United States v. Flowers
| Citation | 281 F.Supp.3d 166 |
| Decision Date | 11 January 2018 |
| Docket Number | Criminal Action No. 15–23 (BAH) |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America v. David FLOWERS, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
David B. Kent, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for United States of America.
The defendant, David Flowers, was sentenced to 120 months' incarceration on his guilty plea, pursuant to a plea agreement, to two counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 ; two counts of attempted interference with interstate commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 ; one count of armed robbery, in violation of D.C. Code §§ 22–2801 and – 4502 ; and one count of possession of a firearm during commission of a crime of violence, in violation of D.C. Code § 22–4504. See Judgment in a Criminal Case ("Judgment") at 1–2, ECF No. 72. The defendant also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 120 months' incarceration, to run concurrently with the aforementioned sentence, on two counts of an information filed in the District of Maryland charging interference with interstate commerce by robbery and attempted interference with interstate commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951. See Judgment in a Criminal Case, United States v. Flowers , No. 16–cr–63 (BAH) (D.D.C. filed Jul. 18, 2016), ECF No. 20 ("Maryland Judgment"). Ten months after his sentencing, the defendant filed the pending pro se Motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence ("Def.'s Mot."), ECF No. 79, claiming that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in multiple respects and requesting an evidentiary hearing. For the reasons below, the defendant's motion is denied.
Set out below are the facts underlying the defendant's conviction, as presented during an evidentiary hearing on defense counsel's motion to suppress, see Evidentiary Hr'g Tr. dated Nov. 6, 2015 ("Evid. Hr'g Tr."), ECF No. 31, and summarized in the Statement of Offense accompanying the Plea Agreement, which facts were admitted by the defendant at the time of his guilty plea, see Stmt. of Offense, ECF No. 57; Plea Agreement, ECF No. 56; Plea Hr'g Tr. dated April 14, 2016 ("Plea Hr'g Tr.") at 24–26, ECF No. 84, followed by a summary of the hearings held regarding the defendant's guilty plea and sentencing.
From 2014 to 2015, shortly after being released from detention pending a trial in Maryland state court on a rape charge, see Gov't's Mot. Admit Other Crimes Evid. ("Gov't's Rule 404(b) Mot.") at 25 n. 12, ECF No. 12, the defendant committed a string of robberies in Maryland and the District of Columbia, on an almost monthly basis. He became known to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Metropolitan Police Department as the "Early Bird Bandit" given his modus operandi of walking into small, local chain stores, usually shortly before the stores were fully open and staffed, and intimidating the employees by brandishing a firearm. See Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 24–25. During these robberies, the suspect wore similar, distinctive items of clothing, including a black ski mask, hooded sweatshirts, and two-toned gloves, as evidenced on video surveillance of several robberies. Id. at 26–29, 124–25. Identical clothing items were later seized by law enforcement during lawful searches of his car and residence. Id. at 96–99, 126.
The first armed robbery to which the defendant admitted took place on the morning of October 13, 2014, when the defendant, wearing two-toned gloves and a dark-gray hooded sweatshirt with fluorescent green drawstrings, entered a Murry's Food store in Washington, D.C., brandished a silver and black firearm, or imitation thereof, at two employees and forced them to enter an office inside the store. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 2; Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 36–41. The defendant asked one of the employees to open the safe, removed approximately $900, and exited the store through the front door. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 2. An identical sweatshirt was later seized during the execution of a search warrant at the defendant's residence. Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 126.
On the morning of November 15, 2014, the defendant entered a different Murry's Food store in Washington, D.C., wearing a dark sweatshirt with light-colored drawstrings, a ski mask, and, again, two-toned gloves. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 3; Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 41, 127. The defendant again brandished a silver and black firearm, or imitation thereof, and ordered an employee to go inside an office near the front of the store. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 3. After the employee opened the safe, the defendant removed an undetermined amount of cash and exited the store. Id. Following this pattern, on the morning of December 10, 2014, the defendant entered a Rainbow clothing store in Washington, D.C., brandishing a black firearm or imitation thereof. Id. ¶ 4. The defendant escorted two employees to cash registers in the rear of the store, instructed them to open a safe, removed $1,706.95, and exited the store with the money. Id.
Then, on December 26, 2014, the defendant entered a CVS Pharmacy in Capitol Heights, Maryland, again wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a ski mask and brandishing a silver and black firearm, or imitation thereof. Id. ¶ 5; Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 57. He escorted an employee to an office inside the store, instructed him to open a safe, removed $9,000, and exited the store with the money. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 5. This time, however, a GPS device hidden in one of the bundles of cash that the defendant stole led the police to a cul-de-sac near the intersection of 57th Street and Foote Street. Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 58–59, 77–78, 130. The same GPS device also showed that the driver stopped at the intersection of Southern Avenue and East Capitol Street SE, where a traffic camera captured a picture of a gold-colored four-door Buick LaCrosse. Id. at 80–85. The defendant's wife, Terri Holman, was, at the time, renting a gold Buick LaCrosse from Enterprise. Id. at 86.
In addition to those successful armed robberies, the defendant also admitted, as part of his plea, to several attempted robberies in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Specifically, on January 18, 2015, the defendant entered a different CVS Pharmacy in Washington, D.C., wearing his two-toned gloves and a dark sweatshirt with light-colored drawstrings, and walked through the aisles before standing in aisle seven. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 6. When an employee approached him, the defendant brandished a silver and black firearm, or imitation thereof, before demanding that the employee open an office door. Id. ; Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 50. When the employee refused and walked away, the defendant exited the store. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 6.
After months of searching for the "Early Bird Bandit," investigators reaped the fruits of their efforts in early February 2015. On the morning of February 5, 2015, the defendant, again wearing a ski mask and two-toned gloves, entered a KFC restaurant in Clinton, Maryland, through a back door near the drive-through window and encountered an employee in an office. Id. ¶ 7; Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 63–64. The defendant brandished a silver and black firearm, or imitation thereof, and demanded money, but when the employee informed him that the employee could not access the money at that location, the defendant fled out the back door on foot. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 7. Critically, security footage of the restaurant's parking lot revealed that the suspect fled in a gold or silver Buick LaCrosse, matching the vehicle that was captured on camera after the December 26, 2014, robbery and that was rented by the defendant's wife, Terri Holman. Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 82–86, 131–32. That night, the police canvassed the area around 57th Street and Foote Street, the cul-de-sac indicated by the GPS tracking device. Id. at 85. The police found both a gold and a silver 2015 Buick LaCrosse parked in front of the defendant's residence, a mere five houses away from where the GPS device was disabled after the December 26, 2014, robbery. Id. at 85–87, 143.
The next day, on the morning of February 6, 2015, the defendant entered a Popeye's restaurant in Washington, D.C., wearing a dark sweatshirt with white drawstrings, a black ski mask, and two-toned gloves, again brandishing a silver and black firearm, or imitation thereof, and forced three employees to enter the kitchen area. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 8; Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 52–53. The defendant asked one employee to open the safe, but when the employee said she did not have access to the safe, the defendant exited the restaurant. Stmt. of Offense ¶ 8. FBI Agent Jeff Johannes later interviewed the Popeye's employee, who confirmed that the perpetrator of this robbery matched the description of the perpetrator of the CVS and KFC robberies. Evid. Hr'g Tr. at 90. While he was responding to this attempted robbery, MPD Detective Chad Howard observed the driver of a gold Buick LaCrosse at a nearby traffic light, looking at the police activity at Popeye's. Id. at 95, 135–36. Howard and his partner, Investigator Joseph Tridico, followed the Buick, which they discovered had the same license plate as the gold Buick the officers knew was leased by the defendant's wife. Id. at 136–37.
While Howard and Tridico were following the Buick, the driver made a right turn without using a turn signal. Id. at 116, 136–39. During the ensuing stop of the car, the officers observed that the defendant matched the height, build, and complexion of the perpetrator of the robberies, including the attempted robbery at Popeye's that morning, id. at 132–33, and also observed, in plain view on the front passenger seat of the defendant's car, a dark hooded sweatshirt with white drawstrings similar to the sweatshirt observed on the perpetrator in the previous armed robberies, and a black ski mask. Id. at 141–42. In the storage pocket on the rear of the driver's seat, Howard observed the tip of...
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