Moody v. Parris

• Decision Date: 05 March 2020
• Docket Number: Case No. 3:17-cv-01452
• Parties: DEANGELO MOODY, Petitioner, v. MIKE PARRIS, Warden, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee

DEANGELO MOODY, Petitioner, v. MIKE PARRIS, Warden,¹ Respondent.

Case No. 3:17-cv-01452

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE NASHVILLE DIVISION

March 5, 2020

Judge Trauger

MEMORANDUM

DeAngelo Moody is currently serving a sentence of life in prison based on his May 12, 2011 conviction by a Davidson County, Tennessee jury of first-degree felony murder. On November 15, 2017, he filed his pro se petition for the writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. (Doc. No. 1.) The respondent thereafter filed an answer to the petition (Doc. No. 8) and the state court record (Doc. No. 7), and the petitioner filed a reply to the respondent's answer (Doc. No. 15).

This matter is ripe for the court's review, and the court has jurisdiction. The respondent does not dispute that the petition is timely, that this is the petitioner's first Section 2254 petition related to this conviction, and that the claims of the petition have been exhausted. (Doc. No. 8 at 1-2.) Having reviewed the petitioner's arguments and the underlying record, the court finds that an evidentiary hearing is not required. As explained below, the petitioner is not entitled to relief under Section 2254, and his petition will therefore be denied.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The petitioner was indicted on December 3, 2009, along with Martez Matthews and Lorenzo Ortago Thomas, for the killing of Loren Michelle Johnson during the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate a first-degree murder, and for employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. (Doc. No. 7-1 at 4-7.) The petitioner, his co-defendants, and the victim were all minor teenagers in 2009. After being tried jointly with Matthews before a jury (Thomas was tried separately), the petitioner was acquitted of the firearm charge but convicted of first-degree felony murder. (Doc. No. 7-7 at 3-4.) The trial court sentenced the petitioner to life in prison. (Doc. No. 7-1 at 48.)

On direct appeal, the petitioner argued that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support a guilty verdict. (Doc. No. 7-10 at 4.) The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) rejected this argument and affirmed the judgment of the trial court. See State v. Moody, No. M2011-01930-CCA-R3-CD, 2013 WL 1932718 (Tenn. Crim. App. May 9, 2013). The Tennessee Supreme Court denied discretionary review on October 7, 2013. (Doc. No. 7-13.)

Petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief on April 21, 2014. (Doc. No. 7-14 at 29-35.) Following the appointment of counsel and an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction trial court denied relief on multiple claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, but granted relief and ordered a new trial based on its finding that counsel was constitutionally ineffective in failing to interview and call Ortago Thomas to testify at the petitioner's trial. (Id.) The state filed an appeal from the grant of post-conviction relief, arguing that the trial court erred in finding that trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective. (Doc. No. 7-22.) The petitioner responded in defense of the trial court's judgment, but did not appeal its rulings on his unsuccessful ineffective assistance claims. (Doc. No. 7-21.)

On March 2, 2017, the TCCA reversed the trial court's grant of post-conviction relief and reinstated the judgment against the petitioner. Moody v. State, No. M2015-02424-CCA-R3-PC, 2017 WL 829820 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 2, 2017). The petitioner filed for permission to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which was denied on June 9, 2017. He filed his pro se petition under Section 2254 in this court on November 15, 2017.

II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. Evidence at Trial

On April 25, 2009, sixteen-year-old Loren Johnson was struck by stray gunfire and killed as she laid in her mother's bedroom inside the family home, located at 3652 Chesapeak Drive. Her mother, Inez Johnson, testified that she was lying on the bed with her daughter when they heard gunshots, and "instead of laying low and rolling from the bed, [the victim] raised her body up" and was struck by a bullet. Although paramedics responded to the scene and took the victim by ambulance to the hospital, she died from her injuries. State v. Moody, 2013 WL 1932718, at *1.

Officer Christopher Cote of the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) testified that he arrived at the scene after the paramedics. He testified that, when Officer Brian Eaves arrived at the scene, a witness approached Eaves and gave him a hat that the witness had found. Officer Cote also testified that he found multiple shell casings of different calibers at the scene. Id. at *2. A crime scene investigator, Lynne Mace, testified that her investigation of the scene revealed that there were two .45 caliber automatic casings and six 9mm casings. Id.

The state then called Christopher Bridges to testify. He testified that he lived at 3648 Chesapeak Drive, and described the events surrounding the shooting as follows:

He stated that on April 25, 2009, at approximately 4:00 p.m., he was walking down Chesapeak Drive with Deandre Williams. As they were walking, a car with four or five people inside of it pulled up and began shooting. Christopher began to run, but he heard more than five shots fired. The State showed him a photograph of a vehicleand asked if it was the vehicle he observed on April 25, 2009, to which Christopher responded, "Yes, sir." Christopher stated that he was given the opportunity to speak with the police about what he observed, but he told them that he "really didn't see anybody, didn't see anything." He said that he did not want to speak with the police and that they forced him to go to the precinct. Christopher admitted that in April 2009, he was a member of the 107 Underground Crips but denied that he was still a member.

On cross-examination, Christopher testified that he did not know why someone would want to shoot at him. He stated that the shooting came from the driver's side of the vehicle. He did not know appellants [Moody and Matthews] and said that the first time he saw them was on the news. Christopher stated that he had an adequate opportunity to view the car because it passed him and made a u-turn. He said that the vehicle's license plate was in the window and that the vehicle's bumper was not damaged. Christopher later testified that the vehicle that he identified in the photograph had damage on its bumper. Christopher said that he ran between some houses when the people in the vehicle started shooting; however, the victim's house was not one of them.

Id.

The next witness, Deandre Williams, testified that he had lived with Christopher Bridges in April 2009 and was with him on April 25. Id. Williams further testified as follows:

On April 25, 2009, he was walking to a friend's house with Christopher when he heard gunshots. He ran away and was unable to see from where the gunshots originated. He stated that he was sending text messages on his cellular telephone and did not observe any nearby vehicles or people. However, he recalled telling the police that he saw a small blue or green vehicle that looked like a Honda. He explained that he saw the vehicle before he and Christopher began walking. Mr. Williams further testified that he heard more than five gunshots. He estimated that he was three houses away from 3652 Chesapeak Drive when the gunshots began. He ran in the opposite direction from the victim's house.

Mr. Williams denied being a member of or affiliated with the 107 Underground Crips. He stated that he did not know whether Christopher was a member of the gang and denied noticing a tattoo of a gun with the numbers "107" on Christopher's hand.

On cross-examination, Mr. Williams testified that he did not know appellants and had never seen them before the day of trial. Mr. Williams did not know why anyone would shoot at him. He stated that he did not know anything about the incident and was only testifying because the State forced him to do so.

Id. at *2-3.

Evan Bridges, Christopher's father, was next to testify. He was in the backyard of his home at 3648 Chesapeak Drive when he heard gunshots and moved toward his front yard. Id. at *3. Upon arriving at his front yard, Evan Bridges was able to determine that the gunshots were coming from a small green car that was driving down the street, in which he "observed the heads of three African-Americans" who appeared to be "some young guys." Id. "When shown a photograph of a vehicle, Evan stated that the vehicle in the photograph was the same size, but the car he saw on the day of the shooting looked like a Honda." Id. He testified that "[a]pproximately fifteen to twenty minutes after the shooting ceased, [he] found a black cap in the middle of the street that was not there before the shooting" and gave it to the police. Id. Evan Bridges testified on cross-examination that he did not actually see anyone fire a weapon, and further clarified that the vehicle he saw was green while the vehicle in the photograph appeared to be blue. Id.

The state next called Quontez Caldwell, who provided the following testimony:

Quontez Caldwell testified that appellant Moody and Ortego Thomas are his halfbrothers through their father, but he only became acquainted with them a short time prior to this incident. Mr. Caldwell stated that on April 25, 2009, appellant Moody and Mr. Thomas picked him up from his grandmother's house in appellant Moody's vehicle. He identified appellant Moody's vehicle from an exhibit photograph. In addition to his half-brothers, two other males whom he did not know were in the vehicle. He identified appellant Matthews in the courtroom as one of the other passengers in the vehicle. Mr. Caldwell stated that as they drove down Chesapeak Drive, the people in the car saw "somebody they had a beef with [sic][,] and they shot at them." He recalled that Mr. Thomas said, "'There go [sic] somebody we beefin' with [sic].'" The driver then turned the vehicle around

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