Steven St. Fleur v. Ricci

• Decision Date: 17 January 2012
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 10-0864 (WJM)
• Parties: STEVEN ST. FLEUR, Petitioner, v. MICHELLE RICCI, et al., Respondents.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey

STEVEN ST. FLEUR, Petitioner,

v.MICHELLE RICCI, et al., Respondents.

Civil Action No. 10-0864 (WJM)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

Dated: January 17, 2012

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

OPINION

APPEARANCES:

Petitioner pro se

Steven St. Fleur

New Jersey State Prison

Trenton, NJ 08625

Counsel for Respondents

Leeann Cunningham

Special Deputy Attorney Gen.

Essex Co. Asst. Prosecutor

Essex Co. Veterans Courthouse

Newark, NJ 07102

Debra Grace Simms

Essex Co. Prosecutor's Office

Newark, NJ 07102

WILLIAM J. MARTINI, District Judge

Petitioner Steven St. Fleur, a prisoner currently confined at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey, has submitted a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The respondents are Michelle Ricci and the Attorney General of New Jersey.

For the reasons stated herein, the Petition will be denied.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The relevant facts are set forth in the opinion of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.¹

Briefly, on July 28, 2001, a large barbecue was held in Maplewood. Defendant and co-defendants Greg Ulysse and Fangshiyu Floxeril were at the barbecue. Emmanuel Previllon and Edner Pierre were also in attendance. A confrontation began when Ulysse entered the party and saw Previllon looking at Ulysse's girlfriend. Ulysse shouted at Previllon that he was going to kill him. Defendant was somewhere in the crowd. Ulysse then crossed the street only to return about two minutes later, bringing a group of men with him, including defendant.

When the group of men returned to the party, the argument continued. Ulysse passed Florexil an automatic gun. Florexil then took a few steps toward Previllon and pushed him. Moments later, Ulysse took the gun back from Florexil and fired a shot into the air. At this point, the police arrived and everyone at the party dispersed.

Reginald Fils and Emmanuel Marrow left the barbecue. They then met up with Previllon, Pierre and Andre Richmond in Irvington. Marrow returned home while Fils, Previllon, Pierre and Richmond continued on to a party at Richmond's house in Newark.

Approximately forty-five minutes to an hour later, a black Pathfinder pulled up outside of Richmond's house. Fils testified that as the vehicle pulled up he could see Ulysse in the front passenger seat. Florexil, the owner of the Pathfinder, was the driver. EdsonSainte and defendant were the other two occupants of the Pathfinder. Ulysse signaled to Previllon with a hand wave to meet him down on the corner of Kerrigan Boulevard and Varsity Road. Richmond decided he did not want to go, however, Fils, Pierre and Previllon decided to drive to the corner in an Acura.

As Previllon got close to where the Pathfinder was parked, he began to backup the Acura. Pierre yelled, "Emmanuel, guns." Previllon panicked. The rear of the Acura hit the front of the Pathfinder. Sainte, a passenger in the Pathfinder, testified that Ulysse exited the vehicle with a gun, the same gun he saw Ulysse place in the center console after the shooting.

Pierre, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Acura, was shot in the head and killed while still in the car. Fils and Previllon ran from the vehicle in different directions. Fils made it to a taxi, which he took back to Irvington. Previllon was later found dead on the sidewalk.

Florexil, was shot on the left side of his back. He testified to hearing about fifteen shots. While still on the ground, he saw that defendant had a revolver in his hands.

After the shooting, Ulysse, Sainte and defendant drove Florexil to the hospital. While driving to the hospital, Sainte testified to hearing Ulysse say, "I think I hit one" and defendant responding with, "I think I got one too." Sainte also heard defendant say to Ulysse, "we got to lay low for a while."

Defendant testified that he did not have a gun at the time of the shooting and rather, upon hearing the gunshots, ran behind the Pathfinder and laid on the ground. Defendant testified that the only person he saw with a gun was Ulysse.

According to defendant, after leaving the hospital, he stopped by his house, and then he and Ulysse went to Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was common for him to go to Allentown because his son and son's mother lived there. Defendant admitted to saying "we have to lay low for a while," but testified that he was not worried about the police, but rather, that someone would come after him from the shooting.

Five months later, defendant was stopped while driving a motor vehicle displaying an expired inspection sticker in Allentown. Defendant produced a New Jersey driver's license with a different name. A computerized license plate check revealed that the license had been suspended by the State of New Jersey. The driver's license was seized and the vehicle impounded. However, defendant was released.

Subsequent police investigation connected defendant to the double homicide in Newark. Further investigation led to a house at Prospect Avenue in Allentown where Ulysse was located. Ulysse was arrested. Later that same day, police officers responded to another address defendant was known to frequent. There, the mother of defendant's son answered the door and gave the officers consent to search the residence. Defendant was found sleeping in the basement. He was placed under arrest. A search of the premises was conducted, which yielded a red knapsack, containing a .38 caliber revolver with five spent bullet casings and one empty chamber.

A few days later, the police searched an Acura Legend. A Bryco semiautomatic pistol was found in the vehicle. Lens Dextra, owner of the vehicle, testified he did not know how the gun got there.

Newark Police Detective Luis Alarcon, an expert in the field of firearms and ballistics examination, testified that the nine-millimeter casings found at the scene, as well as the first three projectiles tested, including one received from the medical examiner, were discharged from the Bryco semiautomatic pistol found in Dextra's vehicle. Alarcon determined that this pistol was used to kill Previllon. Alarcon further testified that the remaining five casings, as well as the other three projectiles, including one received from the medical examiner, were fired from the Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver found in the knapsack retrieved from the home where defendant was apprehended. Alarcon determined that this revolver was used to kill Pierre.

State v. St. Fleur, 2009 WL 2567987, *1-*2 (N.J. Super. App. Div. Aug. 21, 2009). In addition, Florexil testified as a witness for the State, relating that he had observed Petitioner with arevolver in his hand. State v. St. Fleur, 2006 WL 2883078, *2 (N.J. Super. App. Div. Oct. 12, 2006).

B. Procedural History

Petitioner and co-defendant Gregory Ulysse were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2 and N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3 (count one); two murders, of Emmanuel Previllon and Edner Pierre, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(1) and (2) (counts two and three); second-degree aggravated assault on Reginald Fils, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(1) (count four); third-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b (count five); and second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a (count six). Another co-defendant, Fangshiyu Florexil, was charged in count five, as well.

Florexil pled guilty to the weapons charge. The trial of co-defendant Ulysse was severed. After a trial lasting several days, a jury acquitted Petitioner of the murder of Pierre and lesser included crimes regarding that charge, and of the aggravated assault charge. The jury convicted Petitioner of conspiracy to commit murder, of the murder of Emmanuel Previllon by conspiring with Gregory Ulysse, and of the two weapons crimes. The trial court sentenced Petitioner to an aggregate sentence of thirty years without parole. Judgment was entered on September 4, 2003.

Petitioner commenced his direct appeal by filing a notice of appeal on April 26, 2004.² On October 12, 2006, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey affirmed the conviction. State v. St. Fleur, 2006 WL 2883078 (N.J. Super. App.Div. Oct. 12, 2006). On October 18, 2006, Petitioner timely filed his notice of petition for certification. The Supreme Court of New Jersey denied certification on January 12, 2007. State v. St. Fleur, 189 N.J. 428 (2007). Petitioner did not file a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.

Petitioner filed his first state petition for post-conviction relief on February 6, 2007. The trial court denied relief on August 22, 2007. Petitioner appealed on November 14, 2007,³ and the Appellate Division affirmed the denial of relief on August 21, 2009. State v. St. Fleur, 2009 WL 2567987 (N.J.Super. App.Div. Aug. 21, 2009). On October 8, 2009, Petitioner filed his notice of petition for certification and motion for leave to file the notice of petition "as within time";⁴ the Supreme Court of New Jersey granted the motion on October 23, 2009. The Supreme Court of New Jersey denied certification on December 16, 2009. State v. St. Fleur, 200 N.J. 549 (2009).

This Petition, dated February 11, 2010, followed. Here, Petitioner asserts the following grounds for relief: (1) there was insufficient evidence to convict Petitioner of murder and conspiracy to commit murder; (2) Petitioner was deprived of a fair trial when the trial judge explained to the jurors the meaning of "No Bill"; (3) the instruction on conspiracy to commit murder deprived Petitioner of due process; (4) the failure to charge lesser-included offenses to murder deprived Petitioner of due process; (5) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion to suppress evidence obtained during a search of the home of Theresa Eunice's mother, including a knapsack used by Petitioner and another and which contained the gun allegedly used to kill Edner Pierre, which Petitioner was acquitted of; (6) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call...