Prystash v. Stephens

• Decision Date: 17 March 2016
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. H-05-1546
• Parties: JOSEPH ANDREW PRYSTASH, Petitioner, v. WILLIAM STEPHENS, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

JOSEPH ANDREW PRYSTASH, Petitioner, v. WILLIAM STEPHENS, Director, Texas Department

of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent.

CIVIL ACTION NO. H-05-1546

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS HOUSTON DIVISION

March 17, 2016

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

In 1996, a jury convicted Petitioner Joseph Andrew Prystash of capital murder and answered Texas's special issue questions in a manner requiring the imposition of a death sentence. After unsuccessfully availing himself of Texas's appellate and post-conviction remedies, Prystash now seeks federal habeas relief from his conviction and sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 [Doc. #52].

Respondent William Stephens has moved for summary judgment [Doc. # 57]. The Court has thoroughly examined the record in this case, including the state court pretrial, trial, appellate, and habeas proceedings. Based on this review and the application of governing legal authorities - giving due consideration to the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA") - the Court grants the pending summary judgment motion, denies federal habeas relief, and dismisses this case. This Court will not certify any issue for appellate review.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY

Robert Alan Fratta ("Fratta"), a public safety officer for Missouri City, married the former Farah Baquer ("Farah") in 1983. They had three children. After nearly a decade of marriage, the couple separated and Farah filed for divorce in March 1992. The divorce proceedings became contentious, and Fratta became angry at the prospect of Farah receiving custody of their children or being awarded more child support. A trial on the issue of child custody was set for November 28, 1994.

On the evening of November 9, 1994, Fratta took the children to church while Farah got her hair cut. A man approached when Farah returned home and exited her car. The man shot, hitting her one time in the head. After she fell to the ground, the man shot her a second time. Neighbors saw the man wait near the bushes until a silver Nissan picked him up on the street.

After police and emergency responders arrived, Farah was taken to a hospital. She was pronounced dead in the emergency room.

A. The Police Investigation

The police immediately focused their attention on Fratta as a possible suspect in his estranged wife's murder. Several individuals told the police that Fratta had been looking for someone to kill his wife. Tr. Vol. 17 at 58-60, 68-69, 118-19, 163-65.¹ Fratta had asked numerous people if they knew of a hit man so that "the police . . . would have so many leads they really wouldn't know where to start and they would possibly think he wouldn't be a suspect, that just because he simply mentioned it that somebody might have took [sic] him serious and took it on themselves to do it." Tr. Vol. 17 at 116, 164-65.

The police, however, did not make an arrest for several months. Early on, the police suspected Prystash's involvement in the crime. On the night of Farah's murder, Fratta continually went to the church office to check his pager and make phone calls. Individuals in the church's office saw him repeatedly use the church phone between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. The police subpoenaed the phone records and found that Fratta had called the telephonenumber of Prystash's girlfriend, Mary Gipp. Tr. Vol. 18 at 455.

Numerous police officers were involved in the investigation into Farah's murder and in the interrogation of suspects: notably, Sergeant Danny Ray Billingsley, Detective George Ronald "Ronnie" Roberts, Detective William Valerio, Detective Larry Davis, and Detective Jim Hoffman. The police interacted with Gipp and Prystash from November 1994 through March 1995. In March 1995, Detective Roberts interviewed Gipp. When the police first interviewed Gipp, she lied and said that she knew nothing about the murder. Tr. Vol. 17 at 212. By the time they returned with a grand jury subpoena, Gipp had hired an attorney. After receiving a promise of immunity, Gipp gave the police crucial information that she had received from Prystash regarding Farah's murder. Id. at 213-14. Prystash had told Gipp that Fratta had enlisted him to kill Farah, and that he in turn recruited their neighbor Howard Paul Guidry to be the shooter. Id. at 177-82.

Guidry was already in police custody. The police had arrested him on March 1, 1995, while he fled the scene of a bank robbery. Tr. Vol. 18 at 432-39. Police recovered three guns from Guidry's book bag, including a Charter Arms .38 revolver. Tr. Vol. 18 at 448-49; State's Exhibit 60. On March 8, 1995, Guidry provided a written statement in which he claimed only reluctant participation in the murder as the getaway driver. Guidry later revised his written statement and admitted to being the gunman. He also walked through the crime scene with the police. Importantly, Guidry described the murder-for-hire scheme and how the men carried it out. Guidry's confession would serve as the impetus for the State of Texas to bring three capital prosecutions. Constitutional infractions in the police's interrogation of Guidry ultimately resulted in two convictions being vacated, although each of these individuals were retried and again convicted.

On the same day that Guidry was charged with capital murder in Farah's death, the police obtained a pocket warrant for Prystash's arrest supported by an affidavit from Sergeant Danny Billingsley. Tr. Vol. 18 at 463. Two crucial sources of incriminating information lead to the arrest warrant: (1) "Mary Gipp's . . . details of the offense that werecommunicated to Billingsley" and (2) "Guidry's statements against penal interest." S.S.H.R. at 539-40. The police arrested Prystash on March 8, 1995. During his subsequent interrogation with various police officers, Prystash denied knowing anything about the murder. After about three hours, Prystash told officers "he would give [them] a statement about what he knew" if "he be allowed to leave, go home." Tr. Vol. 3 at 20-21. An Assistant District Attorney informed the officers that giving a statement under that condition could be considered coercion. Tr. Vol. 3 at 21. The police released Prystash from custody.

Sergeant Billingsley later testified in a suppression hearing that "he drove [Prystash] . . . to pick up his car after his release from custody on March 8, 1995 . . . they stopped" and Prystash "said they needed to talk . . . ." S.S.H.R. at 540. Prystash then confessed to Sergeant Billingsley that he "contacted Guidry about the murder; that Fratta supplied the gun and [Farah's] schedule; and, that [Prystash] drove Guidry to the offense and picked him up afterwards." S.S.H.R. at 540. Sergeant Billingsley did not arrest Prystash again at that time. Before leaving, Prystash said that he would come to the police station to give a statement the next day.

When Prystash failed to show up at the station, the police obtained a new warrant on March 10, 1995. S.S.H.R. at 541. "[T]he underlying affidavit contained the information supplied by Sergeant Billingsley about the oral admissions against penal interest [Prystash] made to Billingsley after he was released from custody, as well as Guidry's statements against penal interest." S.S.H.R. at 541. The "major difference in the affidavits in the first and second warrants was the inclusion in the second affidavit of the oral admissions [Prystash] made to Billingsley . . . ." S.H.R. at 187. The affidavits, however, did "not refer to Guidry's confession as being voluntary; instead, the affidavits state that Guidry gave a statement against penal interest after being given his Miranda warnings." S.S.H.R. at 549-50.

On March 13, 1995, Prystash was arrested and gave a written statement, State's Exhibit 73, in which he confessed his involvement in Farah's murder. Tr. Vol. 18 at 614,632; Tr. Vol. 19 at 714-29. To summarize, Prystash's statement provided the police a detailed view into the murder-for-hire that ended in Farah's death. Prystash had known "Fratta for about six or seven years from the gym." Prystash explained that "[a]bout a month before Farah Fratta was killed," Fratta asked "do you know anybody that would kill my wife for me." A short time later, Prystash met his neighbor Howard Guidry. "[Guidry] told [Prystash] that he needed to make some money and he didn't care what he did." Prystash asked him if he would kill Farah Fratta. Guidry "told [Prystash] that he was willing. [Prystash] told him that [Fratta] was willing to pay $1,000 and more money later. [Guidry] was interested right from the beginning because he wanted to go buy some cocaine and sell it."

The men "talked about several scenario[s]" for the murder. "About a week before the killing, [Fratta] and [Prystash] met and he told [Prystash] that he was going to be at church the following Wednesday night. [Fratta] said that the following Wednesday night would be . . . perfect because he would have his kids until 9:00 p.m." Fratta later "gave [Prystash] a gun to give to [Guidry]. The gun was a . . . blue Police Bull Dog Special revolver which was probably a four inch barrel."

Prystash described the murder itself as follows:

I took [Guidry] over to the parking lot of the Food City at 1960 East at Timber Forest. We got there about 7:30 p.m. At about 7:35, I got a page from [Fratta]. I called him back with either the store's pay phones or the mobile phone. [Fratta] told me he was at church. I told him that [Guidry] was ready to go. [Fratta] said all right. After I got off the phone with [Fratta], I drove [Guidry] to Farah's house. I dropped him off at a phone, I dropped him off a few houses away from Farah's house. I knew where to go because of the map [Fratta] gave me. I believe I dropped him off shortly before 8:00 p.m.

After I left [Guidry], I went back to the Food City and waited by the pay phones. [Guidry] called me about 7:55 p.m. He told me that she wasn't home yet. I paged [Fratta] and he called me back. [Fr

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