Wolfe v. Bock, 01-10053-BC.
| Court | United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Court (Eastern District of Michigan) |
| Citation | 412 F.Supp.2d 657 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-10053-BC.,01-10053-BC. |
| Parties | Daniel Lee WOLFE, Petitioner, v. Barbara BOCK, Respondent. |
| Decision Date | 31 January 2006 |
Chari K. Grove, Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, Detroit, MI, for Petitioner.
Jerrold E. Schrotenboer, John G. McBain, Jr., Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, Jackson, MI, for Respondent.
The petitioner, Daniel Lee Wolfe, presently confined at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan, seeks the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In his application, filed with the assistance of counsel from the Michigan State Appellate Defender's Office, the petitioner challenges his conviction and sentence of one count of first-degree felony murder, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.316(b), and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.227b ("felony firearm"). He was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder conviction and two years in prison for the felony firearm conviction, to be served consecutively. The petitioner asserts that he is in custody in violation of his constitutional rights because the prosecution failed to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence, his trial counsel was ineffective, there was a fifteen-year delay between the crime and the trial, the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, the prosecutor made improper statements, and a biased juror tainted the jury pool during voir dire. The respondent asserts that the claims are procedurally defaulted or without merit. Although the Court finds, with one exception, that the petitioner's claims are not barred by the doctrine of procedural default, the Court concludes that the petitioner's claims are without merit. Therefore, the petition will be denied.
The petitioner's convictions result from the killing of Donald Reynolds, who was murdered in the early morning hours of September 4, 1980 during a robbery outside of the bar that he owned in Jackson, Michigan. No one was arrested immediately after the crime, but the investigation was reactivated after authorities received information from a confidential informant fourteen years later. The petitioner and co-defendant Gregory Derbyshire eventually were charged with first-degree felony murder, first-degree premeditated murder, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. They were tried jointly but with separate juries. The Derbyshire jury returned its verdict first; both defendants ultimately were found guilty of first-degree felony murder, felony firearm, and armed robbery. The armed robbery convictions were vacated later.
A.
The trial was held in the Jackson County, Michigan Circuit Court in January 1996. The prosecution's main witness was Gary Raab, a former friend of the petitioner and Derbyshire who claimed to be with them when they committed the crime. During his initial police interview in December 1994, Raab told the police that he knew nothing about the crime. At his second police interview six months later, which was tape recorded in the presence of his attorney, Raab vaguely described driving around in a car with the defendants on the night of the crime. The recording of this interview was disclosed to the petitioner's attorney only after trial. Raab gave a third statement on September 8, 1995, which matched his trial testimony more closely. Defense counsel was given this statement before trial.
At the January 1996 trial, Raab gave a detailed and disjointed account of the events surrounding the robbery. Raab testified that on the evening of September 3, 1980, he and Joe Griehs met up with the petitioner and Derbyshire at the Westwood Mall in Jackson. Raab and Griehs agreed to ride around and smoke marijuana with the petitioner and Derbyshire. As Raab and Griehs rode in the backseat of the car and Derbyshire drove, the petitioner informed the men that he knew of a place where they could steal a lot of money and offered to split the proceeds with Raab and Griehs if they assisted. The four men eventually stopped at the Silver Rail Bar, which was owned by Reynolds. When they arrived at the bar, Griehs and Raab refused to assist the petitioner and Derbyshire in stealing the money. Derbyshire parked the car at the end of the bar's parking lot, got out of the car, went to the trunk, and then came back. After telling Raab and Griehs that they were going to "jump off the building and steal the guy's money," the petitioner and Derbyshire began walking towards the bar. Tr. at 856.
Raab testified that he waited twenty minutes for the petitioner and Derbyshire to return. Then he got into the front seat of the car and drove it to the Jackson Recreational Trailer Park across the street from the bar to determine if Derbyshire or the petitioner were on the roof. When Raab was unable to observe any activity, he returned to the bar's parking lot. The petitioner and Derbyshire returned ten to fifteen minutes later, saying that they had not done anything. Derbyshire then drove the car through the trailer park until a person approached the car. As Raab and Griehs attempted to hide themselves in the backseat, the person who approached the vehicle asked the men what they were doing and whether they were looking for someone, to which one of the occupants replied that they were looking for "Terry." Tr. at 863. Then the group left the trailer park and dropped Joe Griehs at his house. Raab explained that he would have gotten out of the car at Griehs's house and walked home, but he was "too high" to walk. Tr. at 864. Instead of taking Raab home, Derbyshire suggested that the men return to the bar and get the money. When Raab repeatedly asked to be taken home, Derbyshire told him to shut up.
Raab testified that the three men returned to the Silver Rail Bar. Derbyshire and the petitioner said that they were going to steal the money, got out, and headed for the back of the car. Raab laid back in the back seat and heard a noise. He sat up, looked out the window, heard a gunshot, and saw a flash of light. Through that flash of light, Raab claimed that he could see the petitioner, Derbyshire, and an older man all bunched up together and face to face with one another. Raab got down in his seat again and the petitioner and Derbyshire returned to the car. Derbyshire was hiding a box under his shirt and the petitioner kept saying, "Why, Greg, Why?" Trial Tr. at 871. When Raab asked what the "bang" noise was, the petitioner and Derbyshire both told Raab that he had heard nothing.
Derbyshire drove to an open field where he and the petitioner got out. Derbyshire tossed Raab a bag of marijuana and told him to stay in the car. Then Derbyshire and the petitioner went to the trunk of the car and then into the field. Raab eventually got out of the car and saw that the petitioner and Derbyshire had taken off some of their clothing. Derbyshire had a handgun and was waving it around. Raab did not observe any rifles.
Derbyshire drove the three men over to an apartment on 17th Street where the petitioner lived with Donna Kilgore, his girlfriend. The petitioner and Derbyshire got out of the car and knocked on the apartment door; an unidentified person let them in. A few minutes later, Raab entered the apartment and saw Derbyshire and the petitioner arguing, and Donna Kilgore yelling and asking what was going on. The petitioner asked Derbyshire if he had shot or hurt someone. Raab asked both men if they had hurt anybody. Then Raab returned to the car. The petitioner and Derbyshire came out later to drive Raab home.
When Raab returned to the petitioner's apartment the next morning, he noticed that all the blinds and curtains were shut. When Raab tried to open the curtains, Derbyshire and the petitioner came running from the kitchen and told him to close them. Raab also noticed a box containing personal checks on a shelf and some change laying on a couch cushion partially covered by a blanket. After Derbyshire and the petitioner left the apartment, Raab helped Donna Kilgore clean the apartment and burn some garbage, including the box with the checks.
Raab admitted that he was testifying against the petitioner and Derbyshire in exchange for immunity from prosecution. On cross-examination, Raab admitted telling Detective Clifton Edwards during his first interview that he could not recall anything concerning the incident. Raab said that he only recovered his memory of the events after having spoken with Detective Edwards in December of 1994, through "flashes" that he had in his sleep. Raab also told Detective Edwards that he had a grudge against the petitioner.
Joe Griehs testified that he had no memory of sitting in the back of the car with Gary Raab on the night of the homicide. However, Griehs testified that one week before the homicide, he rode in the petitioner's car with the petitioner, Derbyshire, and another person. On that occasion, the petitioner parked his car in the trailer park, and the petitioner and Derbyshire got out of the car and walked towards the Silver Rail Bar. Griehs saw a fairly large man walk out of the bar carrying a box along with something long, like a rifle. The man locked the door of the bar, then walked to a Suburban, unlocked it, got in and drove away. Five or ten minutes later, when the petitioner and Derbyshire returned to the car, Derbyshire said, "We're going to have to get up on the roof and jump off." Tr. at 727. On cross-examination, Griehs admitted that he never heard the petitioner plan a robbery of the Silver Rail Bar. Griehs also testified that the petitioner had recovered $35,000 in a personal injury settlement from a car accident in which Gary Raab was the driver....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Stewart v. Wolfenbarger, Civil No. 05-10196.
...voluntarily participated in robbing a victim using a firearm, even though that defendant was not the actual shooter." Wolfe v. Bock, 412 F.Supp.2d 657, 682 (E.D.Mich.2006). However, the Court has found no case—and the respondent has cited none—in which the mere act of furnishing a gun to be......
-
Nali v. Phillips, Case No. 07-CV-15487.
...confidence in the outcome of the case, since a variety of other impeachment evidence was admitted in this case. See Wolfe v. Bock, 412 F.Supp.2d 657, 676-77 Therefore, the Court finds that trial counsel's trial strategy in this case was sound. He thoroughly cross-examined Complainant about ......
-
Davis v. Woods, Civil No. 2:14-CV-11015
...ineffectiveness of counsel cannot constitute cause to excuse petitioner's default with respect to his claims. See Wolfe v. Bock, 412 F. Supp. 2d 657, 684Page 12 (E.D. Mich. 2006). Because petitioner has not demonstrated any cause for his procedural default, it is unnecessary to reach the pr......
-
Christian v. Hoffner, Case No. 13-CV-11491
...occur by the Court declining to review Petitioner's procedurally defaulted public-trial claim on the merits. See, e.g., Wolfe v. Bock, 412 F. Supp. 2d 657, 684 (E.D. Mich. 2006) ("The petitioner has not presented any new reliable evidence to support a claim of actual innocence. Therefore, t......
-
Stewart v. Wolfenbarger, Civil No. 05-10196.
...voluntarily participated in robbing a victim using a firearm, even though that defendant was not the actual shooter." Wolfe v. Bock, 412 F.Supp.2d 657, 682 (E.D.Mich.2006). However, the Court has found no case—and the respondent has cited none—in which the mere act of furnishing a gun to be......
-
Nali v. Phillips
...confidence in the outcome of the case, since a variety of other impeachment evidence was admitted in this case. See Wolfe v. Bock, 412 F.Supp.2d 657, 676-77 Therefore, the Court finds that trial counsel's trial strategy in this case was sound. He thoroughly cross-examined Complainant about ......
-
Davis v. Woods, Civil No. 2:14-CV-11015
...ineffectiveness of counsel cannot constitute cause to excuse petitioner's default with respect to his claims. See Wolfe v. Bock, 412 F. Supp. 2d 657, 684Page 12 (E.D. Mich. 2006). Because petitioner has not demonstrated any cause for his procedural default, it is unnecessary to reach the pr......
-
Webster v. Horton, Civil No. 2:18-CV-11941
...ineffectiveness of counsel cannot constitute cause to excuse petitioner's default with respect to his claims. See Wolfe v. Bock, 412 F. Supp. 2d 657, 684 (E.D. Mich. 2006). Because petitioner has not demonstrated any cause for his procedural default, it is unnecessary to reach the prejudice......