thereon but did exclude plaintiff's girlfriend as a possible source of those blood stains.44
On August 17, 1994, a Bexar County grand jury indicted petitioner in case no. 94–CR–4696 on a charge of capital murder.45
C. Petitioner's Trial1. Guilt–Innocence Phase
The guilt-innocence phase of petitioner's trial commenced on July 5, 1995.
The prosecution presented the testimony of Mirasol Torres. Simon Ortega, and Juan Martinez, outlined above, concerning the events that transpired at the party on Vincent Street that culminated in the discovery of Adria Sauceda's body.46 A trio of law enforcement officers testified concerning the condition of Adria's body and the surrounding crime scene at the time of her discovery.47
In addition to hearing expert testimony concerning the results of the autopsy performed on Adria Sauceda's body, outlined...
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