Antone v. State

410 So. 2d 157
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJanuary 28, 1982
Docket61594, 61621 and 61622
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 410 So. 2d 157 (Antone v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Antone v. State, 410 So. 2d 157 (Fla. 1982).

Opinion

410 So.2d 157 (1982)

Anthony ANTONE, Petitioner/Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Respondent/Appellee.

Nos. 61594, 61621 and 61622.

Supreme Court of Florida.

January 28, 1982.

*158 Thomas D. McCoun, III of Louderback & McCoun, St. Petersburg, for petitioner/appellant.

Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., George R. Georgieff, Asst. Deputy Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Charles Corces, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for respondent/appellee.

PER CURIAM.

We have for our consideration a motion for stay of execution, a petition for writ of error coram nobis asking the Court to grant a new trial on grounds of newly discovered evidence, and an expedited appeal from a denial of two motions for post-conviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. The factual bases for the coram nobis petition are also included in the grounds of one of the motions for 3.850 relief. This Court originally affirmed the conviction and sentence of death in our decision reported as Antone v. State, 382 So.2d 1205 (Fla.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 913, 101 S.Ct. 287, 66 L.Ed.2d 141 (1980). A detailed statement of the facts of this case is contained in that opinion. For the reasons *159 expressed, we deny the relief requested and deny the motion for stay of execution.

In this consolidated proceeding, appellant seeks relief claiming (1) newly discovered evidence which assertedly is exculpatory and was withheld by the state in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), and United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976); (2) the exclusion of certain prospective jurors contrary to the principles of Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968); (3) the warrantless arrest of appellant Antone in his home in violation of the principles announced in Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980); (4) multiple errors in the original trial; (5) ineffective assistance of counsel; and, (6) the failure of the trial court in the penalty phase to properly instruct the jury concerning the mitigating circumstances it could consider in making its recommendation to the trial judge. The trial court denied relief on the 3.850 motions after a full evidentiary hearing. In that proceeding, counsel for both parties agreed that the trial judge had no jurisdiction of the coram nobis application, that jurisdiction being solely in the Supreme Court of Florida.

The trial court, in denying relief on the issue of newly discovered evidence and on the assertion that the state improperly withheld exculpatory evidence, made the following factual findings:

This Motion was predicated on the testimony of one Robert Bruns. It can be said that Mr. Bruns was the witness that "cracked" the murder of Detective Cloud. One Benjamin Gilford began associating and, for a time, living with Mr. Bruns in Bradenton, Florida. He told Mr. Bruns that he was the person who had actually committed the Cloud murder and that this was but one of a series of murders that he had been hired to commit. It appears that sometime in February of 1976 Mr. Bruns was arrested on a traffic offense. During this incarceration, he made contact with law enforcement officers and reported to them what Gilford had told him. Bruns was asked to assist the F.B.I. and State officials in obtaining more information pertaining to the Cloud murder. To this end he agreed to have electronic monitoring devices placed on his person, home and van. This was done for some three days beginning February 21, 1976. Subsequently, Gilford was arrested and charged with the murder. Thereafter, Ellis Marlow Haskew and Anthony Antone were arrested.
The difficulty began, it appears, after the Governor signed Antone's death warrant. Bruns contacted Attorney Ferlita and in a deposition told Messrs. Ferlita and Nutter that Gilford had told him that while Antone did provide the money after the murder that Antone did not know anything about the Cloud murder until after it had occurred; that when he learned why Victor Acosta had given him this money he became upset and hesitated in making the payment. This deposition was attached as an Exhibit to the Motion filed by Messrs. Ferlita and Nutter wherein they contended that the State had withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense and had violated Rule 3.220(a)(1)(i) in not listing Bruns as a witness pursuant to a defense demand for discovery.
Numerous witnesses testified before me at this hearing, among them Bruns, E.D. Williams of the Tampa Police Department, David Malarney and Jim Blatley of the F.B.I. and Aaron Bowden, the Attorney who prosecuted the case in behalf of the State of Florida.
While continuing to insist that Gilford had told him that Antone did not know anything about the Cloud murder until after it occurred, Bruns readily admitted that he never told any law enforcement official, either State or Federal, of this fact. His testimony was that since his conversations with Gilford were monitored and recorded they must have heard it. Prior to the hearing, copies of the tape recordings were delivered to Messrs. Ferlita and Nutter. From the testimony *160 and representations made to this court it is manifest that the recordings were inaudible. None of the witnesses who testified that they participated in the monitoring of the conversations between Gilford and Bruns could testify that they heard any such conversations primarily because the conversations were difficult to hear while they were monitoring.
Furthermore, Bruns testified that prior to his being equipped with those monitoring devices, he talked with Agent David Malarney of the F.B.I. on February 20, 1976. Agent Malarney testified that on that date and time Bruns told him that Gilford had related to him that Haskew and Gilford were hired to do the shooting by an individual known to Gilford as "Anthony" and that "Anthony" had supplied the murder weapon. While Gilford did not know who Anthony was, he did have his telephone number. Agent Malarney testified that when Gilford was arrested he had on his person a telephone number to an "Anthony" which turned out to be Anthony Antone.
E.D. Williams of the Tampa Police Department also testified that in a conversation with Bruns, Bruns related that Gilford had told him that the murder had been set up by one "Anthony."
Aaron Bowden, the Attorney who prosecuted the case for the State of Florida, admitted that Bruns' name was not placed on any witness list, but stated that there was no malicious purpose behind this. His reasoning was first, that Bruns' testimony while incriminating Antone was inadmissible because rank hearsay; and, second, because he was not aware of any exculpatory or favorable evidence to Antone that Bruns could provide. Bruns' name was apparently listed as a witness in the case against Benjamin Gilford because his deposition was taken on June 2, 1976 by Mr. Richard C. Edwards, Assistant Public Defender, representing Gilford.

Upon these facts, the trial judge ruled as follows:

1.

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410 So. 2d 157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/antone-v-state-fla-1982.