Jones v. Cain

• Decision Date: 10 February 2009
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 06-939.
• Citation: 601 F.Supp.2d 769
• Parties: Terrance JONES, v. N. Burl CAIN, Warden.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana

601 F.Supp.2d 769

Terrance JONES, v. N. Burl CAIN, Warden.

Civil Action No. 06-939.

United States District Court, E.D. Louisiana.

February 10, 2009.

Terrance Jones, Angola, LA, pro se.

Anne Mary Wallis, District Attorney's Office, Parish of Jefferson, Gretna, LA, for N. Burl Cain.

ORDER AND REASONS

HELEN G. BERRIGAN, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on a petition for writ of habeas corpus by Terrance Jones, filed pro se, seeking relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The petitioner raises four claims for relief from his November, 2001 conviction of one count of second degree murder. In response, the State initially argued that the instant petition was untimely filed under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2254(d)(1)(A) and 2244(d)(2), and did not respond to the merits of the petition. Rec. Doc. 4. In a supplemental response to the petition, the state argued that his fourth claim was not exhausted as required. Rec. Doc. 7. However, the Court determined that the petition was indeed timely filed, and that all of his claims were exhausted, and ordered that the state respond to the merits of the petition, on January 15, 2008. Rec. Doc. 11. The state has now responded. Rec. Doc. 14. Having thoroughly considered the petition, record, memoranda of parties, and the law, the Court has determined that this matter may be disposed of without a hearing, and that the petitioner's habeas corpus petition has merit. For the reasons set forth below, this petition for relief is GRANTED.

I. BACKGROUND

In its initial order directing the state to respond to the merits of the petition, the Court reviewed the background and procedural history of this case, and found that petitioner was "in custody" as required for this Court's review, that venue was proper, that all claims were exhausted in the state courts, and that the petition was timely under the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA"), Pub.L. 104-132 Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1214. Rec. Doc. 11.

The following facts are taken from the Statement of Facts of the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fifth Circuit:

Deputy Rene Pinac of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office testified that he was on patrol at about 1:00 a.m. on July 28, 1997, when he received a call regarding a shooting at 7423 Fourth Street in Marrero. The victim was reported to be lying inside of a car. When he arrived at the scene, Deputy Pinac saw a blue Oldsmobile automobile in the parking lot of the Westbank Boat Supply Company, a business adjacent to the residence. The victim, Marty Martin (Martin), was lying motionless inside the car, his left leg hanging out of the open driver's side door. Deputy Pinac testified the victim appeared lifeless. Deputy Pinac called EMS. When EMS technicians arrived, they examined the victim, and found he had no vital signs.

Dr. Fraser Mackenzie was the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on the victim's body. He determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound that perforated the heart, lungs, and aorta. In his opinion, the victim would have bled to death within three to five minutes. The doctor testified that toxicology screenings revealed the victim had cocaine, amphetamines, and alcohol in his system. Sandra Barrette, Martin's mother, testified that her son had struggled with a cocaine addiction for several years.

James Artberry (Artberry), who lived at 7423 Fourth Street, approached Deputy Pinac and said he had witnessed the shooting. He gave the deputy a description of the perpetrator and his car. Deputy Pinac broadcast the information over the police radio. He then placed Artberry in the back of his police vehicle. Artberry was transported to the criminal investigations bureau of the sheriffs office, where homicide Detective Mike Tucker and Lieutenant Ralph Sacks questioned him.

Detective Tucker testified that he obtained a total of four statements from Artberry. Three of them were taperecorded, and were admitted at trial. Those recordings were transcribed. The tapes were played for the jury at trial. The first interview was conducted at 3:18 a.m. on July 28, 1997. Artberry stated he had witnessed a shooting that night. He said he knew the victim casually for more than two years, and that he knew the man was a crack cocaine user.

Artberry in his statement said he encountered Martin on the night of July 27, 1997 at The Happy Hour Lounge, located at Fourth and Jung Streets. Artberry entered the bar at about 10:15 p.m. Martin arrived at about 10:35 p.m., and shortly thereafter, he asked Artberry to help him find a prostitute. Artberry agreed, and went to Martin's car with him. The car was a light blue Oldsmobile or Buick. They were unsuccessful in locating a prostitute, and Martin drove Artberry back to the Happy Hour. Artberry walked home from there.

Artberry in his statement said he saw two unknown African-American men in a blue Pontiac Grand Prix park in front of his house. The car had tinted windows, and a yellow sticker on the back window, indicating a lack of insurance coverage. Artberry went inside his house, and watched the men through a window. The victim drove up the street at a high rate of speed, and parked in front of the house. Artberry opened his door, and saw that the victim was standing next to the Grand Prix, talking to its occupants through the open passenger side window. The driver of the Grand Prix exited the vehicle. Martin walked back to his own car, opened the door and reached inside. He then stood up and put his hand into his pocket as if he were searching for something. Artberry believed the men were engaging in a drug deal.

The driver of the Grand Prix fired two shots, striking Martin. The shooter was two to three feet away from the victim. The victim got into his car and lay down. The shooter fled the scene in his own car. Artberry said his brother came outside after the shots were fired, and Artberry instructed him to call police. Artberry told Tucker he did not get a good look at the shooter's face due to poor lighting in the area, and that he did not recognize the passenger in the shooter's car.

Artberry gave a second recorded statement at the Criminal Investigations Bureau at 4:08 a.m. on July 28, 1997. Artberry confessed that he had failed to disclose some pertinent information during the first interview because he was frightened of recrimination by the perpetrator. He had actually been involved as an intermediary in a drug deal gone wrong. He told the officers that the victim stopped him and said he was looking for some dope. Artberry thought he knew where the victim could purchase drugs, and he took him to Jung Street, near Fourth Street. They met with a woman whose name Artberry did not know. Artberry told the woman what Martin wanted. She in turn flagged down the blue Grand Prix. She told the car's occupants that Martin wanted drugs, and Martin followed the men in his car. Martin and the two African-American men met outside of Artberry's house.

Artberry in his statement stated that he saw the victim approach the passenger window of the Grand Prix. The passenger gave Martin a rock of crack cocaine, and Martin gave him money. Artberry heard the passenger say that Martin had only given him one dollar, and that Martin owed him twenty dollars. Martin searched his pockets, then went to his car and rummaged inside. The passenger told the driver to take his f___ ing head off. The driver approached Martin with a gun. The driver told Artberry he faulted him for the deal's unsatisfactory outcome, and then he shot Martin twice. Martin turned and sat in his car. Artberry, fearing he would also be shot, went into his house.

During the second interview, Artberry identified the shooter as an African-American male name Terrence. He told the officers that Terrence lived on Poe Street in Westwego. Artberry said he had known Terrence for a couple of years, and that he was certain he was the perpetrator.

Based on the information he gathered, Detective Tucker composed a photographic lineup. He presented the lineup to Artberry, who was unable to identify any of the subjects. Detective Tucker then compiled a second photographic lineup. He presented the lineup to Artberry, and Artberry identified photograph number four, Terrence Jones, as the man who shot Marty Martin.

After Artberry's identification of defendant from the second lineup, Detectives Tucker and Sacks interviewed Artberry a third time. The interview took place at Artberry's home, 7409 Fourth Street, on July 29, 1997, at 9:03 p.m. Artberry again stated that he saw Terrence fire shots at Martin. He said he witnessed the incident from a distance of 20 to 25 feet. He said he knew Terrence as a drug dealer. He again stated that Terrence fired two shots at the victim. Terrence then ran to his car, turned to point at Artberry in a threatening manner, and fled the scene.

James Artberry was deceased at the time of trial. The trial judge admitted the sworn testimony Artberry gave at an April 9, 1998 motion hearing under the "unavailable witness" exception to the hearsay rule. Artberry's prior testimony revealed that he witnessed a homicide next to his home at 1:17 a.m. on July 28, 1997. He further testified that he was able to identify the perpetrator in a photographic lineup, and that the perpetrator's name was Terrence. Artberry identified defendant in court as the same person he identified in the photographic lineup. He said he knew defendant for four or five years prior to the murder.

Gelandra Brue testified at trial that, during 1997, she lived on Jung Street in Marrero, about two blocks from Fourth Street. At one time, she worked as a prostitute. She also testified that she sometimes gives away drugs, but does not sell them. She sometimes gave drugs to James Artberry.

During the night and early morning of July 27-28, 1997, Brue was at her home. A white man came to her house and said he wanted to buy a "twenty," a twentydollar piece of crack cocaine. Brue did not...