Rodriguez v. State, No. PM02-5928 (RI 10/17/2005)
| Decision Date | 17 October 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. PM02-5928,PM02-5928 |
| Parties | REYNALDO RODRIGUEZ v. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Rhode Island |
In this action for post-conviction relief, petitioner Reynaldo Rodriguez challenges his conviction after trial by jury in January 2000, as affirmed by the Rhode Island Supreme Court in State v. Rodriguez, 798 A.2d 435 (R.I. 2002), for possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia with the intent to deliver. Rodriguez contends that his defense attorney, John M. Cicilline, denied him the effective assistance of counsel by failing to introduce critical exculpatory evidence at trial. He faults his prior counsel for not calling as a witness or presenting the prior sworn testimony of Emiliano Pagan at trial to establish an innocent explanation for defendant Rodriguez's fingerprints being on the box of drug paraphernalia carrying heroin residue in evidence upon which the jury premised its finding that the defendant was in possession of contraband and drug paraphernalia with the intent to deliver.
For the reasons set forth in this Decision, this Court finds that petitioner Rodriguez has failed to meet his burden of proving that his defense counsel's conduct at trial was objectively unreasonable or that such conduct caused the defendant serious prejudice. Accordingly, Rodriguez's petition for post-conviction relief is denied.
The facts relevant to this petition are drawn largely from the underlying criminal trial, as set forth in the Rhode Island Supreme Court's decision on appeal in State v. Rodriguez, 798 A.2d 435 (R.I. 2002). Additional facts emerge from the evidence connected with the post-conviction hearing.
At trial, Sgt. Joseph Lennon of the Providence Police Department testified as to his investigation and subsequent search and seizure of evidence. On May 19, 1997, he executed a search warrant for heroin and "any articles relating to the sale and or use of narcotics" at the Rogers Recreational Center in Providence. In the affidavit for the search warrant, the Providence Police named Leo Cronan, Jr., petitioner's uncle by marriage and Director of the Center, as the target of the investigation. In the affidavit, Sgt. Lennon stated that he believed that Cronan was conducting heroin trafficking in the Center and that he was storing heroin there. He referenced information from a confidential informant, who was working at the Center, that Cronan was observed storing heroin in the ceiling of the shower room and that Cronan was in sole possession of the keys to that room.
As the Providence Police arrived at the Center to execute the search warrant, they were met by Cronan, who was found to be in possession of a set of keys. Sgt. Lennon found that one of the keys that had been on Cronan's person opened a door leading to the shower area. Cronan testified that he had loaned the keys to the Center to five people on occasion, including Rodriguez, who was his nephew by marriage. Cronan asserted that the keys were "like a city key" and could not be copied.
During the search of the shower area, the officers discovered a box containing approximately forty rounds of .45-caliber ammunition above a ceiling panel. In the same location, Sgt. Lennon also discovered a shoe box containing twenty-three separate items, including a coffee sifter containing white residue, two plastic sifters with white residue, ink stamps, scotch tape, masking tape, a digital gram scale, a glass pestle containing white residue, a banking card, a paint brush, a stainless steel spoon, empty glassine packets, a plastic bag, and some rubber bands. A field test conducted by Sgt. Lennon indicated that the white residue on the pestle was heroin which was confirmed by subsequent laboratory tests. The toxicology tests also confirmed that the white residue found on the coffee sifter and the two plastic sifters was heroin.
Based on his experience in narcotics investigations, Sgt. Lennon testified that all of the items in the shoe box were used for "bagging heroin," a process by which heroin is cut with other ingredients to reduce its strength before placing it in smaller bags for sale on the street. He acknowledged that all items found in the box could be purchased legally.
In addition to the testimony from Sgt. Lennon concerning the seizure of the items and his investigation, the State presented the expert testimony of Detective Williams. The Court qualified Detective Williams as an expert in fingerprint identification. He testified that he discovered latent fingerprints on the coffee mill, the glass pestle, and the ammunition box that matched Rodriguez's fingerprints. Specifically, he matched the print of Rodriguez's right ring finger to the print on the coffee mill, the print of Rodriguez's right thumb to the print found on the pestle, and Rodriguez's left thumb print to the print found inside the ammunition box. Detective Williams also identified a palm print on the shoebox as belonging to Rodriguez. He noted that there were two other palm prints on the shoebox that he positively identified as belonging to Emiliano Pagan.
As the investigation continued, Sgt. Lennon questioned Cronan at the police station and determined that he had no knowledge of the items in the box. As a result, the Providence Police brought no charges against him.
Following the discovery of the latent fingerprints and the other evidence, Sgt. Lennon charged Rodriguez and Pagan with possession of heroin with the intent to deliver, distribution or manufacturing of heroin within 300 yards of a school and conspiracy with one another to possess heroin with the intent to deliver. The Court ordered Rodriguez and Pagan held without bail on the new charges, pending a bail hearing.
On May 29, 1997, upon being charged with the new offenses, the State charged Rodriguez, pursuant to Rule 32(f) of the Rhode Island Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure, as an alleged violator of a previously imposed suspended sentence for possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Attorney John M. Cicilline represented Rodriguez with respect to the violation. On June 24, 1997, Rodriguez admitted to being a violator and Justice William J. Dimitri, Jr. removed the suspension, imposed an eighteen-month jail term at the Adult Correctional Institutions and re-imposed the remaining portion of the suspended sentence with probation previously imposed. Id. The Court released Rodriguez on bail on the new charges. See State v. Reynaldo Rodriguez, PM 97-2657. It should be noted that Rodriguez did not resolve the new charges against him at the time of his admission to violation based on those charges; rather, he merely admitted to being in violation of his previously imposed suspended sentence. See State v. Reynaldo Rodriguez, C.A. No. P2/92-3222A (admission to violation); State v. Reynaldo Rodriguez, C.A. No. P2/98-4273A (new charges).
On the same date, Pagan entered a plea of nolo contendre to the new charges (inclusive of the charge of conspiracy with Rodriguez to possess heroin with the intent to deliver). Justice Dimitri sentenced him to ten years at the ACI, with one year to serve and nine years suspended, nine years probation, to run concurrently as to all charges. See State v. Emiliano Pagan, P297-2248A.
On December 1, 1998, the Rhode Island Department of Attorney General filed a criminal information against Reynaldo Rodriguez, charging him with possession of heroin with the intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia with the intent to deliver and conspiracy with Emiliano Pagan to possess heroin with the intent to deliver. State v. Reynaldo Rodriguez, C.A. No. P2/98-4273A. On January 26, 2000, that case went to trial before a jury in the Providence County Superior Court. Attorney John M. Cicilline again represented Rodriguez.
Prior to trial, the defense filed discovery pursuant to Rule 16 of the Rhode Island Rules of Criminal Procedure by which it notified the State that it intended to call Emilio Pagan as a witness for the defense at trial and that he would testify consistent with his affidavit dated March 24, 1998 that was attached to the discovery response. Id.; see Petitioner's Exhibit 1 to Post-Conviction Hearing. The defense, however, made no attempt to present any testimony of Pagan at trial. Instead, the defense sought to prove that Cronan was the sole possessor of the drug paraphernalia at issue. The Court determined that the evidence was sufficient to allow the charges to be decided by the jury and denied Rodriguez's Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal.
On January 28, 2000, after a two-day jury trial, the jury convicted Rodriguez of one count of possession of heroin with the intent to deliver, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia with the intent to deliver, and one count of conspiracy with Pagan to possess heroin with the intent to deliver. This Court sentenced Rodriguez to a term to twenty-five years at the ACI, with fifteen years to serve and ten years suspended, ten years probation. The Court also sentenced Rodriguez to a consecutive five year term to serve as a habitual offender, without the possibility of parole.1
The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the convictions on June 4, 2002. See State v. Rodriguez, 798 A.2d 435 (R.I 2002). On appeal, Rodriguez challenged his convictions, arguing that the Court erred in submitting the case to the jury, as the evidence was legally insufficient for a jury to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant possessed the drug paraphernalia by dominion and control or that he possessed heroin with the intent to deliver. Id. Rodriguez also claimed that the Court erred in qualifying the State's fingerprint expert. Id. At a pre-briefing conference, a single justice of the Supreme Court vacated the defendant's conviction and sentence on the conspiracy charge and dismissed the second count of the criminal information based on the State's concession,...
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