LOGAN v. RUNNELS, CIV S-05-CV-0785 GEB CHS
| Decision Date | 14 April 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV S-05-CV-0785 GEB CHS,CIV S-05-CV-0785 GEB CHS |
| Parties | DEWAYNE NOLAN LOGAN, Petitioner, v. D.L. RUNNELS, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California |
Petitioner, DeWayne Nolan Logan, is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner is currently serving an indeterminate sentence of forty-one years to life imprisonment following his jury conviction in the Sacramento County Superior Court for second degree robbery with penalty enhancements for personally using a firearm and for five prior convictions. During his trial, Petitioner entered a plea of no contest to one count of inducing a person to give false testimony. Petitioner presents various claims challenging the constitutionality of his convictions.
Petitioner sets forth six grounds for relief in his pending petition. Specifically, theclaims are as follow, verbatim:
(1) Trial court allowed a[n] impermiss[i]bly suggestive voice line-up in court. In violation of Petitioner's right [ ] [to] due process.
(2) Improper denial of Motion for Judgment of Acquital. Which violates due process provided by U.S. Constitution.
(3) Refusal to provide defense with juror contact information in regard to juror impropriety claim(s).
(4) False evidence was material in securing Petitioner's conviction which violates Petitioner's right of equal protection.
(5) Failure to disclose impeachment evidence in response to defense request. In violation of [Petitioner's] right [ ] [to] due process and right of confrontation.
(6) Loss of material evidence. Denial of due process ability to put forth a complete defense using all evidence.
(Pet. at 7-12.) Based on a thorough review of the record and applicable law, it is recommended that the each of Petitioner's claims be denied.
The basic facts of Petitioner's crimes were summarized on direct appeal by the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, as follows:
Prosecution's Case
On the morning of May 11, 2000, Sacramento Sheriff's Sergeant Ron Bozworth drove his personal van to an apartment complex for a matter unrelated to this case. At about 7:30 a.m., he saw a red or maroon Oldsmobile Cutlass park[ed] at a street corner, facing him. The car had no front license plate, but did have a plate on its dashboard. Once the car parked, the two men inside got out. They seemed nervous and immediately began looking around, "as if someone was looking at them." It was May, but one of the men was wearing a parka and the other was wearing a ski hat. In contrast, Bozworth, who was on his way to work, was wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans, and he was not cold although the windows of his van were rolled down. The two men crossed the street toward Bozworth, the driver coming within 30 feet of him and the passenger coming within 35 to 40 feet of him. The driver was a light-skinned black man, about 20 to 25 years old, who was about six feet one inch tall, weighing 190 pounds, wearing what appeared to be a ski cap with curly hair comingfrom underneath it. He had a sparse mustache, was wearing light blue athletic pants with a white stripe, and athletic shoes. The passenger was a black adult male, darker skinned, with very short, cropped hair, a thick mustache, about six feet one inch tall, weighing 220 pounds, wearing a dark parka, dark blue athletic pants with a white stripe, and athletic shoes. The men headed eastbound on Marconi Avenue and disappeared from view. The Greyhound Bus Depot was nearby in the 2600 block of Marconi.
A short while later, while Bozworth was still trying to observe them, the men came running westbound and entered their car. The car immediately started up and proceeded south across Marconi. It failed to stop at a stop sign and proceeded past Bozworth's van. Based on his observations and 16 years of experience, Bozworth suspected the men had just committed a robbery. The men were suspicious because Their behavior was consistent with armed robbery because they parked at a distance so their car could not be seen.
Bozworth pursued the car for several blocks and telephoned its description and license plate number to other officers. Eventually, he lost sight of the car.
At 7:51 a.m. that morning, Sacramento Police Officer Joseph Pane was on duty in a marked patrol car. He heard a broadcast stating that the suspect car contained a black male in his twenties and a black male in his forties. The broadcast included the car's license plate number. Pane obtained the registered owner's address on Erickson Street, drove to that location and found the car parked in the driveway. As Pane waited for other officers to arrive, he saw defendant walk across the driveway between the car and a fence. Defendant walked past Pane, reached El Camino Avenue, and continued walking westbound. Pane stopped defendant, pat-searched him, placed him in the patrol car and drove him back to the Erickson Street address. Defendant denied that he had come from the residence and denied knowing anything about the red Oldsmobile. Shortly thereafter, codefendant Marcus Newson left the house and approached Pane at his request. Newson denied knowing defendant and Pane placed him in the patrol car. Pane asked Newson if he had been out in the Oldsmobile that morning and Newson stated he had been at his sister's residence on Edison Avenue. Other officers arrived and entered the Erickson Street residence.
Earlier that morning, Ronald Egenhoff was working in his office at the Greyhound Bus Depot on Marconi. At about 7:30 a.m., while Egenhoff was doing paperwork in his back office, he heard someone in the lobby yell "hey." Egenhoff left the office and found two men at the ticket counter. The younger man was about 20 years old, about five feet nine inches tall, wearing a large black jacket and hood. Egenhoff could not see his hair. The older man was about 40 yearsold, about five feet ten inches tall and about 190 pounds. He was wearing a light-colored beanie cap with dreadlocks protruding from beneath it. The older man suddenly pulled out a small "reddish-colored" gun and pointed it at Egenhoff. Egenhoff became frightened, and the older man began shouting that he was going to rob him. The older man ordered Egenhoff to open the cash drawer and give him all the money, shouting, "Hurry, hurry, hurry, or I'm going to shoot you." Egenhoff opened the main cash register, which contained $242, consisting of mostly ones, fives and some tens. Egenhoff avoided looking at the older man's face and looked down as soon as the man pulled the gun. The older man then asked if there was another register and ordered Egenhoff to open it up. Egenhoff opened a smaller register and gave the older man about $21. The older man then demanded to know the location of the safe. Egenhoff returned to his office, opened the safe and handed the older man the money, which consisted of two "drops," one of $130 and the other of $120. The older man told Egenhoff to lie down and he complied. The men rushed out the door. A few seconds later, Egenhoff looked out and saw the men running toward an apartment complex building lot. Egenhoff went to a neighboring business and asked a patron, Nathaniel Sutton, to call 911; Sutton had already done so.
Sheriff's deputies arrived and obtained a statement from Egenhoff, who stated that the older robber had a "heavy mustache." Egenhoff was then driven to Erickson Street where he viewed two suspects. The younger man (Newson) was brought toward Egenhoff. He was not wearing a hooded ski jacket, and Egenhoff was unable to positively identify him. Egenhoff believed the robber was a little bit darker skinned than the suspect, but he was "similar in build and size." The lighting in the office consisted of fluorescent tubes whereas the suspect was viewed in very bright sunshine.
The deputies then brought an older man (defendant) to the front of the patrol car and Egenhoff was unable to positively identify him as the older robber. Egenhoff explained that he "expected him to have the same thing on" and "expected him to have hair," but the older man being shown looked bald. Egenhoff noted that the older man was "[v]ery similar to the height and build" of the older robber. In examining the face, Egenhoff concluded defendant looked "close" and "looked familiar," but he could not say it was the same person for sure. Egenhoff was shown, but he could not identify, a green ski jacket that had been found in the back seat of the Oldsmobile. But when the jacket was reversed, Egenhoff identified it as "the exact type jacket" the younger robber was wearing. Egenhoff believed it was the same jacket. Later, deputies brought Egenhoff close to defendant and showed Egenhoff a strand of hair on the side of defendant's head. Egenhoff came to believe that defendant was the person who had robbed him. He was "[a]bout 89 percent" sure of his identification.
A search of defendant's pants pockets revealed $263 in variousdenominations. A search of Newsom's pants pockets revealed $141 in various denominations and keys that unlocked the Oldsmobile, which was registered to him.
A search of the Erickson Street residence revealed a pair of blue nylon sweatpants with gold and white stripes along the side. The pants were in a trash can with some trash on top of them.
In a field behind the house, deputies found a white plastic sack tied in a knot. The sack was fairly new and "looked out of place" among the weeds. Inside the sack were an auburn or reddish-coloroed long wig, a bronze handgun-shaped cigarette lighter, and a blue knit cap. The wig was shedding and it had shed inside the knit cap. Defendant had close, cropped hair with only about four days' worth of growth. However, auburn or reddish wig fibers were recovered...
To continue reading
Request your trial