U.S. v. Lopez

Decision Date24 October 2001
Docket NumberNos. 00-1812,00-1888,00-1938 and 00-1992,00-1848,s. 00-1812
Citation271 F.3d 472
Parties(3rd Cir. 2001) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. LOUIS LOPEZ, JR., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. HERNAN NAVARRO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. JUAN CRISPIN, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. DELROY JOSIAH
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

On Appeal from the District Court of the Virgin Islands (D.C. Criminal No. 99-CR-00016-1,2,3,4) District Judge: Honorable Raymond L. Finch, Chief Judge

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Warren B. Cole, Esq. [argued] Hunter, Colianni, Cole & Bennett 1138 King Street, Suite 301 Christiansted, St. Croix Usvi 00820 Counsel for Appellant Louis Lopez, Jr.

Patricia Schrader-Cooke, Esq. [argued] Office of Federal Public Defender P.O. Box 3450 Christiansted, Saint Croix Usvi 00822 Counsel for Appellant Hernan Navarro.

Jean-Robert Alfred, Esq. [argued] 27 & 28 King Cross Street Christiansted, St. Croix Usvi 00820 Counsel for Appellant Juan Crispin.

Wilfredo A. Geigel, Esq. [argued] Law Offices of Wilfredo A. Geigel P.O. Box 25749, Gallows Bay Christiansted, St. Croix Usvi 00824 Counsel for Appellant Delroy Josiah.

Bruce Z. Marshack, Esq. [argued] Office of United States Attorney 1108 King Street, Suite 201 Christiansted, St. Croix Usvi 00820 Counsel for Appellee United States of America.

Before: McKEE, Rendell and Barry, Circuit Judges

OPINION OF THE COURT

Rendell, Circuit Judge

Beginning in the late hours of September 22, 1998, and ending early the following morning, four men invaded three homes in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. By the time the four had completed their crime spree, Orlando Orta was dead and Concepcion Garcia Orta, James Sorhaindo, Reynoldson Ferrol, Jacklyn Tredway, and Thomas Barrows had all been assaulted. After an investigation, the police arrested four men: Juan Crispin, Delroy Josiah, Louis Lopez, Jr., and Hernan Navarro. Their trial and conviction form the basis for this appeal.

Crispin, Josiah, Lopez, and Navarro ("the defendants") raise a variety of issues. The most significant of these affects all four defendants and presents an issue of first impression: does Pinkerton liability1 apply in the Virgin Islands? The defendants also challenge various evidentiary rulings and the sufficiency of the evidence of carjacking and gun possession. In addition, the defendants argue that the District Court erred by not conducting voir dire of a juror to determine bias, and by not granting a hearing in response to a charge of prosecutorial misconduct.2 On the issue involving Pinkerton liability, we find that the doctrine does exist in the Virgin Islands. With respect to this issue, and all other issues raised, we will affirm the rulings of the District Court.

I. FACTS

The trial involved defendants' conduct at three different residential locations in St. Croix:

A. 338 Estate Mount Pleasant

On the evening of September 22, 1998, a group of men invaded 338 Estate Mount Pleasant, the home of James Sorhaindo. Sorhaindo's friend, Reynoldson Ferrol, was also in the house at the time. The two were beaten and robbed by three masked assailants. Sorhaindo saw the face of one assailant, and, at trial, he testified that he thought that Navarro was his attacker. Sorhaindo also identified two watches and a chain that the police found outside the window of the third crime scene.

There were two eyewitnesses associated with this crime, Eugenio Guadalupe and Maha Joseph. Guadalupe testified that she saw Josiah, Crispin and Lopez from her residence, Building Five of the Paradise Project, which is in the vicinity of 338 Estate Mount Pleasant, around the time the crime occurred. Joseph testified that he lived in Building Four of the Paradise Project, and that he had been questioned regarding what he had seen around that same time. He stated that he had gone to the police station and told them what he had seen. However, he denied having identified the defendants, instead expressing his "love" to the defendants in the courtroom and insisting that he had been forced to testify. A police officer, Lieutenant Secundino Roman Cruz, then took the stand to rebut Joseph's testimony, stating that Joseph had come to the police station on September 23, 1998, the day after the crime, and identified Crispin, Josiah and Lopez as having been in the vicinity of 338 Estate Mount Pleasant around the time of the crime.

B. 56 Estate Enfield Green

In the early morning hours on September 23, 1998, Jackie Tredway and Thomas Barrows were outside Tredway's residence, 56 Estate Enfield Green, when they were attacked, taken into the house, beaten with a gun, and kicked repeatedly. Their assailants told them that if they did not hand over their money, they would be killed. The intruders also insisted that Tredway give them the keys to her van.

After the attack, Tredway looked at photo spreads and picked out two men who she said bore a resemblance to one of her assailants. Neither of those pictures depicted any of the defendants. However, in court, she did identify one assailant, Crispin, whose face she had seen under a flashlight.3 She also testified that she had seen Crispin in a store and recognized him then as having been one of the intruders. She added that when she saw the picture of Crispin in the paper, she knew he was the man who had attacked her.

Tredway also identified items and photos of items that the police had recovered, including her car keys. Some of these items were found in her van, which had been abandoned next to one of the crime scenes, while others were recovered either at the site of the third crime scene or at Lopez' house.

C. 66 Estate Enfield Green

The most serious crimes occurred at the last location, 66 Estate Enfield Green, the home of Concepcion Garcia Orta and her husband Orlando Orta. The couple was asleep in bed. The assailants entered the home and shot at the couple. Mrs. Orta's hand was mutilated by one gunshot; another killed her husband. The intruders stole cash, a chain and a watch.

At trial, Mrs. Orta identified the watch that had been stolen, which the police discovered during their search of Josiah's residence. The police recovered many items at the Orta home that were taken from the two previous crime scenes, including a camera and minicassette player that Tredway later identified as hers. The police also found a knife outside the Ortas' bedroom window, with a fingerprint matching Navarro's. Additionally, a shoe print was lifted matching Josiah's boot print, and a slug found in the door was determined to have come from Crispin's gun. The doctor who treated Mrs. Orta in the emergency room also testified regarding her injuries, and photos of her hand were introduced into evidence over a defense objection that they were prejudicial and should not be admitted based on Fed. R. Evid. 403.

D. Searches of Defendants' Homes

In a series of searches of the defendants' homes, the police uncovered a variety of incriminating items. In the home of Lopez, the police found a bag with Sorhaindo's name on it containing two VCRs, a striped bag with Tredway's van keys in it, ammunition similar to that found at the Orta home, slugs matching those found both at the Orta home and Josiah's residence,4 and clothing matching the descriptions given by victims. In Josiah's residence, police discovered boots with a print matching that found at the Orta home, a watch later identified as Mr. Orta's, and slugs matching both those found at the Orta home and at Lopez' home.5 And in the residence that Navarro shared with other family members, the police found a camouflage jacket with a gun in the pocket and camouflage pants and a t-shirt, clothing that matched the victims' descriptions of the assailants' clothing.6

E. Crispin's Arrest

On October 20, 1998, police officers were responding to a complaint near Paradise Project when they spotted a Nissan driven by Crispin. Once the officers were in pursuit, the Nissan turned a corner and the police saw a person flee the vehicle. After unsuccessfully chasing the individual, they saw the car still had someone in it. The police discovered Crispin in the driver's seat, sitting with the seat reclined back in an apparent attempt to hide. Crispin did get out of the car after the police instructed him to do so, but he aroused further suspicion by throwing his keys inside the locked car as he was closing the door. The police officers then spotted what appeared to be marijuana on the front seat and called for back-up. Crispin told Sergeant Pemberton, one of the responding officers, that there was a gun under the seat. A forensics officer came to the scene and recovered a weapon and ammunition from under the driver's seat. At trial, ballistics expert Gregory Bennerson testified that a slug from the Orta home had been fired from this same gun, and also that the same gun had expelled a cartridge onto the porch under the window of that home.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 6, 1999, defendants Crispin, Josiah, Lopez and Navarro were charged in a twenty-two count indictment. At their consolidated trial, victims Ferrol, Sorhaindo, Tredway, Barrows and Orta were among those witnesses that testified on behalf of the government. Eyewitnesses Guadalupe and Joseph took the stand, as did Lieutenant Cruz, who testified regarding what Joseph had originally told the police. Another police officer, Jonathan Hitesman, testified regarding the collection of evidence at the Orta home, where items from Tredway's home, a knife with Navarro's fingerprint, a slug from Crispin's gun, and a shoe print matching Josiah's boot were found. In addition, the government presented four expert witnesses: Sandra Wiersma, who identified the boot print found outside 66 Enfield Green as matching Josiah's; Gregory Bennerson, who testified as a ballistics expert and determined that slugs found at the Orta home came...

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