Richardson v. State of Maryland, Civ. A. No. 20868.

• Decision Date: 07 March 1975
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 20868.
• Citation: 398 F. Supp. 425
• Parties: William Norman RICHARDSON v. STATE OF MARYLAND.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

398 F. Supp. 425

William Norman RICHARDSON v. STATE OF MARYLAND.

Civ. A. No. 20868.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

March 7, 1975.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

William Norman Richardson, pro se.

Francis B. Burch, Atty. Gen., and Harry A. E. Taylor, Asst. Atty. Gen., Baltimore, Md., for respondent.

WATKINS, Senior District Judge.

William N. Richardson has a long and varied history before this Court and the courts of Maryland, so that a brief discussion of his judicial activity is particularly apropos. Petitioner, presently incarcerated in the Maryland House of Correction, was indicted for statutory burglary of a bar in violation of art. 27, § 33 of the Md. Ann. Code (1971 Repl. Vol.). After a plea of not guilty, he was convicted by a jury in the Criminal Court of Baltimore (Criminal No. 205) and sentenced on February 2, 1968, by the Honorable Charles D. Harris to a prison term of six years "consecutive with any sentence for violation of Parole." The conviction was affirmed by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in Clark v. Maryland, 6 Md. App. 91, 250 A.2d 317 (1969). Certiorari was denied by the Court of Appeals. Richardson v. State, 254 Md. 719 (1969).

Petitioner then began submitting habeas corpus petitions to this Court, which now total three. In the first one, among several allegations of constitutional infringements at trial,¹ the Petitioner asserted that he had been illegally arrested (and thus that tainted evidence, seized pursuant to the arrest, had been improperly admitted into evidence). This is the only issue presently under consideration. Relying on Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. 391, 438-40, 83 S. Ct. 822, 9 L. Ed.2d 837 (1963), and Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. 1, 17-18, 83 S. Ct. 1068, 10 L. Ed.2d 148 (1963), this Court rejected Petitioner's contention, since he did not object to the introduction of evidence at the time of his original trial; and since he failed to state what items, if any, were seized and thereafter improperly admitted into evidence contrary to the Fourth Amendment. Richardson v. Warden, Civil Action No. 20868W (D. Md. June 17, 1969) (unpublished memorandum opinion and order). The second habeas corpus petition once again questioned the admissibility of the evidence,² but the petition was similarly denied on the authority of Noia and Sanders, and also because Petitioner was then appealing the first decision of this Court to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Richardson v. Warden, Civil Action No. 20868W (D. Md. Nov. 26, 1969) (unpublished memorandum opinion and order).

On appeal to the Fourth Circuit, that court dismissed Petitioner's first petition without prejudice due to his failure to exhaust state remedies under the Maryland Post Conviction Procedure Act, Md. Ann. Code art. 27, § 645A et seq. (1974 Cum. Supp.). Richardson v. Warden, Civil Action No. 13,690 (4 Cir. April 22, 1970) (unpublished memorandum decision).

Pursuant to the recommendation of the Fourth Circuit, Petitioner filed under the Maryland Post Conviction Procedure Act in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, and on June 5, 1970, a hearing was held before the Honorable George D. Solter. Counsel was appointed to represent Petitioner, and a "Supplemental Petition" was submitted by his attorney. Judge Solter denied Petitioner's Application of Post Conviction Relief for the reasons stated in his unpublished memorandum opinion of August 21, 1970. Richardson v. Warden, P.C.P.A. No. 1959. In an unreported opinion and order filed January 15, 1971, the Court of Special Appeals denied Petitioner's appeal from Judge Solter's decision.

A third habeas corpus petition was submitted by Petitioner in which he once again asserted that tainted evidence had been improperly admitted during trial.³ This Court disposed of that contention in Richardson v. Warden, Civil Action No. 20868W (D. Md. June 4, 1973) (Order to Show Cause), by reference to the principle of res judicata, and passed judgment adverse to Petitioner on the remaining viable allegation. Richardson v. Warden, Civil Action No. 20868W (D. Md. July 5, 1973) (unpublished memorandum opinion and order).

Petitioner appealed this Court's decision concerning the third habeas corpus petition to the Fourth Circuit. The Court of Appeals reversed in part due to this Court's failure to consider the legality of Petitioner's arrest on the merits, saying:

Richardson, however, had exhausted his state remedies in the interim between this court's dismissal of his alleged illegal arrest claim on appeal and the filing of the habeas corpus petition now under review. It was error, therefore, for the court not to address this claim on the merits. Accordingly, we remand to the district court for a determination of the legality of the arrest, and, in accordance with our policy of liberal construction of prisoner's petitions, to determine if there were any collateral consequences of a constitutional nature resulting from any illegal arrest procedures.

Richardson v. Warden, No. 73-1981 (4 Cir. Feb. 14, 1973) (unpublished memorandum decision).

DISCUSSION OF THE FACTS⁴

In order to determine the legality of the arrest and the admissibility of the seized evidence, a brief recital of the facts leading up to the arrest is necessary.

At approximately 2:30 a. m. on October 30, 1967, Officer Earl Gillespie of the Southwestern District of the Baltimore City Police Department was approached by a private citizen who complained of excessive noise at his apartment complex on 1821 West Pratt Street. (Transcript 14, 48). The officer went to an apartment where a party was taking place, knocked and after the door was opened, requested the ten to fifteen occupants to quiet down. (Tr. 15, 49). While there, the officer noticed the Petitioner; a James R. Clark, Petitioner's co-defendant at trial; and at least one or two women — presumably the remaining people were men. (Tr. 15, 48). In addition, the officer observed a number of quart beer bottles and beer cans spread throughout the kitchen and the two other small rooms of the apartment, but saw no alcoholic beverages other than beer. (Tr. 15-16, 48).⁵

Subsequently, the officer returned to the same apartment to talk with a Melvin Henson after receiving a second complaint from another private citizen (Tr. 40-41)⁶ to the effect that Henson and two other white males were surreptitiously carrying packages from a neighboring car lot to the apartment complex across the street when no cars or people were in sight. (Tr. 40-41). During this second visit to the apartment between 4:00 a. m. and 5:15 a. m., the police officer noticed, from a distance of six to eight feet (Tr. 56), that twenty-five to forty bottles of alcohol were neatly stacked against the kitchen wall. (Tr. 18, 42, 55, 58). On the labels of each visible bottle of alcohol were large letters or numerals (Tr. 18) written in blunt black crayon. (Tr. 20, 47, 55-56). The officer asked the group of occupants, which had now slimmed down to about eight people (Tr. 17, 45), to whom the alcohol belonged. Clark replied that it was his, that he bought it. (Tr. 18, 42). At this time the officer believed he saw Petitioner sitting on a kitchen chair next to the stolen alcohol. (Tr. 59, 33).⁷

The officer left and shortly thereafter proceeded to the Mount Cafe bar, 1701 Frederick Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, approximately a block and one-half from the apartment, after learning from a police radio-phone call that there was serious trouble at that location. (Tr. 43). Upon arriving he was informed that a large quantity of alcohol had been stolen and saw that all the remaining bottles of alcohol had black crayon markings on the labels, similar to those which he had observed at the apartment on his second visit. (Tr. 44).

Correlating the present incident with what he had seen earlier (Tr. 43-44), the officer returned to the apartment at approximately 6:15 a. m. to "stake it out" until his superior could complete the burglary investigation at the bar. (Tr. 51). At 6:30 a. m. or 6:15 a. m. the Petitioner and Clark started to come out of the apartment. (Tr. 44, 52, 24). One of them, probably the Petitioner (Tr. 52, 37-38),⁸ was carrying in his sport coat pocket a half-pint of "Pikesville" whiskey (Tr. 44) on which there were black crayon markings (Tr. 10, 44-45, 54). The two were told to re-enter the dwelling, since they and everyone in the apartment were being arrested⁹ and ". . . held for investigation of burglary."¹⁰ (Tr. 45, 51-52). Fifteen minutes later the police sergeant arrived. A warrantless search of the apartment produced only four bottles of alcohol, all of which had black crayon markings on the labels (Tr. 10); cigars of the same brand as ones stolen from the bar; and a jar of hot sausages, apparently similar to a jar stolen from the bar. (Tr. 45-46). At that point, Petitioner (a white man), Clark (a white man), three other white men and three women were taken down to the Southwest Police Station for questioning. (Tr. 53).

During the trial, after being recalled, Officer Gillespie further testified that a warrant had been issued for Melvin Henson's arrest, but that he had not been apprehended yet. Additionally, the officer mentioned that June Cowan, the hostess of the party, probably had been charges with possession of stolen goods. (Tr. 98-99).

The only physical evidence introduced at trial was the four bottles of alcohol, all of which were marked with a blunt black crayon. Three of the bottles were seized from the apartment, while the fourth one, the Pikesville, was taken from the Petitioner (or perhaps Clark). (Tr. 10, 45-46, 54). The cigars and the jar of sausages which the police officer referred to during his testimony were not introduced into evidence.¹¹

LEGAL DISCUSSION

Introduction:

It should be noted at the outset that Petitioner has "standing" to contest the alleged illegal search and seizure. Mancusi, Warden v. DeForte, 392 U.S. 364, 88 S.Ct. 2120, 20 L.Ed.2d 1154 (1968); Jones v....