Luna v. Davis
| Decision Date | 24 September 2018 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL NO. SA-15-CA-451-XR |
| Parties | JOE MICHAEL LUNA, Petitioner, v. LORIE DAVIS, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas |
* DEATH PENALTY CASE *
Petitioner Joe Michael Luna initiated this federal habeas corpus action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 to challenge the constitutionality of his 2006 Bexar County conviction and sentence of death for the capital murder of Michael Andrade. Currently before the Court is Petitioner's Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (ECF No. 22), as well as Respondent's Answer (ECF No. 30) and Petitioner's Reply (ECF No. 40) thereto. Having carefully considered the record and pleadings submitted by both parties, the Court concludes Petitioner is not entitled to federal habeas corpus relief or a certificate of appealability.
In February 2005, Petitioner was staying with his girlfriend, Maria Solis, at The Hollows apartment complex in San Antonio, Texas. While there, Petitioner planned to burglarize several other apartments while the occupants were away by utilizing an attic crawl space that was accessible via Solis's apartment; however, upon further investigation, Petitioner found he could only access the neighboring apartment of Michael Andrade, a pre-med senior at nearby St. Mary's University. On February 17, 2005, Petitioner entered Andrade's apartment by using the attic crawl space to access Andrade's bedroom closet. Petitioner thought the apartment was empty at the time and was surprised to find Andrade asleep in the bedroom when he entered. Andrade, awakened by the sounds coming from his closet, was immediately confronted by Petitioner, dressed in a stolen black police SWAT uniform and ski mask, pointing a gun at him. Petitioner forced Andrade to lie on the bed, tied him up with a cut-up bed sheet, and told Andrade that he would not hurt him and only wanted to rob him. Petitioner then began collecting items from the apartment and placing them in his truck parked outside.
During the robbery, Petitioner began to worry that Andrade would speak to police and tell them that Petitioner entered from the attic, which would eventually lead them to Solis's apartment. Petitioner decided he had to kill Andrade, so he got behind Andrade, put his arms around Andrade's neck, and strangled him to death. Petitioner then attempted to cover his tracks by vacuuming Andrade's apartment and wiping for prints. He also tried to burn down the apartment by setting small fires near the closet, the front door, and next to Andrade's body. The fire did not destroy the apartment, however, because Petitioner had closed all of the doors and windows in the apartment and the fire eventually went out.
Petitioner became a suspect in Andrade's murder a few days later when the police received an anonymous tip on Crime Stoppers. On February 21, 2005, Petitioner was arrested at Solis's apartment. Police found Andrade's camcorder and car keys inside the apartment. Police also found a stolen police vest, a black ski mask and gloves, a loaded .32 automatic handgun, a shotgun and shells, maps and information about Belize and Mexico, and notes about "going south." In addition, fibers found inside a vacuum cleaner and on Petitioner's clothing were consistent with the insulation found in Andrade's attic and fibers from Andrade's bed sheet.
On January 5, 2006, Petitioner was indicted for the capital murder of Michael Andrade. 2 CR 258-59.1 At the commencement of his trial six weeks later, Petitioner entered a plea of guilty to the offense of capital murder as charged in the indictment. 13 RR 6. Before accepting the plea, the trial court admonished Petitioner as to the consequences of his plea and then inquired whether defense counsel believed Petitioner had a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings against him. 13 RR 10-13. Counsel responded affirmatively and indicated that, in his opinion, Petitioner was mentally competent to waive his rights and enter a guilty plea. The parties then agreed to a unitary proceeding where both parties would submit evidence concerning Petitioner's punishment, after which the jury would be instructed to find Petitioner guilty and consider only the punishment phase special issues. The jury then heard testimony from fifty-eight witnesses presented by the prosecution followed by three witnesses presented on behalf of the defense, including Petitioner.
The State began the proceedings by presenting several witnesses who testified regarding the discovery of Andrade's body and subsequent investigation into his murder. 13-14 RR. These witnesses established for the jury the nature and circumstances of the crime. The jury was then presented with evidence concerning Petitioner's escalating pattern of violence from the time he was fourteen years old until his incarceration for Andrade's murder at age twenty-five.
As a juvenile, Petitioner pulled a gun on his middle school principal on the first or second day of the seventh grade in September 1993, was expelled, and was placed on two years of intensive supervised probation with the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department. 15 RR 3-23. One of Petitioner's probation officers, Tony Martinez, testified that Petitioner displayed behavioral problems, assaultive behavior, and substance abuse issues. Id. 24. He was evaluated by Dr. J. O. Sherman in August 1994, who concluded Petitioner suffered from conduct disorder and substance abuse but did not have a thought disorder or major affective disturbance. Id. at 33-35. Petitioner was referred to several different treatment facilities for therapy and substance counseling but was discharged from each facility within weeks for either assaultive behavior or absconding. Id. at 24-29. As a result, Petitioner was committed to the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), a juvenile detention facility, in July 1995. Petitioner was paroled twice from TYC but was revoked both times for failing to comply with the terms of his parole. Id. at 30-32. Petitioner was ultimately released from TYC in October 1997 when he turned eighteen.
The State then presented evidence that, as an adult, Petitioner carried out an almost unabated string of increasingly violent offenses leading up to Andrade's murder:
December 1997 Petitioner stole a 1996 Cadillac and later attempted to pawn golf clubs that had been in the car. The owner of the car spotted it at the pawn shop and called his son, who then confronted Petitioner at the store. A fight broke out, and police were dispatched to investigate and break up the fight. The responding officer, Officer Juan Torres, was injured in the altercation and had to be sent to the hospital in an ambulance. He later had to retire because of an injury he sustained while trying to detain Petitioner. 15 RR 54-72.
January 1998 Petitioner stole a 1998 pink Z-28 Camaro. A few days later, Petitioner stole a 1991 brown Pontiac four door, but was eventually spotted and pulled over by Officers Roy Naylor and Richard Schoenberger. As the officers approached the vehicle, Petitioner tried to run one of them over while he fled the scene. Less than half a mile down the road Petitioner lost control of the car and crashed into a phone pole. He fled on foot, but was later apprehended. Petitioner was arrested for assault of a public servant and unauthorized use of a vehicle. 15 RR 73-95, 110-19.
May 1998 Petitioner was placed on probation for the above offenses and was assigned to sixty days in a Zero Tolerance Boot Camp. Petitioner was also given six months of intensive supervision with the gang unit due to his membership in the "La Raza" street gang. At the Boot Camp, Petitionerwas disciplined for two separate altercations with other residents, and was eventually terminated from the program for absconding in July 1998. 15 RR 96-101.
July 1998 A week later, Petitioner broke into the apartment of Phillip Settles and his thirteen-year-old daughter. Settles was awakened in the middle of the night by his barking dog and found an individual jumping out of his daughter's bedroom window. Fingerprints taken at the scene were later matched to Petitioner. Petitioner's probation was revoked and he was convicted of burglary of a habitation, assault on a public servant, and three counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle. He received two five-year sentences for the first two counts and a two-year sentence for each of the unauthorized use counts. 15 RR 101-19.
March 2004 Petitioner was released from prison in August 2003. Six months later, Petitioner carjacked Candido Tovar at gunpoint in his work truck around three o'clock in the morning while Tovar was driving to work. Petitioner asked for money, but when he discovered Tovar did not have any, he forced Tovar to drive to a secluded area where Petitioner and his companions bound him with duct tape. The men left Tovar on his knees in the woods, but he was able to roll to the side of the road where someone eventually stopped to help him. 16 RR 9-34.
June 2004 Petitioner and his companions entered the home of Brooke Envick through the garage but left after her dog began to bark. That same night, the group broke into the home of Michael McGloughlin while he, his wife, and two-year-old daughter were asleep. McGloughlin awoke early in the morning to the sound of someone walking around upstairs. After finding someone in his home, McGloughlin ran back to the bedroom and tried to close the door, but the suspect knocked the door completely off its hinges and pointed a sawed-off shotgun at the family. The three suspects bound the adults with torn bedsheets while their daughter watched, then went about the house collecting items to take. The suspects took several items, including a computer, a camcorder, two cars, and the family dog. 16 RR 36-117.
A week later, Pet...
To continue reading
Request your trial