United States v. Graves

951 F. Supp. 2d 758, 2013 WL 3215171, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90324
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 27, 2013
DocketCriminal Action No. 06-95
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 951 F. Supp. 2d 758 (United States v. Graves) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Graves, 951 F. Supp. 2d 758, 2013 WL 3215171, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90324 (E.D. Pa. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

DuBOIS, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

After two mistrials, Lacey Graves was convicted of armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2118(d). Presently before the Court is Graves’s Motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. The motion presents two issues; First, whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to move to suppress evidence obtained pursuant to facially invalid search warrants — the search warrants did not identify or incorporate by reference the items to be seized. Second, whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call Leslie Neal — a government witness at Graves’s first and second trials — as a defense witness at Graves’s third trial.

Because the record did not conclusively show that Graves was not entitled to relief, the Court held an evidentiary hearing on April 5, 2012. Following the hearing, the Court ordered additional briefing addressing the decisions in Groh v. Ramirez, 540 U.S. 551, 124 S.Ct. 1284, 157 L.Ed.2d 1068 (2004) and Doe v. Groody, 361 F.3d 232 (3d Cir.2004). These cases involve search warrants that did not incorporate descriptions of either the items to be seized (in Groh) or the persons to be searched (in Groody) that were contained in a separate document. For the reasons set forth below, Graves’s § 2255 motion is denied.

II. BACKGROUND1

After two mistrials, Graves was convicted in November 2007 of armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d). According to the government’s theory of the case at trial, Graves, with a mask and sunglasses covering his face, entered a Univest Bank, displayed a handgun, vaulted over the teller counter, and stole $6,421 [761]*761in cash. Eyewitnesses and physical evidence linked Graves to the crime:

A. The Eyewitnesses

Several bank employees who were working on the day of the robbery testified as to what they saw.

(a) Kimberly Krapf and Tara Detweiler Saw a Suspicious Woman and a Red Isuzu Rodeo

Branch manager Kimberly Krapf noticed a suspicious woman standing by the front entrance of the bank with a scarf over her head and face, looking into the glass lobby doors. (Trial Tr. 11/6/2007, at 38- 39.) The woman later drove away in a red Isuzu Rodeo. (Id. at 40, 99.) Before the car left the parking lot, Krapf alerted other employees to the suspicious activity, one of whom, Tara Detweiler, wrote down the license plate number of the Isuzu (although she was off by one letter). (Id. at 39- 40, 101-102; Trial Tr. 11/7/2007, at 34.) Later investigation by FBI Special Agent Kenneth Vincent revealed that the vehicle was registered to Graves. (Trial Tr. 11/7/2007, at 32-34.)

(b) Kimberly Buckley Saw the Robber

Shortly after the suspicious woman’s departure, the bank’s assistant manager Kimberly Buckley looked out the window of the bank’s break room and saw an African-American man approaching the bank. (Trial Tr. 11/6/2007, at 158-65.) She was able to look at him through open window blinds for one to two seconds before he covered his face with his umbrella. (Id. at 182-83.) It was dark and raining outside. (Id. at 183.) In observing the bank’s surveillance monitors, she saw him enter the bank, jump over the teller counter, and take money out of a teller’s drawer. (Id. at 185-87.)

Five days later, Special Agent Vincent showed Buckley a photo array that he had prepared with eight photos: one of Graves and seven “fillers.” (Id. at 195; 11/7/2007, at 45, 49-50.) All eight photos were presented to Buckley at one time on one sheet of paper. (Trial Tr. 11/7/2007, at 50; see also Government Trial Exhibit 14.) Special Agent Vincent told Buckley that the person she saw may not be among the pictures in the array. (Trial Tr. 11/7/2007, at 50.) The lighting behind Graves’s photo was slightly brighter than the lighting behind the fillers. (See Government Exhibit 14.) From this array, Buckley identified Graves as the person she observed from the break room.2 (Trial Tr. 11/7/2007, at 170-171.) She also identified Graves in court. (Id. at 171.)

The defense called Dr. Soloman Fulero, an expert on eyewitness identifications to counter Buckley’s testimony. He testified that there are three stages of memory: acquisition, retention, and retrieval, or in other words, “[p]utting it in, keeping it, and getting it back out.” (Id. at 137.) The defense attacked each of these stages of Buckley’s memory through Dr. Fulero’s testimony.

With respect to acquisition, Dr. Fulero testified that a dark rainy day could negatively affect a person’s ability to accurately remember an event. (Id. at 143-44.) He also testified regarding cross-racial identifications. He stated that people tend to be less accurate at identifying a person of a different race than their own. (Id. at 140-42.) For example, a white witness will not be as accurate identifying an African-American as he or she would be identifying another white person. (Id. at 141-42.)

[762]*762Regarding retention, Dr. Fulero testified that memory fades rapidly, though not steadily. He stated, “[P]eople are going to forget most of what they’re going to forget within the first roughly eight hours or so.” (Id. at 146.)

With respect to retrieval, Dr. Fuerlo discussed the best practices to conduct photo line-ups. He stated that there were four aspects of presenting a witness a photo array that are important to increase accuracy. (Id. at 150-51.) First, the suspect should not stand out from the fillers. (Id. at 151-57.) Second, the witness should be instructed that the suspect may not be in the array. (Id. at 157-59.) Third, accuracy is increased by showing the witness the photos one at a time (“sequentially”) rather than all at once (“simultaneously”). (Id. at 159-61.) Finally, the presentation should be “double blind.” (Id. at 161-63.) The person presenting the photo array to the witness should not know who the suspect is so as to not subconsciously communicate the identity of the suspect to the witness. (Id.) Defense counsel argued that Buckley’s photo identification was undermined based on all but the second factor. (Trial Tr. 11/8/2007, at 51-52.)

(c) Tara Detweiler Saw Part of the Robber’s Face

Tara Detweiler was the teller at. the register that was robbed. (Trial Tr. 11/6/2007, at 103-104.) . When the robber was behind the counter, she saw through a gap between his sunglasses and mask that he had light skin and freckles or moles on his cheeks. (Id. at 108.) This description is consistent with Graves’s facial features.

B. The Physical Evidence and the Warrants

Graves was arrested, and a few days later, Magistrate Judge Jacob B. Hart signed two warrants authorizing searches of Graves’s Isuzu Rodeo and the residence of Graves’s girlfriend, Leslie Neal.

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Related

United States v. Lacey Graves
613 F. App'x 157 (Third Circuit, 2015)
United States v. Robert Franz
772 F.3d 134 (Third Circuit, 2014)

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Bluebook (online)
951 F. Supp. 2d 758, 2013 WL 3215171, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90324, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-graves-paed-2013.