Sutton v. Mackie
| Decision Date | 23 March 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 2:18-cv-10802 |
| Parties | JOSEPH ANTHONY SUTTON, Petitioner, v. THOMAS MACKIE, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
Honorable Sean F. Cox
Petitioner Joseph Anthony Sutton, a state prisoner in custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections, filed an amended habeas corpus petition challenging his state convictions for second-degree murder and two firearm offenses. He alleges as grounds for relief that: (1) the state prosecutor suppressed evidence that a key witness was threatened; (2) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to notify the trial court that death threats were made against the prosecution witness to induce his trial testimony; (3) trial counsel's failure to produce expert witnesses was prejudicial; and (4) appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise certain issues on direct review. Having reviewed the pleadings and the state-court record, the Court concludes that Petitioner's claims do not warrant habeas relief. Accordingly, the Court will deny the amended habeas corpus petition. The Court also will not issue a certificate of appealability, but it will grant Petitioner permission to appeal this decision in forma pauperis.
Petitioner was charged with first-degree, premeditated murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony ("felony firearm"), and felon in possession of a firearm. The charges arose from the fatal shooting of Eugene Dixon, also known as "Bo," in Detroit, Michigan on January 28, 2006. In June of 2006, a boater cruising on the Detroit River saw the body floating in the river. The body was wrapped in a black trash bag that was secured with an electrical cord which had brake rotors attached to it.
The police provided drawings of the victim's face and body tattoos to the media, and about four months after the body was recovered from the river, Siniqua Blessitt ("Blessitt"), identified the body as her estranged husband, Eugene Dixon. Two years later, Charmane Murphy ("Murphy") implicated Petitioner in the crime. Petitioner was arrested, and in 2010, he was tried before a jury in Wayne County Circuit Court. The key witnesses were Blessitt, Murphy, Juanita Richardson ("Richardson"), and Andre Christian ("Christian").
Blessitt testified that she became concerned about Dixon on January 27, 2006, when Dixon did not return to her house to pick up their children, as he had promised to do. She knew Petitioner because Dixon had been to Petitioner's upper flat on Springle Street in Detroit. On February 7, 2006, Blessitt called Petitioner because he was the last caller listed on Dixon's phone. Petitioner told Blessitt that he had not seen Dixon and that he was looking for him also.
Blessitt called Petitioner again a few days later and asked him whether he had heard from Dixon. Petitioner said, "No," and he asked Blessitt why she kept calling himand whether she was trying to set him up with the police. She never heard from Petitioner again.
On October 15, 2006, Blessitt heard about a missing man whose body had been found. She recognized a tattoo on Dixon's chest during a newscast. She went to the police department and subsequently identified the body at the morgue.
Murphy testified that she had an off-again, on-again, relationship with Petitioner. She also testified that Petitioner was her daughter's father and that she and Petitioner had lived at the house on Springle Street for a while. One day after she moved out of the house, Petitioner came to her home and said that he had to kill Dixon over some clothes. Petitioner then explained to Murphy that he, Dixon, and someone named Theron had agreed to split up some stolen clothes and to refrain from touching the clothes when Dixon went away. Dixon then left the premises.
When Dixon returned to the house on Springle, he got upset because people were shopping for the clothes from Petitioner and Theron. Petitioner cautioned Dixon not to get upset in front of the customers, but Dixon remained irritated. After telling the customers to leave the premises, Petitioner informed Dixon that he was going downstairs to get some bags so that they could divide up the clothes. Petitioner then acquired a gun from the neighbor downstairs. He then went back upstairs where he shot Dixon in the back of the head. He and Theron later wrapped Dixon in some bags, put the body in a truck, and buried him at the foot of Alter Road and Jefferson Avenue.
Murphy testified that sometime after Petitioner made those admissions to her, she and Petitioner saw Blessitt in a parking lot. Petitioner told Murphy that if Blessitt kept pointing him out to people, he was going to get rid of her, too.
On October 30, 2008, Murphy went to the police department in Warren, Michigan, and implicated Petitioner in the crime. A few days later, she gave a statement to the officer in charge of Petitioner's case, and at trial, she denied fabricating the things that Petitioner had told her.
Richardson was seventeen years old at Petitioner's trial. She testified that she was Murphy's cousin and that one time when she was fifteen years old, Murphy came to her house and began talking to Petitioner on the phone. The phone was on speaker, and Richardson overheard Petitioner say that he had killed a person and if anyone got in his way, he would have the person erased. On October 30, 2008, Richardson went the Warren Police Department with Murphy and gave a statement much like her trial testimony.
Christian testified that he was Petitioner's cousin and that in 2008, he lived with Petitioner on Pinewood Street in Detroit. One time when Petitioner was "high," Petitioner told Christian that a guy had owed him money, they had an altercation, he shot and killed the man, wrapped the man in a bag, and got rid of the body.
Christian stated that in 2009, he and Petitioner were incarcerated in the Wayne County Jail, and when a police officer came to see him, he provided a statement. In exchange for his testimony at Petitioner's trial, his probation was reduced from two years to one year.
Petitioner testified in his own defense. He claimed that Murphy's testimony about his alleged admissions was not true, and that Christian and Richardson also had testified falsely about him being involved in the shooting. He claimed that what he had said to Murphy was mere rumors he had heard about the killing and that, according to the rumors,Dixon was shot during an argument with Theron over possession of a gun. Petitioner also testified that Murphy had mental issues, and that he had explained to her that he was not present during the shooting and had nothing to do with it.
Petitioner denied telling Murphy on one occasion that, if Blessitt kept looking at him in a certain way, he would do her just like he did Dixon. He countered Blessitt's testimony by explaining that he had refused to provide Blessitt with information because he had outstanding warrants for failure to pay child support and that he did not want any contact with the police.
Petitioner stated that Christian was a thief and that he did not get along with him. He suggested a motive for Christian's testimony by claiming that he had given $25,000 to Christian's grandmother for her house shortly before he was arrested and that the grandmother still had the money.
On April 16, 2010, the jury found Petitioner guilty of second-degree murder, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.317, as a lesser-included offense of first-degree murder. The jury also found Petitioner guilty, as charged, of felony-firearm, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.227b, and felon in possession of a firearm, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.224f. On May 26, 2010, the trial court sentenced Petitioner as a habitual offender to a term of eighty to one hundred twenty-five years in prison for the murder conviction, a concurrent term of two to five years for the felon-in-possession conviction, and a consecutive term of two years in prison for the felony-firearm conviction.
In an appeal of right, Petitioner argued through counsel that (1) trial counsel's failure to present evidence that Christian was biased against Petitioner constitutedineffective assistance; (2) the trial court erred by sua sponte reading a jury instruction on second-degree murder even though neither party wanted the instruction, and trial counsel's failure to object to the instruction constituted ineffective assistance; and (3) the prosecution violated his constitutional right to a fair trial by emphasizing an officer's opinion that Murphy was telling the truth, and trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the remark.
In a pro se supplemental brief, Petitioner argued that: (1) the prosecution violated his right to a fair trial by refusing to disclose information favorable to the defense; (2) trial counsel failed to present evidence that information provided by Murphy was linked to third-party sources; (3) trial counsel failed to mark and present portions of Murphy's mental health records as exhibits; and (4) trial counsel's failure to object to the prosecutor's improper closing argument was ineffective assistance.
The Michigan Court of Appeals rejected Petitioner's claims and affirmed his convictions in an unpublished, per curiam opinion. See People v. Sutton, No. 299262, 2012 WL 3020386 (Mich. Ct. App. July 24, 2012). Petitioner presented the same claims to the Michigan Supreme Court in an application for leave to appeal. On November 20, 2012, the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal because it was not persuaded to review the issues presented to it. See People v. Sutton, 493 Mich. 897; 822 N.W.2d 772 (2012).
In 2013, Petitioner filed a habeas...
To continue reading
Request your trial