Nguyen v. Lumpkin
| Decision Date | 24 November 2020 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. H-19-4471 |
| Parties | QUAN NGUYEN, TDCJ #02050216, Petitioner, v. BOBBY LUMPKIN, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas |
Quan Nguyen, also known as Cane Nguyen, has filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 ("Petition") (Docket Entry No. 1), challenging a murder conviction that was entered against him in Harris County, Texas. He has filed a separate Brief in Support of a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus of a Person in State Custody ("Petitioner's Brief," Docket Entry No. 6). Now pending is the respondent's Motion for Summary Judgment with Brief in Support ("Respondent's MSJ") (Docket Entry No. 13), to which Nguyen has filed a reply ("Petitioner's Reply") (Docket Entry No. 15). After considering all of the pleadings, the state court record, and the applicablelaw, the court will grant Respondent's MSJ and dismiss this action for the reasons explained below.
A local grand jury returned an indictment against Nguyen in Harris County Case No. 1475832, accusing him of intentionally causing the death of Brian McBee on August 18, 2014, by stabbing him with a deadly weapon, namely a knife or an unknown sharp object.2 Alternatively, the indictment alleged that Nguyen caused McBee's death by committing an act clearly dangerous to human life by stabbing him with a deadly weapon, namely a knife or an unknown sharp object.3 The indictment was enhanced for purposes of punishment with two additional paragraphs, which the State later abandoned,4 alleging that Nguyen had at least two prior felony convictions for forgery and burglary.5
At trial the State presented evidence showing that Nguyen and several other individuals were purchasing and using drugs in a small motel room rented by a mutual friend, Angel Keith, whenNguyen stabbed McBee in the chest without provocation,6 causing his death.7 The incident occurred during a dispute between Nguyen's girlfriend, Dana Chesney, and McBee's girlfriend, Fallon Wagner, who owed Chesney money for drugs she had purchased from her previously.8 Two other women, who were strippers or prostitutes known by their street names (later identified as Jody Meek and Alissa Benavides), were also present during the dispute between Wagner and Chesney, which escalated into a physical altercation that coincided with the stabbing.9
McBee was seated in the small kitchen area of the motel room, adjacent to where the women were arguing, and Nguyen was standing in front of him.10 Wagner testified that she heard Nguyen ask McBee whether he "smoked" and, if so, whether he had a crack pipe.11 Wagner testified that when McBee stood up from his chair to retrieve a crack pipe from his pocket, Nguyen pulled out a knifeand stabbed him in the heart.12 Wagner estimated that the knife was six or seven inches long.13 Wagner testified that McBee was a "laid back" person who was just "chilling" at the time of the incident and that Nguyen was the aggressor or "aggravated" party who appeared to be "mad" at McBee for no reason.14
Chesney admitted that she was selling drugs to support her drug habit and that Nguyen was involved in the business,15 adding that she and Nguyen spent "a lot" of their time smoking crack cocaine.16 Chesney testified that while she was demanding the money that Wagner owed her she overheard Nguyen engage in some "banter" or "small talk" with McBee in the kitchen area.17 Chesney heard Nguyen ask McBee if he wanted to smoke some crack and she also heard Nguyen ask McBee if he had a crack pipe.18 Moments later Chesney saw McBee stand up from his chair and then saw Nguyen stab McBee in the chest with what looked like a steak knife.19 Chesney observed that Nguyen appeared to be taunting McBee prior to thestabbing, noting that McBee was being "very quiet" and "very standoffish" while Nguyen was behaving in an aggressive manner.20
Although the knife that was used to stab McBee was not recovered, police officers found another steak knife in the kitchen sink of the motel room.21 The medical examiner testified that a sharp object, most likely a knife, was plunged at least six-and-one-half inches into McBee's chest, striking his heart, diaphragm, and liver.22 The medical examiner clarified that a wound of that depth required enough force for the knife to penetrate the cartilage of McBee's rib cage.23 Noting that the stab wound was neither self-inflicted nor accidental in nature, the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.24
Nguyen testified that when he entered the motel room he noticed that McBee looked "tired" and that he was in "rough" shape.25 Nguyen knew all of the women in the room, but did not know McBee, which made Nguyen feel "awkward" because he wasuncomfortable using illegal drugs around someone he did not know.26 In effort to make his acquaintance, Nguyen asked McBee if he used drugs and offered him some crack cocaine.27 When McBee accepted the offer Nguyen asked him if he had a "glass stem" or crack pipe.28 After Nguyen obtained a rock of crack cocaine from Chesney,29 he began using a steak knife to cut the rock into pieces, which he planned to distribute to others in the room.30 When the argument between Wagner and Chesney became increasingly aggressive, Nguyen put the cocaine in his pocket and then he stabbed McBee with the knife he had been using.31
Nguyen testified that he stabbed McBee in self-defense although the account of his actions was, at best, inconsistent.32 Nguyen testified that he "brought the knife up" and then "pushed" it into McBee when McBee stood up from his chair because Nguyen believed that McBee was attacking him, which caused Nguyen to become "scared" and "frightened."33 Nguyen also testified that he did not intend to stab McBee, saying that McBee "jumped into knife"and characterizing the incident as a "freak accident."34 After the stabbing occurred, Nguyen fled the motel with Chesney after retrieving a locked case filled with drugs and drug paraphernalia that Nguyen had brought to the motel.35 Nguyen drove a few miles from the scene before discarding the knife, which Chesney had wiped off.36
On cross-examination, Nguyen repeated his claim that McBee jumped into the knife by accident while at the same time asserting that he acted in self-defense by thrusting and pushing the knife into McBee because he was "afraid for [his] life."37 Although Nguyen insisted that he merely "flicked" the knife, the prosecutor noted that his account was contradicted by the medical examiner's testimony that the knife blade went six-and-a-half inches into McBee's chest cavity, through skin, muscle, and two organs.38 Nguyen conceded that he did not tell police that he was scared of McBee or that he had acted in self-defense when he gave his statement the day after the stabbing occurred.39 Nguyen also admitted that McBee did not touch him or have anything in his handsand that he looked tired, as if he were "trying to stay awake" during the encounter.40 Nguyen admitted further that he lied to the police by denying that he stabbed McBee,41 explaining that he was "really high" at the time he was interviewed.42
A homicide detective (Sergeant Mark Holbrook) testified in rebuttal, confirming Nguyen made no mention in his statement to police the day after the incident occurred that he was afraid of McBee at any time.43 According to that statement, which was recorded and played for the jury, Nguyen also boasted that he was the one selling drugs that day.44
After hearing all of the evidence and argument from counsel, a jury in the 230th District Court for Harris County rejected Nguyen's self-defense theory and found him guilty of murder.45 After the State presented evidence of Nguyen's lengthy criminal record and testimony about his violent tendencies while high on drugs, the same jury sentenced Nguyen to 60 years' imprisonment.46
On direct appeal Nguyen argued that his trial attorney was ineffective for recommending that he abandon his request to include an instruction in the jury charge on the lesser-included offense of aggravated assault.47 An intermediate court of appeals rejected that argument and concluded that Nguyen was not entitled to the instruction after setting forth the evidence presented at trial about the events surrounding McBee's death, which will not be repeated here. See Nguyen v. State, No. 14-15-01023-CR, 2017 WL 1540810, at *3-4 (Tex. App. — Houston [14th Dist.] April 27, 2017) ().48 Thereafter, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Nguyen's petition for discretionary review.49
Nguyen challenged his conviction further by filing an Amended Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus Seeking Relief From Final Felony Conviction Under [Texas] Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 11.07 ("State Habeas Application") with the trial court.50 Nguyen argued that he was entitled to relief because:
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