Valle v. Fla. Dep't of Corr

• Decision Date: 13 April 2022
• Docket Number: 1:14-cv-20061-KMW/Becerra
• Parties: LUIS GUSTAVO DEL VALLE, Movant, v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Respondents.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

LUIS GUSTAVO DEL VALLE, Movant, v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Respondents.

No. 1:14-cv-20061-KMW/Becerra

United States District Court, S.D. Florida

April 13, 2022

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ^[1] ON LUIS GUSTAVO DEL VALLE'S PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 2254

JACQUELINE BECERRA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon Luis Gustavo Del Valle's (“Petitioner” or “Del Valle”) Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (“Petition”). ECF No. [1]. Petitioner filed a Memorandum of Law in Support of Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus. ECF No. [51]. Respondent Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, filed its Response to the Petition, ECF No. [54], and Del Valle filed his Reply, ECF No. [55]. Therefore, the Petition is ripe for disposition. After careful review of the Petition, the relevant authorities, the record, and for the reasons discussed below, it is hereby RECOMMENDED that the Petition be GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Underlying Criminal Case Against Del Valle

This case stems from a “drug rip.” ECF No. [54] at 3. Shortly before midnight on August 18, 2005, Leo Dan Gonzalez and his friend, John McGill, drove to a location near Goodlet Park in Hialeah, Florida, intending to sell cocaine to Lisbet Carvajal. Id. When Gonzalez and McGill arrived, Carvajal approached their car on the passenger side. Id. While Carvajal was standing by the car, several assailants walked towards them, and Carvajal fled. Id. While Carvajal was fleeing, she heard a single gunshot, which mortally wounded Gonzalez. Id. A police investigation into Gonzalez's homicide ensued. Id.

B. The Police Investigation Into The Homicide

Following Gonzalez's homicide, the Hialeah Police Department suspected that the crime might have been gang-related. Id. at 7. A detective in the Hialeah Gang Investigation Unit, Gordon Spitler, was told that the homicide possibly involved members of the Hillside Gangsters. Id. at 9. In the evening of August 19, 2005, Detective Spitler saw Del Valle walking down the street late with his girlfriend, Lasserole Perez.^[2] Id. at 8-9. Detective Spitler knew Del Valle from Del Valle's association with the Hillside Gangsters^[3] and he believed that as a member of the Hillside Gangsters, Del Valle might have information about Gonzalez's homicide. Id. at 9.

Detective Spitler stopped and asked Del Valle if he would take a ride with him to talk to a detective at the police station. Id. Detective Spitler told Del Valle that after he spoke with detectives at the police station he would be allowed to go home. Id. Detective Spitler conceded that he did not have probable cause to arrest Del Valle at that time. Id. Del Valle and his girlfriend got in the detective's unmarked car, and Detective Spitler took them both, unhandcuffed, to the Hialeah Police Department. Id. at 7, 9. Del Valle, who was born on August 13, 1987, was just five days into his eighteenth birthday when the homicide occurred. ECF No. [51] at 2.

Once at the Hialeah Police Department, Detective Carlos Arango met Del Valle in Detective Hart's office at 12:30 a.m. ECF No. [54] at 7, 9. During Del Valle's interview, his girlfriend remained in another detective's office. Id. at 7. Detective Arango introduced himself to Del Valle as the detective in charge of a homicide investigation. Id. at 9. Detective Arango advised Del Valle that he was a suspect and administered Miranda warnings. Id. In a lengthy unrecorded conversation that lasted approximately three hours, Del Valle specifically denied any involvement in Gonzalez's homicide and indicated that he would not discuss anything related to the homicide. Id. at 10. Del Valle, however, told Detective Arango that he was willing to look at photographs and advise Detective Arango if he knew the persons in the photographs. Id.

Detective Arango then showed Del Valle photographs of Hillside Gangsters members, which included photographs of individuals who were suspects in the homicide. Id. Specifically, Detective Arango showed Del Valle seven photographs. Id. As Del Valle was shown each photograph, Del Valle was directed to write on the photograph whether he knew the person and to sign each photograph. Id. Del Valle indicated that he knew Cesar Hernandez, Surgio Hooker, and Lasserole Perez-his girlfriend. Id. Del Valle, however, denied knowing Juan Carlos Atanache, Jorge Gomez, Larry Perez, and Ricberto Lebraya. Id.

After this preliminary interrogation, Del Valle agreed to give a recorded statement regarding what he had discussed with Detective Arango. Id. The recording began at 3:36 a.m. Id. After several minutes of the taped discussion, Del Valle stated that he did not want to speak anymore. Id. at 11. Specifically, the following exchange took place between Del Valle and Detective Arango:

Q. Okay.

A. Now I'll tell you what I know.

Q. Are there, I'm sorry?

A. (speaking too low.)

Q. No, we're going, we're going over all the papers and then we'll get to that. What other papers do I have. Earlier today we looked at a group of photographs, and I showed you this photo and is that your signature at the bottom of that photo?

A. Yes.

Q. And above that photo, what does that say?

A. I don't know.

Q. I don't know him. And, did you write that in there yourself?

A. Yeah.

Q. Okay. And, did I initial there next to the picture after you?

A. Yeah.

Q. For the record, that is a photograph of Juan Carlos Etanche (Phonetic)? I also showed you this second photo, and is that your signature at the bottom of that photo?

A. Ah.

Q. Did you

A. Pause it for a second so I can tell you something.

Q. You can tell me something, go ahead.

A. I don't want to speak no more. I had told you before on this tape.

Q. So you don't want to talk to me about if this is your signature or not?

A. Yeah, that's my signature.

Q. Okay.

A. I don't want to speak no more.

Q. See, now I'm the one that needs a little explanation. What I'm going through right now is simply to verify that the different signatures on these pieces are yours.

A. I know.

Q. We can do that all at once, or, we can do them one at a time. However you feel more comfortable.

A. Ah.

Q. I know that you don't want to talk about the facts of the case, and I told you I'd give you the opportunity to do that now. So, you know, that's fine, we won't go that far. But is it okay to just verify the signature on these papers? You're shaking your hand, your head?

A. No.

Q. No?

A. I don't want to speak no more.

Q. Okay, so this will conclude the statement given by Luis Gustavo Del Valle, who no longer wants to talk about this case and does not want to continue going over the forms that we reviewed earlier. The time now is 3:43 A.M. and the date is August 20th, 2005. And this concludes the recording.

ECF No. [13-3] at 52:3-54:9.

After the recording was stopped, Detective Arango asked Del Valle if he was all right, and Del Valle told him that he wanted to think about what he wanted to say. ECF No. [54] at 12. Detective Arango then told Del Valle that he was going to speak with his girlfriend and asked Del Valle if he did not mind waiting in the office while he spoke with her. Id. Del Valle agreed and waited in the office. Id. Detective Arango went to a different room and spoke with Lasserole Perez between 4:10 a.m. and 5:20 a.m. Id. at 12-13. Detective Arango took Lasserole Perez's recorded statement from 5:06 a.m. to 5:20 a.m., and during that time he obtained information in furtherance of his investigation. ECF No [13-3] at 58:13-25. After concluding his interview with Lasserole Perez, Detective Arango testified that he “went back to the office [where] Luis Del Valle was, and [] informed him [that he] finished speaking to his girlfriend.” Id. at 59:1-5. According to Detective Arango, at that point Del Valle said he wanted to tell Detective Arango what happened. ECF No. [54] at 13. Del Valle spoke with Detective Arango from 5:30 a.m. to 6:18 a.m. and gave a second recorded interview that ended at 6:58 a.m. Id. During that second recorded statement, Del Valle admitted to participating in the robbery that resulted in Gonzalez's death on August 18, 2005. See id. at 8.

On March 16, 2006, Del Valle and three co-defendants-Juan Carlos Atanache, Jorge Gomez, and Larry Perez-were indicted on: (1) one count of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, under section 782.04(2), Florida Statutes (2005); (2) two counts of armed robbery with a firearm while wearing a hood or mask-a felony of the first degree under section 812.13(2)(A), Florida Statutes (2005); and (3) one count of armed carjacking-a felony of the first degree under section 812.133(2)(A), Florida Statutes (2005). ECF Nos. [54] at 6-7; [13-9] at 4.

C. Del Valle's Motion to Suppress

Prior to trial, Del Valle filed a Motion to Suppress the confession that he gave detectives. Id. at 8. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing on the Motion to Suppress on March 31, 2008. Id. At the hearing, the State first called Detective Spitler. ECF No. [13-3] at 14:22-15:1. Detective Spitler testified that in August 2005, he was contacted about a homicide possibly involving the Hillside Gangsters. Id. at 17:14-25. Detective Spitler explained that, at the time, it was his job to identify gang members by picture, speak with gang members, identify what gang they were part of, and keep “tabs on what everybody [was] doing.” Id. at 18:13-21. Detective Spitler stated that he had documented a picture of Del Valle and had identified that he was a member of “Grimmey People, ” who had broken off from the Hillside Gangsters. Id. at 18:2219:9. Detective Spitler testified that that day after the homicide, while he was canvassing the area, he encountered Del Valle who was walking...