Reid v. Martuscello
| Decision Date | 02 July 2020 |
| Docket Number | 12-CV-3371 (RRM) |
| Parties | REGGIE REID, Petitioner, v. DANIEL MARTUSCELLO, Superintendent, ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN, former New York State Attorney General Respondents. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Petitioner Reggie Reid brings this petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging his March 23, 2007, conviction in New York State Supreme Court, Kings County, on two counts of robbery in the first degree and three counts of robbery in the second degree. (Pet. (Doc. No. 1-2).) For the reasons set forth below, the petition is dismissed.
On September 14, 2001, several individuals were robbed at Seagate Medical Center in Coney Island, Brooklyn ("Seagate"). (Pet. at 12.)1 Petitioner Reggie Reid and Ricardo Mendez were subsequently indicted on five counts of robbery in the first degree, six counts of robbery in the second degree, robbery in the third degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, and petit larceny. (Respondents' Affidavit in Opposition to Petition ("Opp.") (Doc. No. 5) at ¶ 5.) Mendez was also charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.
In 2002, following a joint trial with Mendez, a jury convicted Reid of two counts of robbery in the first degree and one count of robbery in the second degree. As explained furtherinfra, his conviction was ultimately reversed. See People v. Reid, 22 A.D.3d 690 (2d Dep't 2005). Reid and Mendez's joint retrial in 2006 is the subject of the instant petition.
On September 16 and 17, 2001, Detectives Dalton and John Closs of the 60th precinct were assigned to investigate the robbery. The detectives came to identify Reid as a suspect and on October 1, 2001, Closs went to Seagate to show some of the employees a photo array with Reid's picture. (Pre-trial Hearing Tr. (Doc. No. 5-2) at 15.) Seagate employees Andre Sanzharevsky, Igor Shulgin, Dr. Jacobs, a chiropractor, and Svetlana Tachenka, a Seagate receptionist, each viewed the photo array separately. Both Sanzharevsky and Shulgin identified Reid, while Tachenka and Dr. Jacobs were unable to identify anyone. (Id. at 16-18.)
The next day, on October 2, 2001, Closs conducted a lineup at the 60th Precinct. (Trial Transcript ("Tr.") (Doc. No. 5-3) at 141.) Zakharov, a former office manager at Seagate, Sanzharevsky, and Dr. Jacobs viewed a six-person lineup, which included Reid, through a one-way glass. (Id.) Both Zakharov and Sanzharevsky, viewing the lineup separately, identified Reid, though only Zakharov testified at trial. (Pre-trial Hearing Tr. at 29-30.) Dr. Jacobs did not identify anyone. (Tr. at 163.) Photographs of the lineup were received into evidence. (Tr. at 147-48.)
Following the lineup, Closs arrested Reid and learned that he was 37 years old, 5'10" tall, and lived approximately one block from Seagate. (Tr. at 149-50, 158-59.) On October 4, 2001, Mendez was arrested, after which he made a confession that is central to the instant petition.
Reid and Mendez faced a joint trial in 2002. Reid was convicted by a jury of two counts of robbery in the first degree and one count of robbery in the second degree, and he wassentenced as a predicate violent felony offender to an aggregate prison sentence of thirty-two years. (Opp. at ¶ 6.)
Reid pursued a timely appeal to the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department (hereinafter "Appellate Division"). He raised several points of error, including: (1) the People's evidence was legally insufficient; (2) Zakharov's lineup identification should have been suppressed; (3) the prosecutor committed a Rosario violation by failing to disclose a page of handwritten notes pertaining to Lugo; and (4) defense counsel provided Reid with ineffective assistance of counsel. (Opp. at ¶ 7.)
Reid's conviction was ultimately reversed based on prosecutorial misconduct - a claim that Reid did not in fact raise, but that Mendez raised in his appeal. The Court found that the prosecutor's summation unfairly suggested that more than one witness had identified Reid, and ordered a new trial as a matter of discretion "in the interest of justice." See People v. Reid, 22 A.D.3d 690 (2d Dep't 2005). The Court held that, "[i]n light of the less than overwhelming evidence of guilt adduced at trial, the prosecutor's misconduct . . . cannot be considered harmless." Id. at 689.
The retrial was tried by a different prosecutor, before a new jury and judge - New York State Supreme Court Justice Guy Mangano, Jr. The People relied on Zakharov as the primary eyewitness. (Tr. at 5.) On the afternoon of September 14, 2001, three days after the 9/11 terrorist attack, Zakharov was at work, watching the news and talking with his colleagues Sanzharevsky and Shulgin. (Id. at 8.) They were in a room with the door open, across from chiropractor Marc Jacobs' office. (Id. at 10.) Zakharov recalled seeing a black man peek inside the room he was in for a few seconds, taking "a good look around" before disappearing. (Id. at9-11.) Assuming the man was a patient, Zakharov and his colleagues did not find it suspicious. (Id. at 11.) However, when the man reappeared, it was clear he planned to rob Seagate.
The man, who Zakharov later identified as Reid, subsequently reappeared, along with a shorter, Hispanic man. (Tr. 13, 16, 18, 26-27, 37-38, 80.) Based on the bluge in Reid's pocket, Zakharov testified that he "saw what [he] believed to be a firearm." (Tr. at 14; see also 54, 62-64, 87.) According to Zakharov, Reid demanded to know where the money was kept and threatened to shoot any resistors, saying, "where is the fucking cash," and "I will blow your heads off." (Id. at 16.) After being directed to a safe and finding no money there, the men robbed Zakharov and his two co-workers. Reid took Zakharov's Fendi watch, worth $450, as well as $30 or $40 in cash. (Id. at 24-26.) Zakharov also saw Reid take cash, a "very expensive gold bracelet," and a Cartier watch from Shulgin and Sanzharevsky. (Id. at 23-24.)
Zakharov stated that when he tried to call 911, Reid ripped the phone cord from the wall and said that the police would not help, as they were preoccupied with the aftermath of 9/11. (Tr. at 22.) Reid allegedly said, "I freaking dare you, nobody is going to come and help you, everybody is down at the World Trade Center . . . . " (Id.) Zakhoarov estimated that the entire incident lasted five to ten minutes before the men left. (Id. at 30, 64, 59, 78.)
Dr. Jacobs testified that he was at his desk that afternoon, across the hall from Zakharov, when a physical therapist entered his office, "muttering, oh my God." (Id. at 104.) Before she could explain, a Hispanic man wearing a sweatshirt, hood up, appeared behind her. (Id. at 105, 111.) The man proceeded to steal $150 in cash from Dr. Jacobs and other valuables, including watches and jewelry, from the physical therapist, as well as an acupuncturist and a patient. (Id. at 106, 111-13, 124, 131.) Reid did not enter Dr. Jacobs' office, but Dr. Jacobs saw him through the open office door. (Id. at 106.) Jacobs testified that he heard "commotion" coming from theoffice across the hall, and heard someone say "something like . . . I'll blow your head off." (Id. at 110.)
Both Zakharov and Dr. Jacobs recounted details of Reid's physical appearance, and stated that the office was "very well-lit." (Id. at 40.) Zakharov testified that Reid did not wear a mask or hat, and that there was nothing obscuring his face. (Id. at 17.) Zakharov, who is 5'11" stated that Reid was "somewhat shorter" than him, offering an estimate of 5'8", and he stated that he was "on the slim side," had an oval or round face, and uncombed hair. (Id. at 16, 57-59, 65, 84.) Dr. Jacobs testified that there were two men - a black male and a Hispanic male - and that he noticed the black man was taller than the Hispanic man. (Id. at 156.) The jury had the opportunity to view Reid and Mendez and assess their relative heights and weights. (Id. at 259-60.) Zakharov testified that Reid was wearing a brown leather jacket, dark jeans, and suede gloves, (id. at 14), and Jacobs recalled the gloves, as well, (id. at 111).
With respect to Mendez, Zakharov testified that Mendez wore a hooded sweatshirt and had a goatee, and that he smelled liquor on Mendez's breath. (Id. at 19, 27.) Dr. Jacobs also reported him as wearing a hooded sweatshirt and gloves. (Id. at 106, 111.)
Zakharov and Jacobs also testified about the lineup. Zakharov stated that he recognized Reid "right away," within "a few seconds," and that he felt "very certain" about the identification. (Id. at 38.) Jacobs stated that he did recognize someone in Reid's lineup, but that he chose not to identify him because he was not "100 percent" certain and was "afraid" of making a wrong identification. (Id. at 118.) Zakharov also identified Reid in court. (Id. at 15, 27-28.)
Dalton's testimony is at the heart of Reid's habeas petition. Dalton testified that after Mendez's arrest, he made a statement admitting that he went to the crime scene with "otherguys." Specifically, Dalton testified, "He told me that he went to the location with the guys, the guys went in the back, he was up front, he got scared and ran out." (Id. at 201.) Dalton did not ask Mendez any follow-up questions, such as who "the guys" were, nor did he record or write down the statement. (Id. at 208-13; 216-17.) Dalton justified the absence of any writing by pointing to the chaos of 9/11; he stated, "Since it was right after 911 and we were involved with the cleanup of Ground Zero . . . the papers got put aside." (Id.) To explain why he did not probe Mendez with follow-up questions, the People elicited Dalton's testimony that he had only been searching for two suspects, and that when Mendez was arrested, Reid was already in custody. (Id. at 222.) At trial, the People...
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