Locus v. Johnson

• Decision Date: 04 May 2021
• Docket Number: Civ. Action No. 18-11527 (RMB)
• Parties: DANIEL LOCUS, Petitioner v. STEVEN JOHNSON, Administrator, and ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Respondents
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey

DANIEL LOCUS, Petitioner v. STEVEN JOHNSON, Administrator, and ATTORNEY GENERALOF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Respondents

Civ. Action No. 18-11527 (RMB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY CAMDEN VICINAGE

May 4, 2021

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

OPINION

BUMB, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter comes before the Court upon Petitioner Daniel Locus' ("Petitioner") Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging his state court conviction for murder (Pet., Dkt. No. 1), Respondents' answer opposing habeas relief (Answer, Dkt. No. 8), and Petitioner's traverse (Traverse, Dkt. No. 9.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court denies the petition for writ of habeas corpus.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On February 25, 2009, a Camden County grand jury returned an Indictment charging Petitioner with the first-degree murder of Anthony Ball, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(1), (2) (Count One); second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a (Count Two); second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b (Count Three); third-degree endangering an injured victim, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.2 (Count Four); and second-degree certain persons not to have weapons, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-7b (Count Five). (Ex. Ra1, Dkt. No. 8-3). The New Jersey Superior Court, Camden County, conducted a Wade hearing¹ on May 7, 2010, and held that none of the witness identifications by the State's six witnesses ran afoul of Wade. (Ex. Rta1 at 194-201, Dkt. No. 8-31 at 197-204; Ex. Rta2 at 4, Dkt. No. 8-32.)²

On June 16, 2010, a jury found Petitioner guilty of the first four counts of the Indictment, and count five (certain persons) was dismissed on the State's motion after the jury began deliberations. (Ex. Rta12 179-80, Dkt. No. 8-42; Ex. Rta13 at 5-8, Dkt. No. 8-43; Ex. Ra2, Dkt. No. 8-4.) The trial court denied Petitioner's motion for a new trial on August 13, 2010. (Ex. Rta14 at 24-27, Dkt. No. 8-44 at 13-14.) On the same day, the trial court sentenced Petitioner to an aggregate fifty-nine year term of imprisonment, fifty-five years to be served under NERA. (Ex. Rta14 at 40-41; Dkt. No. 8-44 at 21; Ex. Ra2, Dkt. No. 8-4.) The AppellateDivision affirmed Petitioner's conviction and sentence in an unpublished written opinion on October 17, 2013. (Ex. Ra9, Dkt. No. 8-11.) On May 14, 2014, the New Jersey Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition for certification. (Ex. Ra13, Dkt. No. 8-15.)

Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief ("PCR") on August 14, 2014. (Ex. Ra14, Dkt. No. 8-16.) On July 31, 2015, the Honorable Kathleen M. Delaney, J.S.C. issued a comprehensive decision denying Petitioner's PCR petition without an evidentiary hearing. (Ex. Rta16 at 20-43, Dkt. No. 8-46 at 11-22.) On January 2, 2018, the Appellate Division affirmed the denial of Petitioner's petition for post-conviction relief. (Ex. Ra22, Dkt. No. 8-26.) On June 1, 2018, the New Jersey Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition for certification. (Ex. Ra26, Dkt. No. 8-30.) This habeas petition followed.

II. FACTS DETERMINED BY APELLATE DIVISION ON DIRECT APPEAL

28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1) provides that

In a proceeding instituted by an application for a writ of habeas corpus by a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court, a determination of a factual issue made by a State court shall be presumed to be correct. The applicant shall have the burden of rebutting the presumption of correctness by clear and convincing evidence.

On direct appeal, the Appellate Division made the following findings of fact.

At the trial, the State presented evidence which established that on June 9, 2008, at around 10:30 p.m., Anthony Ball was shot in the head at close range near an abandoned house on Pine Street in Camden. The gun used was a .380 caliber Llama brand pistol, and a .380 casing was found on the first step of the house. The murder weapon was never found. Ball was taken to a hospital and placed on a respirator. He died two days later.... Madonna Caraballo was Ball's friend.... In June 2008, Caraballo was homeless. In the previous months, Caraballo had been purchasing crack cocaine from defendant, whom she knew as "Pooh" or "Pooh Bear." Defendant operated out of a "drug house" on Pine Street in Camden, which was known as "Lawrence's House."

Sometime during the day on June 9, 2008, Caraballo and Ball purchased cocaine from defendant. That night, Caraballo and Ball wanted to purchase more cocaine but they did not have any money. Ball suggested that they steal some drugs from defendant's stash, which he kept in an alley adjacent to an abandoned house on Pine Street, across the street from Lawrence's House. They planned to have Caraballo meet defendant behind the abandoned house and keep him occupied there by offering to engage in a sex act, while Ball took the drugs. However, when defendant met Caraballo behind the house, he told her to "get lost" and left.

Caraballo testified that she came out from behind the house and started to walk down the alley. She saw Ball crouched near the drug stash at the other end of the alley. Ball got up and started to walk back to Pine Street. As Caraballo reached the sidewalk on Pine Street, she saw a flash and heard a shot. She did not realize immediately that Ball had been shot. Caraballo left with her friend, Walter Boyd (Boyd), who told Caraballo he could not believe "Pooh" had done "that."

Boyd also had purchased crack from defendant from time to time. He knew Ball. Boyd testified that on the evening of June 9, 2008, he walked near the abandoned house with Caraballo, but they separated while Boyd approached defendant, who was standing in front of Lawrence's House. Boyd purchased drugs from defendant and, as he was walking away, he heard a sound like a gunshot. Boyd looked back. He saw Ball fall near the alley and observed defendant running away. Boyd said defendant was the only person near Ball on that side of the street at the time and defendant was the only person he saw running away from Ball.

Patricia Myers knew defendant as well. She had been purchasing drugs from him regularly during the previous two years. Myers also knew Ball. They had smoked crack cocaine together. On the evening of June 9, 2008, Myers ... saw Ball come down the street. He went over to the abandoned house and into the alleyway. Myers observed Ball reach down into the weeds where the drugs were stashed. Myers said that defendant was across the street by Lawrence's House. He walked across the street toward Ball and, according to Myers, said he was going "to blow" Ball's "fucking brains out." According to Myers, Ball walked back to the house by the alley. Defendant approached Ball and shot him in the head. Myers said she saw the flash of the gun. She also saw Ball fall and defendant run off. Myers ran away. . . .

Angela Bumpers had known defendant for about fifteen years. She also knew Ball. In June 2008, Bumpers was using heroin and crack cocaine and had been purchasing drugs from defendant in the previous months. On the evening of June 9, 2008, Bumpers was sitting out near a gas station at the intersection of Pine Street and Broadway, facing Pine Street. She saw Ball walk past her and head toward Lawrence's House. Ball went across to the abandoned house. Bumpers heard a gunshot. She saw Ball grab his head and fall. She statedthat defendant was the only person around Ball, and she saw him put a gun in his pocket and run away.

Investigator James Bruno responded to the scene of the shooting. Bruno initially learned that someone named "Pooh" or "Pooh Bear" was the last person seen with Ball. On further investigation, Bruno learned that James Williams (Williams) went by the name "Pooh" and had been arrested on unrelated charges on June 10, 2008, three hours after the shooting. Bruno interviewed Williams, who told him that, while he had seen Ball on the night of the shooting, he was not in the area when the shooting occurred.

On June 11, 2008, the Camden police executed a search warrant at Lawrence's House. The police obtained information from defendant, who was outside the house at the time. On June 12, 2008, Bruno learned that Myers had been an eyewitness to the shooting. Myers told Bruno she was present at the time and the man responsible was her drug dealer, from whom she had purchased drugs on a regular basis over two years, including the night of the murder.

Bruno showed Myers a photograph of Williams, but she said he was not the shooter. Bruno thereafter asked the police intelligence unit to compile a book of photographs of persons who had been arrested in the area of Lawrence's House, or who had some connection to the area. The book contained twenty-two photos, including photos of Williams and defendant.

In early July of 2008, Bruno was notified that Caraballo wanted to speak to him about the homicide. At the time, Caraballo was incarcerated in the county jail. Caraballo told Bruno that on the evening of June 9, 2008, she was behind the abandoned house where Ball was shot. Caraballo said Boyd observed the shooting. Later, Bruno spoke with Boyd, whotold him that Bumpers, who was also in the county jail, had also witnessed the shooting.

On July 2, 2008, Caraballo, Boyd, and Bumpers were separately interviewed and shown the book of twenty-two photos. At the time, neither Williams nor defendant were suspects. Boyd identified defendant as the person from whom he had purchased drugs shortly before Ball was shot. Boyd said that after he purchased the drugs, he heard a gunshot. He turned and saw defendant running from the place where Ball was shot and fell.

Caraballo identified defendant as someone she knew as "Pooh Bear" and from whom she regularly purchased drugs. Bumpers told the investigators that she knew defendant and saw him with a gun in his hand on the night of the homicide. Bumpers said she saw a flash when the gun went off, and defendant ran from

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