Miles, Ex Parte Richard Ray Jr.

359 S.W.3d 647, 2012 WL 468520, 2012 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 355
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas·Decided February 15, 2012·No. AP-76,488, AP-76,489·Published·Cited by 92 cases

Opinion

OPINION

HERVEY; J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court

in which KELLER, P.J., and WOMACK, JOHNSON, KEASLER, COCHRAN and ALCALA, JJ., joined.

Applicant, Richard Ray Miles, Jr., was convicted of murder and attempted murder and sentenced to forty years’ and twenty years’ confinement, respectively. The convictions were affirmed on appeal. Miles v. State, Nos. 05-95-01280-CR & 05-95-01281-CR, 1997 WL 867103, 1997 Tex.App. LEXIS 3431 (Tex.App.-Dallas July 2, 1997, no pet.) (not designated for publication). Applicant filed initial applications for writ of habeas corpus arguing that the State violated Brady v. Maryland 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963); we denied relief. Ex parte Miles, Nos. WR-64,325-01 & WR-64,325-02 (Tex.Crim.App. April 4, 2007). Applicant now files subsequent applications for writ of habeas corpus claiming that he is actually innocent, that the expert testimony on gunshot-residue analysis is no longer reliable, and that the State violated Brady. The trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending that relief be granted on all grounds. Relief is granted.

*651 I. FACTS

In the early morning hours of May 16, 1994, the victims, Deandre Shay Williams and Robert Ray Johnson, Jr., stopped at a Texaco service station located on Northwest Highway in Dallas. At approximately 2:50 a.m., while Williams and Johnson were sitting in them parked car, a black male wearing dark shorts, a white tank top, and a floppy hat walked up to the car. Reaching into the car from the driver’s side, he shot both men with a nine-millimeter handgun. The shooter then ran from the scene and got into a white Cadillac, which was then driven away. Williams was killed, and Johnson sustained severe injuries. Approximately twenty-five minutes after the shooting, Applicant was arrested on a nearby street. He was subsequently indicted for the murder of Williams and attempted murder of Johnson.

A. State’s Evidence

On the day of the offense, Johnson and Williams spent the afternoon driving through Glendale Park, showing off Johnson’s car, a Nissan 300 ZX with gold wheels. Johnson and Williams left the park between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. and went to the New York, New York night club located on Northwest Highway near Bach-man Lake. The Nissan 300 ZX was parked prominently in front of the club. Johnson and Williams left the club together shortly after 2:30 a.m. and drove down Northwest Highway. When they approached a Texaco service station, Williams asked Johnson to stop the car so that he could talk to a woman walking on the sidewalk. Johnson parked at the Texaco. At approximately 2:50 a.m., a male walked up to the car, and reaching into the car from the driver’s side, he shot both men multiple times with a nine-millimeter handgun. Williams was killed, 1 and Johnson sustained severe injuries on the left side of his body and neck.

Johnson testified that he recalled seeing someone at the scene who bore a resemblance to Applicant. However, he could not identify Applicant as the shooter because the shooter was “darker.” Johnson also testified regarding a twelve-gauge shotgun that he kept in the back of his car between the passenger seats. He explained that he lived in a hostile neighborhood, which required taking steps to protect himself and his car, and he was told by a police officer that “it was the only thing you could carry legally in your car.” The shotgun had been in the car on the day of the shooting, and Williams had apparently taken the shotgun from the rear of the car and placed it at his feet some time between leaving the club and arriving at the Texaco. Testimony revealed that shortly after the shooting, someone removed the shotgun from the car; Johnson later recovered the gun and sold it to a friend.

Johnson denied that the shotgun was pulled out from the seats while he and Williams were at the park earlier in the day. He also denied that he or Williams had any type of confrontation there. However, when he was recalled by the defense, Johnson conceded that, although they did not have problems while at the park, they had been confronted and threatened by a group of black males in a white Cadillac at Redbird Mall earlier that day.

Marcus Thurman testified that he was standing in line to buy gas when he heard *652 six or seven shots fired. He turned around and saw a black male running with a gun in his right hand, heading from the direction of the victims’ car and toward the bushes behind the Texaco. Thurman estimated that he was within twenty feet of the suspect, and although the view lasted for only a second or two, Thurman stated that he clearly saw the shooter’s face because of the well-lit parking lot. Thurman also observed the shooter’s body build and noted that he was wearing “a white tank top, some dark shorts and a black floppy hat.” Thurman testified that there was no one else around the vehicle at the time that the shots were fired, and no one else in the immediate area was dressed like the shooter.

Thurman moved to the edge of the Texaco building and saw the shooter run down into the bushes. Fifteen to twenty seconds later, a white Cadillac pulled up with its lights off. The shooter came out of the bushes, with his white tank top in his hand, and he got into the right rear passenger side of the vehicle. Thurman testified that he did not' see a gun at that point. The Cadillac drove off down Lemmon Avenue.

Thurman immediately got into his own car, and while he used his cell phone to call 9-1-1, he followed about a “[b]lock, block and a half’ behind the Cadillac. He observed the Cadillac make a u-turn in front of the Sewell Cadillac dealership, and the shooter exited the car. The Cadillac continued north on Lemmon Avenue, and the shooter began to walk down the same street toward Northwest Highway. Thurman also made the u-turn and drove north on Lemmon Avenue. As he passed the shooter, he could not see the man’s face clearly, but he was sure that it was the same person. Thurman testified that the shooter’s white tank top was back on and described his shorts as hitting at the knee, although he did not know if they hit above or below the knee. Thurman remained on the phone with 9-1-1 throughout these events.

Thurman returned to the Texaco. By that time, officers from the Dallas Police Department (DPD) had arrived and were attempting to protect the crime scene. Thurman approached Sergeant Gary Tolle-son and informed him of what had transpired. At approximately 3:10 a.m., Tolle-son broadcast Thurman’s description over the police radio, stating that the suspect was a black male wearing a white tank top, floppy hat, and dark, baggy shorts and that the suspect vehicle was a white Cadillac.

A short time later, a patrol car pulled into the Texaco. Thurman observed a man in the back seat, and he said, “That’s the guy that done the shooting.” Thurman stated that he did not believe that the officers were attempting to show Applicant to him. Police officers then took Applicant out of the car and had him stand up, before putting him back in to the car.

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Miles, Ex Parte Richard Ray Jr., 359 S.W.3d 647, 2012 WL 468520, 2012 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 355 (Tex. 2012).

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