Neal v. Vannoy
| Decision Date | 30 March 2021 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION CASE NO. 15-5390 SECTION: "G"(3) |
| Parties | JARRELL NEAL v. DARREL VANNOY, WARDEN |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana |
In this litigation, Petitioner Jarrell Neal ("Petitioner"), a state prisoner incarcerated in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, seeks habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 from his conviction for two counts of first degree murder and the sentence of death on each count.1 At Petitioner's request, this Court ordered an evidentiary hearing on certain claims raised by Petitioner.2 Before the Court is Petitioner's "Motion for Partial Summary Judgment."3 In the instant motion, Petitioner argues that the undisputed material facts establish that Petitioner was denied his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to a fair trial and due process.4 Respondent Darrel Vannoy ("Respondent") opposes the motion.5 Considering the motion, the memoranda in support and in opposition, the record, and the applicable law, the Court denies the motion and orders an evidentiary hearing.
On May 21, 1998, Petitioner was charged by Indictment with two counts of first degree murder in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.6 Petitioner was indicted with his older half-brother, Zannie Neal, and their uncle, Arthur Darby ("Darby").7 "After Darby turned state's witness and the court severed the brothers' cases," Petitioner's case proceeded to trial by jury beginning on February 23, 1999 in the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court for the Parish of Jefferson.8
The charges relate to the murders of Greg Vickers and Fergus Robinson on March 31, 1998 at the home of Claudette Hurst in Metairie, Louisiana. At Petitioner's trial, Claudette Hurst testified that she was at home that evening with her boyfriend Fergus Robinson, her three children, her brother Carl Duncan, and a friend, Keinna Porter.9 Hurst had fallen asleep on a sofa in the den.10 At approximately 11:30 p.m., she was awakened by "some noise" and heard Robinson "telling someone to take it outside."11 Hurst looked into an adjoining room and saw a person (later identified as victim Greg Vickers) with a red hood over his head kneeling on the floor and a tall, thin person dressed in black clothing aiming a rifle at Vickers.12 Although Hurst was acquainted with Petitioner, shetestified that she never saw him on the night of the shooting.13
Hurst and Robinson ran to a bedroom where Carl Duncan and Keinna Porter were smoking marijuana.14 Duncan and Robinson held the door shut against the intruder's repeated attempts to push his way into the room.15 Unable to enter the room, the intruder fired multiple shots through the door, hitting both men.16 Robinson suffered a fatal gunshot wound to his right thigh which severed his femoral artery.17 Duncan was shot in the right arm but survived the injury.18
Greg Vickers' body was found lying near the threshold of a side door.19 He suffered two gunshot wounds to his neck which severed his carotid artery.20 Crime scene investigation uncovered four spent 7.62 caliber casings, four bullet holes in the door to the bedroom, and a bloody footprint on the tile.21 Investigators did not dust for fingerprints.22 Robinson was found holding twelve rocks of crack cocaine in his hand, and Vickers had a crack pipe in his back pocket.23 Both victims tested positive for cocaine.24 Testimony was also presented to show that Robinson was a drug dealer in thearea and Vickers was a frequent customer.25
During this time, Seneca Johnson, a next-door neighbor who was seven-weeks pregnant, and her boyfriend, Larry Osborne, were returning home from a nearby Shell station.26 While they were sitting in Osborne's car, the couple heard numerous gunshots and Osborne saw two men wearing ski masks running down the sidewalk.27 As the men approached his car, Osborne noticed one of the men carrying a rifle.28 Osborne pushed Johnson's head down and leaned over her but a bullet struck Johnson in the buttocks.29
At the same time, an off-duty Jefferson Parish Sheriff's deputy, Derrick McGee, was dropping his father off at home around the corner from the Hurst residence.30 Deputy McGee testified that he heard numerous gunshots and saw a black Toyota 4-Runner driving away "at a high rate of speed."31 Deputy McGee began following the 4-Runner in his marked police cruiser.32 After observing the 4-Runner run a stop sign and a red light, Deputy McGee activated his lights and siren and radioed for backup, and a vehicle driven by Deputy Bourgeois joined the pursuit.33
During the chase, the deputies observed a black male (later identified as Petitioner JarrellNeal) lean out of the passenger's window and begin shooting at them with an AK-47.34 Moments later, Petitioner fell out of the 4-Runner and began running towards a nearby drainage canal.35 After a brief chase, deputies arrested Petitioner and recovered the AK-47.36 Ballistics tests later showed that casings recovered from inside the 4-Runner and bullets recovered from Fergus Robinson's body were fired from the same AK-47.37
While deputies were arresting Petitioner, the driver of the 4-Runner (later identified as Arthur Darby) jumped out of the vehicle and ran to nearby houses, where he hid for about 15 minutes until a K-9 unit located him.38 Both Darby and Petitioner were arrested and taken to Charity Hospital for treatment.39 At the time of their arrests, Petitioner was wearing khaki pants and Darby was wearing a black sweater and jeans.40 Deputies also arrested Zannie Neal who was sitting in the backseat of the 4-Runner.41 A subsequent search of the 4-Runner yielded a .38 Colt revolver on the driver's side floorboard, a maroon ski mask, a Pittsburgh Steelers baseball cap, one live 7.62 round, and four spent 7.62 casings.42
As mentioned above, Darby testified for the State at Petitioner's trial. In exchange for histestimony, Darby pled guilty to two counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment.43 At Petitioner's trial, the State posited that the shootings had been motivated by a drug debt owed by Franklin McQueen to Zannie Neal.44 McQueen was the stepfather of Claudette Hurst and had stayed at Hurst's home in the past but was not there on the night of the offense.45
At Petitioner's trial, Darby testified that Jarrell and Zannie Neal came to his house between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. on the night of the murders.46 According to Darby, Zannie told him that "he had a little drama" and "might need a driver."47 Zannie also told Darby that someone owed him money for drugs.48 Darby testified that Zannie was driving, he was in the front seat, and Petitioner was in the back seat.49 After they had gone about a block, Zannie asked Darby if he had his .38 pistol, which he did not.50 Zannie told Darby he might need it so they returned to Darby's house to retrieve the pistol.51
When they arrived at the Hurst residence, Darby testified that Zannie told him to get in the driver's seat.52 According to Darby, Petitioner Jarrell Neal exited the vehicle with the AK-47 andwent inside the house with Zannie.53 Moments later, Darby heard numerous gunshots and Petitioner and Zannie Neal came running back to the 4-Runner.54 Darby also stated that when the men returned, Petitioner was holding the AK-47 and Zannie had a pistol.55 Darby testified that Zannie was wearing a red ski mask and Petitioner was wearing a Steelers cap.56 According to Darby's testimony, Petitioner indicated that he had shot someone in the house, and Zannie told him that his gun jammed.57 Darby further testified that as they fled from the scene Petitioner said "the ni**er was down bad for trying to play him, but now he crying like a little b**ch."58 Darby also testified that it was Petitioner who shot at the police during the getaway chase.59
On February 27, 1999, Petitioner was convicted of two counts of first degree murder.60 The penalty phase began on March 1, 1999.61 At the sentencing hearing, the State called Fergus Robinson's mother and brother and Greg Vicker's mother and co-worker to provide victim impact statements.62 The defense called seven witnesses, including Petitioner's parents and maternal grandparents, to describe his childhood and relationship with his 3-year-old son.63 After thesentencing hearing, the jury unanimously recommended a sentence of death.64 With respect to each count, the jury found that the following aggravating circumstances warranted a death sentence: (1) Petitioner was engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of an aggravated burglary; (2) Petitioner was engaged in the attempted distribution, exchange, sale, or purchase of a controlled dangerous substance; and (3) Petitioner knowingly created a risk of death or serious bodily harm to more than one person.65 On June 4, 1999, the state trial court imposed the death sentences.66
On June 29, 2001, the Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed Petitioner's conviction and sentence.67 Petitioner filed a petition for writ of certiorari before the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on March 18, 2002.68 On May 13, 2002, Petitioner's request for rehearing was also denied by the United States Supreme Court.69
On May 23, 2002, Petitioner filed a pro se application for post-conviction relief with the state trial court.70 On May 31, 2002, the state trial court dismissed the application because it found that Petitioner had not established entitlement to appointed counsel.71 On October 3, 2003, the LouisianaSupreme Court vacated the trial court's order.72 The Louisiana Supreme Court found that Petitioner was entitled to post-conviction counsel and directed the trial court to give Petitioner's counsel a reasonable opportunity to prepare and litigate expeditiously an application for post-conviction relief.73
In 2011, post-conviction counsel supplemented the post-conviction relief application before the state trial court.74 On October 9, 2013, the state...
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