Triplett v. Reardon
| Docket Number | Civil Action 20 Civ. 1064 (RA) (SLC) |
| Decision Date | 31 March 2023 |
| Parties | OMAR (NAFTALI) TRIPLETT, Petitioner, v. P. REARDON, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
THE HONORABLE RONNIE ABRAMS, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE:
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
On February 7, 2020, Omar Triplett (“Triplett”) filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (“Section 2254”) challenging his 2001 robbery convictions, for which he was sentenced to a total of 115 years in prison. (ECF No. 1 (the “First Petition”)). Among the six claims that Triplett included in the First Petition were a Fourth Amendment claim and a challenge to the length of his sentence. (Id. at 5-14). In a supplemental petition filed on January 11, 2023, Triplett asserted seven additional claims, including ineffective assistance of trial counsel newly discovered evidence, and actual innocence. (ECF No. 70-1 ()). Respondent P. Reardon (“Respondent”),[1]opposed the Petitions on the grounds that they are untimely and fail to state a claim for relief under Section 2254. (ECF Nos. 34; 34-1; 72 (collectively, the “Opposition”)). For the reasons set forth below, I respectfully recommend that the Petitions be DENIED.
Triplett was born in Manhattan in 1978, and was raised by his parents in a mosque until he was six, at which time he moved with his mother and sister to Atlanta. (ECF No. 35 at 158). After several years of homelessness, his father moved to Newark, New Jersey, and in 1992, Triplett joined him there. (Id. at 158, 182, 188). Triplett was expelled from high school, was placed in a youth facility, and worked as a messenger before spending the rest of his life “on the streets.” (Id. at 158, 182). Triplett's criminal history reflects charges from 1994 through 1999 in Manhattan, Newark, Atlanta, and Toronto, the robbery charges arising from incidents in Manhattan in January 2000, and second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon charges for a stabbing in Brooklyn on January 16, 2000. (Id. at 158-59, 183, 188, 260).
Mental health records attached to the Petition indicate that, as a student, Triplett had an IQ score of 89 and was classified with a learning disability. (ECF No. 1 at 25). While incarcerated, Triplett was admitted for inpatient mental health treatment at the Central New York Psychiatric Center (“CNYPC”) on four occasions between May 2005 and June 2014. (Id. at 25-27).
A May 2005 mental health evaluation recorded that Triplett admitted to being “a very violent person” and displayed “odd thinking [that] seem[ed to be] an artifact of his personality and psychopathy, rather than any true psychotic process.” (Id. at 26). In a discharge summary from his 2007 inpatient treatment, which followed an altercation with a corrections officer, it was noted that “there appeared to be little benefit from antipsychotic medications . . . and [his] sporadic compliance did little to alter his mental status.” (Id. at 25). His inpatient admission in 2008 resulted from his “making threats of self harm[.]” (Id.) Following his admission to inpatient treatment in 2014, he was “uncooperative, hostile, paranoid, and very violent[.]” (Id. at 27).
Triplett's challenged convictions stem from a series of robberies and attempted robberies in Manhattan in early January 2000. (See ECF No. 1 at 40-41). On the morning of January 11, 2000, Triplett approached Luis Ramos (“Ramos”), a UPS delivery worker, on East 59th Street in Manhattan, pointed a knife at Ramos' stomach, and demanded money. (ECF No. 35 at 150, 204-05). After Ramos gave Triplett approximately $80.00, Triplett put the knife to Ramos' neck and demanded “the rest of” his money, insisting that “UPS guys have thousands” of dollars. (Id. at 150, 205). Ramos explained that he did not have any additional money, and as Triplett began to walk away, he turned to ask Ramos where he was from. (Id.) When Ramos responded that he was from the Bronx, Triplett returned the cash, stating that he did not rob people from the Bronx. (Id.)
A few minutes later, Dr. Renee Rodriguez-Sains (“Dr. Rodriguez-Sains”) observed Triplett walking back and forth near a UPS truck on East 59th Street, and crossed the street to avoid Triplett. (ECF No. 35 at 151, 206). As Dr. Rodriguez-Sains reached the curb, Triplett grabbed him, spun him around, put a knife to his chest, and said, “Give me your money or I'll kill you[.]” (Id.) Seeing Triplett's agitation, Dr. Rodriguez-Sains told him to “take it easy” and surrendered his wallet, which contained $110.00. (Id. at 151, 206-07). Triplett demanded Dr. Rodriguez-Sains' Armani scarf, which Triplett put around his own neck, and then thrust the knife inside Dr. Rodriguez-Sains' suit jacket, cutting the pocket and demanding more money. (Id. at 151, 207). Dr. Rodriguez-Sains told Triplett, “Relax, I'll give you anything you want[,]” and began to remove his Rolex watch. (Id.) As he did so, Triplett cut Dr. Rodriguez-Sains' wrist with the tip of the knife, leaving a scar. (Id.) Triplett took the Rolex and fled. (Id.)
A waitress in a nearby restaurant observed Triplett rob Dr. Rodriguez-Sains, and called 911. (ECF No. 35 at 151, 208). Two other witnesses to the robbery followed Triplett toward Madison Avenue and described the robbery to a New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) officer, who made a call on her radio and began to follow Triplett. (Id. at 151-52, 208-09). At the corner of Madison and East 55th Street, Triplett knocked Mark Jacoby (“Jacoby”) to the ground, put a knife to his face, and demanded his money and watch. (Id. at 152, 209-10). At that moment, the officer who had been following Triplett yelled, “Police, freeze[,]” causing Triplett to flee before he could anything from Jacoby. (Id. at 152, 210).
NYPD officers and civilians pursued Triplett as he entered a bank building on East 53rd Street and boarded an elevator. (ECF No. 35 at 152). A bank employee boarded the elevator in which Triplett was riding, but exited before her destination floor because he was acting strangely. (Id. at 152, 211-12). On the 19th floor, Triplett banged on the door of an office, and an employee admitted him. (Id. at 152). Triplett asked the employee how to access the roof, and after the employee told him there was no roof access, Triplett told him to “shut the fuck up” and walked to the back of the office. (Id.)
Moments later, the office manager of a law firm on the 18th floor of 515 Madison Avenue, which was next to the bank building, was taking a break on the rooftop terrace when a knife fell near her. (ECF No. 35 at 152-53, 213-14). She looked up to see Triplett hanging from the roof of the bank building above her, then letting go and falling onto an air conditioning unit ten feet from where she was standing. (Id. at 153, 214). Triplett jumped up, grabbed the knife, and chased her into the building, where she locked herself in an office and alerted her co-workers that a man with a knife was trying to enter. (Id.) The office manager and several of her coworkers barricaded themselves in an office to hide from Triplett. (Id. at 153, 215). Carrying the knife, Triplett boarded the elevator, in which a deli employee wearing an apron and cap was riding. (Id. at 153). Triplett demanded that the deli employee give him the apron and cap, put them on, exited the elevator, and walked out of 515 Madison. (Id. at 153-54, 215). Dr. Rodriguez-Sains, whom police had brought to the bank building, saw Triplett leaving 515 Madison, dressed differently than at the time of the robbery, but dismissed the observation as impossible and mentioned it to the police only sometime later. (Id. at 154, 216).
On January 16, 2000, Canadian Customs agents stopped Triplett as he attempted to cross the border from Buffalo, New York into Fort Erie, Canada on a bus. (ECF No. 35 at 38, 154, 217). The bus was stopped at the border as part of a routine inspection in which all passengers were required to show citizenship identification. (Id. at 217). Triplett was found with, inter alia, two knives-one of which he had used during the January 11, 2000 robberies-a sword, a Pennsylvania state identification card in the name of Umar Ahmed (the “PA ID Card”), a United States passport in the name of Naftali Triplett, and a spiral notebook (the “Notebook”). (Id. at 38, 96-101, 217-19). After Canadian Customs agents declined to admit Triplett into Canada for lack of valid identification, they turned Triplett and his possessions over to United States Customs Agents. (Id. at 155, 218-20). United States Customs agent Craig Healy (“Healy”) found among Triplett's possessions a New York State identification card in the name of Naftali Triplett and showing a different birthday than the PA ID Card (the “NY ID Card”). (Id. at 155). In the Notebook, Healy saw handwritten statements about plans to rob people, obtain a new identity, kill police officers, and travel to Sudan or Germany, statements that Triplett claimed were “entertainment” and “fantasy[.]” (Id. at 156, 221-22). One statement in the Notebook dated January 13, 2000 read: (ECF No. 35 at 222). Other statements expressed disdain for Americans and Jewish people. (ECF No. 35 at 221-22). After reading these entries, Healy called the NYPD to relay the Notebook entries, some of which he faxed. (ECF No. 35 at 223).
The Customs agents left Triplett unhandcuffed in a “holding cell” or “detention room.” (ECF No. 35 at 156,...
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