Roummel Ingram v. John Prelesnik

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedApril 4, 2018
Docket16-2172
StatusUnpublished

This text of Roummel Ingram v. John Prelesnik (Roummel Ingram v. John Prelesnik) 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
Roummel Ingram v. John Prelesnik, (6th Cir. 2018).

Opinion

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 18a0175n.06

No. 16-2172

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

ROUMMEL INGRAM, ) FILED Apr 04, 2018 ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk Petitioner-Appellant, ) ) ON APPEAL FROM THE v. ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT ) COURT FOR THE EASTERN JOHN PRELESNIK, ) DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN ) Respondent-Appellee. ) )

BEFORE: MERRITT, GRIFFIN, and DONALD, Circuit Judges.

GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner Roummel Ingram appeals the district court’s judgment denying his petition for

a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. A Michigan state court jury

convicted Ingram of armed robbery, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, felonious

assault, and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, all for his

involvement in a robbery of a liquor store that ended with Ingram shooting the store clerk. After

two unsuccessful attempts at post-conviction relief in the Michigan courts, he filed the instant

habeas petition in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, which

denied his petition on the merits without addressing respondent’s procedural default defenses.

Our court granted Ingram a certificate of appealability (COA) on two claims: ineffective

assistance of counsel for failure to raise and preserve a claim related to Ingram’s warrantless No. 16-2172 Ingram v. Prelesnik

arrest, and denial of his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial. For the reasons that follow, we

affirm the denial of habeas relief, albeit on grounds that differ from the district court.

I.

In 2007, a Michigan jury convicted Ingram of armed robbery, M.C.L. § 750.529, assault

with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, § 750.84, felonious assault, § 750.82, and

three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, § 750.227b. People v.

Ingram, No. 273086, 2007 WL 4245642, at *1 (Mich. Ct. App. Dec. 4, 2007). His convictions

stemmed from a robbery of a convenience store in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The Michigan

Court of Appeals summarized the facts as follows:

[Ingram]’s convictions arise out of the July 5, 2005, robbery of the Mug & Jug Wine Shop in Farmington Hills. Co-defendant Shannon McGriff entered the store with [Ingram] while another co-defendant, Kim Thomas, waited in a vehicle at the rear of the store. During the robbery, [Ingram] beat a store employee, Matthew Al-Sheikh, with a gun and threatened to shoot Al-Sheikh if he did not open a safe. [Petitioner] and McGriff took money from a cash register and drawer, but left without opening the safe. [Ingram] shot Al-Sheikh in the chest before he and McGriff fled out the back door. Id. A security camera captured the robbery but did not record the shooting.

This robbery was the third over the course of approximately three weeks in June and July

of 2005 conducted by Ingram and his compatriots, with the other two robberies taking place in

nearby Saint Clair Shores, Michigan. On June 14, 2005, a Citi-Financial bank location was

robbed at gun point by a single male. On July 1, 2005, a Wireless Giant store was robbed at

gunpoint by two males. Shortly after the “Mug and Jug” robbery, Farmington Hills police

received a tip from an informant that petitioner and McGriff “were overheard bragging at a party

that they had committed several robberies in the [Detroit] area.” On the basis of this tip,

Farmington Hills police and members of a county-wide police task force began surveilling

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Ingram’s home. During this surveillance, officers observed a Ford Thunderbird arrive at

Ingram’s house, and a Law Enforcement Information Network check revealed it was wanted for

an armed robbery in Saint Clair Shores. After Saint Clair Shores officers were alerted to the

Thunderbird’s presence at Ingram’s house, they took a photographic lineup to the victims of the

Citi-Financial and Wireless Giant robberies. Only the Citi-Financial victim, Aisha Mercer, was

able to pick Ingram out of the lineup.

Based on this positive identification, Saint Clair Shores police directed Farmington Hills

police to arrest Ingram. At this time, however, surveilling officers saw Ingram enter a gold Ford

Taurus with two other individuals, and observed the three drive away from the home.

Farmington Hills police pulled the vehicle over and arrested all three occupants, including

Ingram. Ingram eventually waived his Miranda rights, confessed to his involvement in the

robberies, and admitted he shot the store clerk at the “Mug and Jug.”

At trial, defense counsel conceded that Ingram committed armed robbery and felonious

assault, but argued that defendant was not guilty of the charged greater offense of assault with

intent to commit murder because the store clerk was shot due to the gun accidentally discharging.

Ingram, No. 273086, 2007 WL 4245642, at *1. During the presentation of evidence, the

prosecution called John Parish to testify. Before he was called to the stand, the prosecutor asked

to excuse the jury, at which time she asked the trial judge to “clear[] and secure[]” the courtroom

during his testimony. The prosecutor explained that Parish “is an informant that [the

prosecution] would like to put on the stand. [And] [i]t has come to the attention of the People

that this informant has been receiving death threats as well as his father is receiving death threats

because of his participation in this case.” Defense counsel responded that he did not know

anything about any death threats, but that Ingram had the right to a public trial. Further, defense

-3- No. 16-2172 Ingram v. Prelesnik

counsel argued that, while there may be concerns about some of Ingram’s family members

making threats against Parish, Ingram’s family had an interest in being able to be present and

observe the trial. After both sides argued, the trial court stated, simply: “All right. For this

witness only I’m going to order that the courtroom be cleared completely.” At a later point in

the trial proceedings, when the prosecution asked that the courtroom remain closed to the public

during the testimony of an additional prosecution witness, the court explained its position on the

closure. Thereafter, the court denied the prosecutor’s second request for closure.

The jury found Ingram guilty of the lesser offense of assault with intent to do great bodily

harm less than murder, and found him guilty of armed robbery, felonious assault, and three

counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, but acquitted him of assault with

intent to commit murder. The trial court sentenced him to 285 months to 40 years’ imprisonment

for armed robbery, 80 months to 10 years’ imprisonment for assault with intent to do great

bodily harm less than murder, and 2 to 4 years’ imprisonment for felonious assault, all

consecutive to two years’ imprisonment for the three counts of felony firearm. He

unsuccessfully sought postconviction relief in the Michigan courts and habeas relief in the

district court below.

II.

“In an appeal from the denial of habeas relief, we review the district court’s legal

conclusions de novo and its factual findings for clear error.” Scott v. Houk, 760 F.3d 497, 503

(6th Cir. 2014). Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, a state conviction

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