Majors v. Warden
| Decision Date | 26 May 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. 2:99-cv-00493 MCE KJN,2:99-cv-00493 MCE KJN |
| Parties | JAMES DAVID MAJORS, Petitioner, v. WARDEN, San Quentin State Prison, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California |
Petitioner is a state prisoner under sentence of death. He seeks relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The parties briefed the application of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) to each claim in the amended petition. After careful consideration of the parties' briefs and of the state court record, this court concludes that petitioner has satisfied the requirements of section 2254(d) for aspects of claims 1, 2, 10, 21, and 23; has shown that consideration of claim 17 should be deferred; and has failed to satisfy the requirements of section 2254(d) for the remaining claims in the amended petition. Accordingly, this court recommends that these federal proceedings continue on the following claims in the amended petition: (1) the prosecutor potentially failed to reveal prosecution witness Bonnie Hogue's memory problems (claim 23); (2) petitioner's trial counsel failed to investigate and present evidence of Ms. Hogue's relationship with co-perpetrator Robert Reese (claim 2); (3) counsel failed to question prosecution witness Kellie Harley regarding Robert Reese's unpredictable and violent nature (claim 2); (4) counsel failed to correctly advise petitioner about potential sentences causing petitioner to forego a lesser-included-offense instruction (claim 2); (5) Juror Mohr was biased (claim 1); (6) counsel failed to investigate and present mitigating evidence (claim 10); and (7) petitioner suffered prejudice from the cumulative effect of these errors (claim 21). In addition, this court recommends that consideration of claim 17 be deferred until the court addresses any procedural default issues. Finally, this court recommends that the remaining claims in the amended petition be denied.
Donald Hobbs, who was 10 years old at the time of trial, lived in a house on Kaula Drive in the Sacramento suburb of Fair Oaks with his mother, Jeanine Copeland (Copeland), and Thomas Probst (Probst), her live-in companion. On the morning of January 26, 1989, after finishing his breakfast, Hobbs found Copeland lying on the floor and noticed blood next to her head. When Hobbs was unable to awaken her, he called "911."2 Sheriff's deputies responding to the scene discovered the bodies of Copeland, Probst, and Patrick Mungavin (Mungavin).
Copeland was lying face down on the living room carpet. She had been struck by a gunshot, fired at close range, that entered at her right temple and exited on the left side of her neck. A forensic pathologist testified that such a wound would have caused an immediate loss of consciousness and that death would have ensued within a matter of minutes. In his opinion, Copeland had been killed between midnight and 6:00 a.m. on January 26. Tests of Copeland's blood showed evidence of methamphetamine use.
//// Mungavin was seated on the living room couch with his hands folded in his lap, his head over to one side, and blood coming from his right nostril. He had a loaded .22-caliber handgun under his left armpit, but there was no evidence that the handgun had been fired. Mungavin had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including a fatal wound to the back of his head. The forensic pathologist estimated the time of Mungavin's death to be between midnight and 6:00 a.m. on January 26; he could not determine to a medical certainty that Mungavin had been shot at the location where his body was found. Although Mungavin had methamphetamine on his person, there was no evidence of either drugs or alcohol in his system. A criminalist testified that .38-caliber bullets removed from Mungavin's body had most likely been fired from either a ".38 special" or a .357 magnum. A hollow-point slug found underneath Mungavin's right leg, between his leg and the couch, appeared to have been fired from the same weapon.
Probst was lying on the floor of a bedroom that had been turned into an office. Probst had sustained a fatal wound to his left cheek by a gunshot fired at close range. He also suffered an abrasion to the right side of his face consistent with falling as a result of the gunshot wound. The forensic pathologist estimated the time of Probst's death to be between midnight and 5:00 a.m. on January 26; he could not be certain that Probst had been shot at the location where his body was found. Probst's blood tested positive for Valium and methamphetamine. A criminalist testified that an expended .32-caliber bullet removed from the right side of Probst's neck had been fired from either a .32-caliber semiautomatic pistol or a .32-caliber revolver. The contents of a wallet were strewn about the office, and Probst's pants' pockets were pulled out.
In the office where Probst's body was found, deputies found evidence of drug sales, including a scale, packaging material, a cutting agent, a pay-owe sheet, and powder residue on the surface of a mirror. Deputies also found a loaded, sawed-off .12-gauge shotgun leaning up against the wall in the corner of the room. A number of witnesses confirmed that Probst was a methamphetamine and marijuana dealer.
In the hallway of the residence, deputies found a screwdriver, a hammer, and a strongbox or safe that appeared to have been pried open. They also noted a depression in the carpet of the office closet floor that was approximately the same size as the strongbox or safe. Probst was known to keep a safe in this location, where he stored jewelry, drugs, and proceeds from drug sales. Although both Probst and Copeland were known to wear jewelry, there was no jewelry on their bodies except for an anklet around Copeland's ankle. Jewelry boxes in the residence were empty, and there was evidence of ransacking. There was no sign of forced entry into the residence itself and no evidence of a struggle.
During the course of their investigation, deputies alerted Probst's parents to the possibility of an Arizona connection to the homicides. Subsequently, while going through Probst's belongings, his mother found a note with the name "Robert Reese" and the address 14031 North 72nd Lane in Peoria, Arizona. According to Probst's mother, the note was not in his handwriting.
At trial, the prosecution theorized that the three victims had been killed by petitioner and Robert Reese (Reese) during the course of a drug-related robbery. The prosecution offered extensive circumstantial evidence in support of this theory.
In December 1988, Reese lived in a house on 72nd Lane in Peoria, Arizona. Petitioner also had a room at the house, although it was not his primary residence. Both petitioner and Reese moved out shortly after Christmas of 1988.
According to a neighbor of Reese's aunt, petitioner and Reese visited the aunt at her apartment in Rancho Cordova, near Sacramento, sometime between December 27 and December 29, 1988, at approximately 10:30 to 11:00 p.m. Reese acted in a hyperactive fashion and appeared to be under the influence of drugs. Other witnesses confirmed that Reese sold and used methamphetamine. Reese was also known to carry firearms.
Several witnesses testified that Probst was planning to conduct a drug transaction with someone from out of state the night he was killed. Probst's brother, Wayne Probst, who was at Probst's house until about 9:20 or 9:30 p.m. on January 25, 1989, testified that Probst told him he had arranged a deal to sell a pound of methamphetamine later that evening. According to Wayne Probst, his brother had an established clientele and dealt only with customers he knew.
James Pluskett, who talked to Probst on the telephone between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. on January 25, offered similar testimony regarding Probst's plans to sell $10,000 worth of methamphetamine to someone who was flying in from Las Vegas. Pluskett understood this to be about a pound of methamphetamine. He thought two people were involved in the purchase, the person actually making the purchase and the person providing the money. Pluskett assumed these were the same regular customers from Arizona who purchased a half-pound of methamphetamine from Probst every couple of weeks.
Freddie Gregg, who was at Probst's house until about 11:00 or 11:30 p.m. on January 25, testified that Probst told him he was expecting a visit from someone from Arizona who would be bringing drug paraphernalia. During Gregg's visit, Probst took him into the kitchen and showed him a plastic freezer bag filled with methamphetamine. The bag was approximately the size of a tissue box.
Sandra Morgera, who was at Probst's house until about 11:15 or 11:30 p.m. on January 25, testified that Probst told her he had another two deals scheduled that night, one of which was a deal with Gregg, which occurred before she left. The second deal was a $10,000 deal with people from Arizona for a pound or a pound and a half of drugs. On cross-examination, Morgera admitted she might have gotten the $10,000 figure from newspaper articles about the case, admitted Probst had told her about both a drug purchase and a drug sale scheduled for that evening, and admitted it was not until trial that she stated that one of the two deals was the deal with Gregg.
Catherine Bailey, who spent the day at Probst's house on January 25, testified that Probst told her he had just bought a pound of methamphetamine and was planning to conduct a drug transaction with someone from Arizona. According to Bailey, Probst told her he had completed another transaction with the same person about a month earlier and the person felt he had been "burned." Although she was unclear as to how she acquired the information, Bailey identified the person as Robert Reese of Peoria, Arizona.3 Before Bailey left, Probst had her sample the methamphetamine to make sure it was okay. While Bailey was in Probst's office, she saw a large amount of...
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