Robinson v. City of Sikeston
| Decision Date | 06 February 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:19CV41 RLW,1:19CV41 RLW |
| Parties | DAVID L. ROBINSON, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF SIKESTON, MISSOURI, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri |
This matter is before the Court on three motions to dismiss filed separately by Defendants John A. Blakely, the City of Sikeston, Missouri, and Charles Andrew Juden III. (ECF Nos. 49, 53, & 55 respectively) After careful consideration, the Court grants Blakely's and Juden's motions, in part, as to the claims against them in their official capacity and denies the motions, in part, as to the claims against them in their individual capacities. The Court also grants the City's motion, in part, as to the request for punitive damages against it.
On the night of August 5, 2000, Sheila Box was shot in the chest and killed in Sikeston, Missouri ("the City"). (First Am. Compl. ¶ 7 ECF No. 43) An unidentified police informant reported that that he had "heard" Plaintiff David Robinson and Keith West were involved in the killing. (Id. at ¶ 9) Based on this tip, Police Captain Charles Andrew Juden III arrested Robinson, who is an African-American man, on the morning of August 6, 2000. (Id.) Duringthe arrest, Juden placed his gun on the side of Robinson's head and said, (Id. at ¶ 10) Detective John Blakely was also present during the arrest. (Id.) At the jail, Robinson provided officers with alibi witnesses who placed him away from the scene of the shooting from around 8:00 p.m. on August 5 until around 1:30 on August 6. (Id. at 10) Officers, including Juden, interviewed one alibi witness, Cory Turner, who said he was with Robinson from around 11:00 p.m. until 11:37 p.m. on August 5. (Id. at ¶ 12) On August 6 around noon, officers told Robinson that he was no longer being held for Box's murder; however, he remained in jail on an alleged parole violation until he was released on August 9. (Id. at ¶ 13)
Sometime after Box's murder, Albert Baker was arrested and jailed for felony stealing of an air conditioner. (Id. at ¶ 15) Baker had a long criminal history and became a police informant in June 2000. (Id.) An officer asked Baker whether he had any information regarding Box's murder, but he denied knowing anything. (Id.) On August 15, Baker informed an officer that he wanted to talk to Blakely about Box's murder. (Id. at ¶ 16) Blakely did not go to Baker's jail cell until around 1:00 a.m. on August 18. (Id.) After the interview, Baker signed a witness statement - prepared by Blakely - in which Baker claimed he witnessed Robinson shoot Box. (Id. at ¶ 17) Thereafter, Blakely arranged for Baker's immediate release from jail on his own recognizance. (Id. at ¶ 18) On the morning of Baker's release, Blakely gave him $50 in cash. (Id. at ¶ 19) Blakely gave Baker additional cash payments in amounts ranging between $10 and $100 on August 22, 23, and 29 and on September 2, 11, and 15. (Id.) Blakely later claimed those payments were made pursuant to the City's witness protection program; however, Robinson maintains that records show the payments were made because Baker was a paid police informant. (Id.) Blakely also arranged for Baker to live in an apartment in Perryville, Missouri,at the expense of the City's police department before Baker eventually moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Id. at ¶ 20) All payments ceased after Baker moved out of Missouri. (Id.) Up until then, Baker had received approximately several thousand dollars at Blakely's direction. (Id.)
Blakely applied for, and received, a warrant to arrest Robinson for Box's murder based almost entirely on Baker's signed statement. (Id. at ¶¶ 26-27) Robinson alleges multiple witnesses could have provided statements that contradicted Baker's version of events. (Id. at ¶¶ 22, 25, 27) None of these witnesses were interviewed by police. (Id.) Additionally, Robinson asserts Blakely misrepresented statements from his alibi witnesses in the probable cause affidavit submitted with the warrant application. (Id. at ¶¶ 27-28, & 30)
Blakely arrested Robinson on August 30, 2000. (Id. at ¶ 29) After the arrest, Blakely obtained a statement from a prisoner in the Scott County Jail named Jason Richison. (Id. at ¶ 31) Richison claimed in his statement, which was also prepared by Blakely, that he had previously shared a cell with Robinson for three or four days and heard Robinson confess to Box's murder. (Id.) Richison repeated this allegation when he testified at Robinson's trial. (Id.) According to Robinson, he never shared a cell with Richison. (Id. at ¶ 32) This fact could have been verified by jail records and other cellmates, but neither Blakely nor Juden attempted to prove Richison's claim. (Id.)
Prior to Robinson's trial in 2001, the City's police department had information from the Scott County deputy sheriff that a man named Romanze Mosby was involved in Box's murder. (Id. at ¶ 34) Mosby and his cousin, Carlos Jones, had accused each other of shooting Box to police. (Id. at ¶ 35) Neither Mosby nor Jones mentioned Robinson as having any involvement. (Id.) Despite being aware of Mosby and Jones, Blakely did not attempt to pursue any investigation into their involvement in Box's murder. (Id.) Further, Blakely and other lawenforcement officials were investigating Mosby for possible involvement in at least five other shootings between August 2000 and August 2001 while Robinson was awaiting trial. (Id. at ¶ 36)
Before trial, a man named Ronald Coleman, who was associated with Baker, disclosed to Robinson's public defender that Baker had privately admitted to falsely accusing Robinson in exchange for preferential treatment from Blakely regarding his own criminal charges. (Id. at ¶¶ 38-39) Upon learning of Coleman's intention to testify at trial, Blakely called Coleman at his home and threatened to file unrelated drug charges against Coleman if he testified. (Id. at ¶ 39) After this conversation, Coleman did not show up for trial or respond to calls from the Public Defender's Office. (Id.)
Robinson's trial began on August 25, 2001. (Id. at ¶ 41) In a pretrial conference, the trial court sustained the prosecution's motions in limine to exclude testimony by and about Mosby and Jones's possible involvement in Box's murder. (Id. at ¶ 44) Additionally, Mosby appeared pursuant to a subpoena and testified outside the presence of the jury that Jones killed Box. (Id. at ¶ 45) During the trial, prosecutors did not present any physical evidence connecting him to the crime; rather, it relied on the testimony of Baker and Richison. (Id. at ¶ 41) Robinson's defense offered testimony from other witnesses whose accounts of events contradicted Baker's and Richison's. (Id. at ¶¶ 42-43)
On August 29, 2001, the jury convicted Robinson of Box's murder and he was later sentenced to life without parole. (Id. at ¶ 46) The day after the trial concluded, Juden - who had been promoted to Director of Public Safety for the City on April 4, 2001 (Id. at ¶¶ 4 & 40) - forwarded an email from Blakely with the following message announcing Robinson's conviction to the City's mayor, city council, and all police officers:
I wish to thank all of you for the GREAT work on this case. David Robinson has been a violent criminal since the young age of 14 and was one of the most dangerous criminals in our community. Once again we have proven what a great team we have and that we can make a difference.
Robinson filed a post-conviction motion to vacate his conviction. (Id. at ¶ 49) Peron "Butch" Johnson, an investigator for the Public Defender's Office, interviewed Mosby in prison and secured an audio recording of Mosby confessing to the murder. (Id. at ¶ 50) According to Mosby, Box drove up to him and asked if he had drugs to sell. (Id.) Before the transaction took place, Mosby saw a flash that he thought was a gun and shot Box. (Id.) Box managed to drive away before eventually crashing and succumbing to her injuries. (Id.) Johnson also interviewed Jones, who corroborated Mosby's account. (Id. at ¶ 52)
Johnson then contacted Baker. (Id. at ¶ 53) Baker admitted he had not witnessed Box's shooting and he falsely accused Robinson to get himself out of jail. (Id.) Baker declined to make a recorded statement at the time. (Id.) Nevertheless, Johnson obtained and served a subpoena on Baker to testify at the post-conviction relief hearing. (Id.) At some point prior to the hearing, Blakely learned of Baker's intention to recant his accusation. (Id. at ¶ 55) Blakely directed a uniformed officer in Park Hills, Missouri, to locate Baker. (Id.) While Baker was walking down a street, the officer drove up and handed him a telephone. (Id.) Blakely was on the other end and told Baker, "We are watching you." (Id.) Thereafter, Baker stopped responding to Johnson's multiple attempts at contact. (Id. at ¶ 57) Johnson sent a letter to Baker, stating "You did wrong at the original trial, don't do it again." (Id.) Baker shared the letter with the prosecutor, who then presented it to opposing counsel and the post-conviction judge. (Id. at ¶ 58) The judge scolded Johnson, and Robinson's post-conviction counsel chose not to call Johnson to testify that Baker had recanted his trial testimony. (Id.)
At the post-conviction hearing, Baker reverted to his trial testimony and accused Robinson of murdering Box. (Id.) Both Coleman and Richison testified in depositions in support of Robinson. (Id. at ¶¶ 60-63) Three additional witnesses testified in support of theory that Mosby was the shooter. (Id. at ¶¶ 64-66) The court, nonetheless, denied Robinson's motion for post-conviction relief. (Id. at ¶ 67)
Robinson obtained new counsel through a legal clinic and filed a habeas corpus petition in the Cole County Circuit Court. (Id. at ¶ 73) His new counsel obtained a video-recorded interview with Baker in 2012 while he was in prison in which he again recanted his trial testimony accusing...
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