Rodella v. United States

• Citation: 435 F.Supp.3d 1222
• Decision Date: 23 January 2020
• Docket Number: No. CV 19-0275 JB\CG,CV 19-0275 JB\CG
• Parties: Thomas R. RODELLA, Movant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico

435 F.Supp.3d 1222

Thomas R. RODELLA, Movant,

v.UNITED STATES of America, Respondent.

No. CV 19-0275 JB\CG

United States District Court, D. New Mexico.

Filed January 23, 2020

Paul D. Mannick, Coppler & Mannick, P.C., Santa Fe, New Mexico, Susan J. Clouthier, Cloutheir Law, P.L.L.C., The Woodlands, Texas, Attorneys for the Petitioner.

John C. Anderson, United States Attorney, Jeremy Pena, Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Attorneys for the Respondent.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JAMES O. BROWNING, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Amended Motion to Vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, filed December 11, 2019 (Doc. 22)("Amended Motion"). The primary issues are: (i) whether Movant Thomas Rodella is time-barred from bringing his Motion; and (ii) whether the Supreme Court of the United States of America's decision in United States v. Davis, ––– U.S. ––––, 139 S. Ct. 2319, 204 L.Ed.2d 757 (2019), retroactively applies to, and thus invalidates, Rodella's conviction and sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii). The Court concludes that (i) Rodella is not time-barred from bringing his Amended Motion because (i) 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f)(3) permits him to bring a claim under the new substantive rule of criminal procedure announced in United States v. Davis; and (ii) the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Davis retroactively applies to Rodella's conviction and sentence but does not invalidate his sentence because the Court concludes that he was sentenced under the elements clause, which United States v. Davis did not declare unconstitutionally vague, and not the residual clause, which United States v. Davis did declare unconstitutionally vague.¹

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Court previously has laid out the underlying case's factual background in its Memorandum Opinion and Order in United States of America v. Thomas R. Rodella & Thomas R. Rodella, Jr.:

Given the jury's verdict, the Court takes the facts from the evidence in a light most favorable to the United States. On March 11, 2014, Michael Tafoya pulled his car out of a driveway and onto the road, while a green jeep was traveling down the same road. Thomas R. Rodella, Jr., who was driving the jeep, began flashing the jeep's headlights and began tailgating Tafoya's car for the next quarter mile. Tafoya slowed down his car and pulled over to the side of the road to allow the jeep to pass. Once stopped, Tafoya raised his hands and said: "What the hell?" The jeep passed Tafoya's car, but then stopped in the middle of the road and backed up, until it parked about twenty-five feet in front of Tafoya's car. Rodella and Rodella, Jr. got out the jeep and began walking towards Tafoya's car while motioning for Tafoya to get out of his car and saying "come on." Because Tafoya thought that Rodella and Rodella, Jr. wanted to fight, and because he did not know whom they were, he was afraid. Wanting to avoid a confrontation, Tafoya drove away, and Rodella and Rodella, Jr. got back into the jeep and began chasing him.

Tafoya sped up, and eventually turned onto a private dirt road to escape from Rodella and Rodella, Jr. When Tafoya reached the end of the dirt road, he tried to turn his car around while Rodella got out of the jeep with a gun in his hand. Tafoya backed up his car until it hit a pole that was behind it. Rodella opened the passenger door of Tafoya's car and jumped in with his gun in his hand. Rodella attempted to point the gun at Tafoya's face, and Tafoya begged for Rodella not to kill him. While Tafoya was begging Rodella not to kill him, Rodella twice yelled: "It's too late." From the driver's side of the car, Rodella, Jr. grabbed Tafoya by his arm and shirt, pulled him out of the car, and threw him to the ground. Rodella, Jr. held Tafoya on the ground and told Tafoya that Rodella was the sheriff. Tafoya asked to see Rodella's badge, and Rodella pulled Tafoya's head up by his hair and said: "You want to see my badge mother fucker? Here's my badge." Rodella then struck Tafoya in his face with the badge. Before being hit in the face with the badge, Tafoya did not see Rodella display his badge and did not know that he was the sheriff. The Rio Arriba County Deputy Sheriffs arrived, and Tafoya was handcuffed and arrested.

101 F. Supp. 3d 1075, 1081-82 (D.N.M. 2015) (Browning, J.).

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Rodella was convicted of: (i) violating Tafoya's constitutional rights by using unreasonable force and for conducting an unlawful arrest in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242 ; and (ii) using a firearm during a crime of violence's commission in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) on September 26, 2014, see United States v. Thomas R. Rodella & Thomas R. Rodella, Jr., No. CR 14-2783, Verdict at 1-2, filed September 26, 2014 (Doc. 127)("Verdict"), and the Court sentenced him to 121 months in prison, see United States v. Thomas R. Rodella & Thomas R. Rodella, Jr., No. CR 14-2783, Second Amended Judgment at 3, filed February 18, 2015 (Doc. 206)("Judgment"). This Judgment became final on October 3, 2016. See Petition for Writ of Certiorari Denied by an Order of Supreme Court of the United States as to Thomas R. Rodella, filed October 3, 2016 (Doc. 238). Rodella brings this action to vacate his sentence. See Motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal Custody, filed March 25, 2019 (Doc. 1)("Motion").

1. The Trial.

After a five-day trial, a jury convicted Rodella of (i) violating Tafoya's constitutional rights by using unreasonable force and for conducting an unlawful arrest in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242 ; and (ii) using a firearm during a crime of violence's commission in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii). See Verdict at 1-2. At trial, Rodella did not call David Thompson, who called 911 and reported that someone had a gun at the scene. See United States' Answer to Motion Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence at 7, filed July 8, 2019 (Doc. 7)("Answer to Original Motion"). In its instructions to the jury, the Court described the second count of the instructions as follows:

On or about March 11, 2014, in Rio Arriba County in the District of New Mexico, the defendant, THOMAS R. RODELLA, during and in relation to a crime of violence for which the defendant may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, specifically, deprivation of civil rights under color of law, as charged in Count I of this indictment, knowingly carried and brandished a firearm, and in furtherance of such crime, possessed and brandished said firearm.

All in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii).

Court's Final Jury Instructions (with citations) at 12, filed September 26, 2014 (Doc. 129)("Final Jury Instructions")(citing Stipulated Jury Instructions, Parties' Stipulated Instruction No. 12 at I, 18, filed September 10, 2014 (Doc. 59)(12. Superseding Indictment Charges)(adapted); Superseding Indictment at 1-2, filed September 9, 2014 (Doc. 54)). The Court gave the jury the following instructions regarding Count 2:

Mr. Rodella is charged in Count 2 with a violation of 18 U.S.C. section 924(c)(1).

This law makes it a crime to use or carry and brandish a firearm during and in relation to any crime of violence for which a person may be prosecuted in a court of the United States.

To find Mr. Rodella guilty of this crime you must be convinced that the United States has proved each of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

First : Mr. Rodella committed the crime of deprivation of civil rights, as charged in Count I of the indictment. If you find Mr. Rodella committed the crime of deprivation of civil rights, as charged in Count I of the indictment, you are instructed that deprivation of civil rights is a crime of violence;

Second : Mr. Rodella used or carried a firearm and brandished that firearm;

Third : during and in relation to the crime of deprivation of civil rights;

The phrase "during and in relation to" means that the firearm played an integral part in the underlying crime, that it had a role in, facilitated (i.e., made easier), or had the potential of facilitating the underlying crime.

Mr. Rodella knowingly "uses" a firearm when it (1) is readily accessible and (2) is actively employed during and in relation to the underlying crime.

Mr. Rodella knowingly "carries" a firearm when he (1) possesses the firearm through the exercise of ownership or control and (2) transports or moves the firearm from one place to another.

A defendant knowingly "brandishes" a firearm when he displays all or part of the firearm, or otherwise makes the presence of the firearm known to another person, with the intent to intimidate that person, regardless of whether the firearm is directly visible to that person.

In determining whether Mr. Rodella knowingly used or carried and brandished a firearm during and in relation to the underlying crime, you may consider all of the facts received in evidence including the nature of the crime, the usefulness of a firearm to the crime, the extent to which a firearm actually was observed before, during and after the time of the crime, and any other facts that bear on the issue.

A firearm plays an integral part in the underlying crime when it furthers the purpose or effect of the crime and its presence or involvement is not the result of coincidence. The government must prove a direct connection between Mr. Rodella's use or carrying of the firearm and the underlying crime but the crime need not be the sole reason Mr. Rodella used or carried the firearm.

The term "firearm" means any weapon that will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive. The term "firearm" also includes the frame or receiver of any such weapon, or any firearm muffler or firearm silencer, or destructive device.

Final Jury Instructions at 25-26 (citing Tenth Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions Criminal 2.45, at 153-54 (20...