Aguwa v. United States

19 F. App'x 289
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 13, 2001
DocketNo. 99-1937
StatusPublished

This text of 19 F. App'x 289 (Aguwa v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aguwa v. United States, 19 F. App'x 289 (6th Cir. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION

RICE, District Judge.

Maximus Aguwa appeals from the district court’s denial of his motion to vacate his conviction, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, on the basis of newly discovered evidence. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. Factual Background

Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) agents met with a confidential informant on October 11, 1994, to make a controlled purchase of heroin from a suspect named Anthony Brown. While waiting for Brown, who never appeared, the female informant recognized another individual, an unidentified male who has been referred to as “Tiger” because he wore Detroit Tigers baseball apparel. Tiger motioned for the informant to join him at a pay phone and then expressed his willingness to help her secure the heroin that she sought. After Tiger made several telephone calls, Aguwa arrived driving a BMW. The informant reached into the car through the passenger’s side window and took a small package of heroin from Aguwa in exchange for $5,500.

Aguwa was later identified on the basis of the BMW’s registration and photo[291]*291graphs obtained from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. After the issuance of a criminal complaint, he voluntarily surrendered to the authorities. Following Aguwa’s indictment on one count of distributing a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), the case proceeded to a jury trial. At the outset, the United States informed the district court that, despite its diligent efforts, the confidential informant could not be located and, therefore, would not be called as a witness. As a result, the district court precluded Aguwa from introducing evidence to impeach the informant.

At trial, the United States called DEA agents Michael Brown, Steven Mitchell and Steven Bowler to testify. The three agents had observed the drug transaction, and they each identified Aguwa as the BMW driver who supplied heroin to the informant. In opposition to this testimony, Aguwa presented the testimony of his wife, Sonia, who told the jury that he was with her at the time in question and that the BMW was not “available to him” that day. The jury subsequently convicted Aguwa, and the district court sentenced him to 21 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. This court affirmed Aguwa’s conviction and sentence on direct appeal. See United States v. Aguwa, 123 F.3d 418 (6th Cir.1997).

Thereafter, on August 26, 1998, Aguwa filed a motion to vacate his conviction, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, on the basis of newly discovered evidence. In support of his motion, Aguwa provided the district court with, inter alia, an affidavit from the confidential informant, whom his attorney had located in a county jail. After reviewing a photograph of Aguwa, the informant . averred that she was “certain that the man in the photograph which I was shown by [Aguwa’s attorney] is not the man who was driving the BMW at the time of the heroin transaction on October 11, 1994.” JA at 448.

The district court held a two-day evidentiary hearing on Aguwa’s motion in January, 1999. The court then denied the motion on August 2, 1999, finding (1) that the United States did not mislead the court or defense counsel regarding the informant’s availability to testify at trial, and (2) that the informant’s testimony at the evidentiary hearing was not credible. Id. at 107-27. A separate judgment entry was filed on August 5, 1999. Id. at 128. This court granted a certificate of appealability on March 29, 2000. Id. at 136-37.

II. Issue for Review

The sole issue for which this court granted Aguwa a certificate of appealability is “[w]hether newly discovered evidence relating to the confidential informant and the government’s alleged suppression of that evidence warrant a new trial.” Id. at 137.

III. Analysis

On appeal, Aguwa contends that the United States misled his attorney and the district court regarding its diligence in attempting to secure the confidential informant’s appearance for trial. In particular, Aguwa asserts that the government made no effort to assure the informant’s appearance, despite the fact that she had been in Detroit police custody until approximately one week before his trial. According to Aguwa, the government’s failure to serve the informant with a subpoena or to place a detainer on her deprived him of her testimony, which was crucial to his defense and which likely would have resulted in an acquittal. As a result, Aguwa insists that he is entitled to a new trial.

On a motion to vacate brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, this court reviews a district court’s legal conclusions de novo [292]*292and its factual findings for clear error. Napier v. United States, 159 F.3d 956, 959 (6th Cir.1998). In order to obtain a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence, a defendant must establish that “the evidence (1) was discovered only after trial, (2) could not have been discovered earlier with due diligence, (3) is material and not merely cumulative or impeaching, and (4) would likely produce an acquittal if the case were retried.” United States v. Garland, 991 F.2d 328, 335 (6th Cir.1993). In the present case, the district court held that Aguwa satisfied the first three requirements but failed to satisfy the fourth. JA at 124. In reaching this conclusion, the district court found that the informant’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing was not credible. In relevant part, the district court reasoned:

Aguwa submits that the confidential informant corroborated his defense by pointing out that he was not the driver of the BMW during the drug transaction. During the evidentiary hearing, the Court heard testimony from the confidential informant whose testimony was not persuasive and was, at best, confusing and contradictory. In an affidavit, which was filed with the Court on September 9, 1998, the confidential informant stated that she “was certain that the man in the photograph which I was shown by [Aguwa’s attorney] is not the man who was driving the BMW at the time of the heroin transaction on October 11, 1994.” (C.I.’s Aff. ¶ 4.) However, when the confidential informant was asked during the evidentiary hearing whether Aguwa was the man who had operated the BMW at the time of the “heroin transaction,” she responded with the following statement: “I can’t say yes, because I don’t know. Because he looks like an African man. I don’t know. I don’t remember seeing him.” (1/8/99 Evidentiary Hr’g at 106) Furthermore, when the confidential informant, upon being shown a picture of Aguwa, was asked if he was the driver of the BMW, she replied with the following statement: “Once again, sir, I can’t say. He don’t look familiar to me.

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Related

United States v. George Harper
609 F.2d 1198 (Sixth Circuit, 1979)
United States v. Alvin G. Sharp
778 F.2d 1182 (Sixth Circuit, 1985)
United States v. Alvin Moore
954 F.2d 379 (Sixth Circuit, 1992)
United States v. William Howard Garland
991 F.2d 328 (Sixth Circuit, 1993)
United States v. Maximus Aguwa
123 F.3d 418 (Sixth Circuit, 1997)
Ralph Napier v. United States
159 F.3d 956 (Sixth Circuit, 1998)

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Bluebook (online)
19 F. App'x 289, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aguwa-v-united-states-ca6-2001.